Read More

There’s a lot to think about when it comes to online marketing, so it’s perhaps no surprise that most SMEs choose to get an agency in to help them with their SEO strategy. For larger companies the stages are higher, with their websites containing thousands of pages and often in many languages. A great SEO strategy can deliver amazing results by generating lots of new visits to your website, and converting these visits into sales. There are lots of agencies offering digital marketing services but as with everything, there are great agencies and not so professional agencies. The trick is sorting the wheat from the chaff and finding the right agency for your needs. Here are a few key things to look for and ask about when looking for a SEO agency.

Knowledge, Experience and Competence

How do you work out if an agency knows what it is doing? There are lots of things you can look at which might help evaluate how successful an agency has been in the past, and how happy its previous clients are. Look for online reviews from companies it has worked with in the past, or blog posts about successes. Many agencies publish case studies showing results, or you could look on industry forums to see which agencies are being talked about. Good agencies draw on a range of people with different skills; if the agency is just two people doing everything from copywriting to coding, are they really the best choice?

Communication

A good agency should respond quickly to enquiries and be able to tell you about similar organisations they have worked with in the past. Set clear goals to track the success of a strategy, and you should have a clear understanding of what you are getting for your money. The agency should also be happy to set up regular reviews to track progress and adjust strategy as necessary.

Website Size

Any decent agency should be able to deal with a website with a dozen pages, or a website with thousands of pages. If you have a larger website, then make sure you have an agency experienced in dealing with indexing larger websites and making sure that the Google searchbot engine can find its way around the site. If this structure isn’t correct, it can seriously affect your search engine rankings. SEO companies should be able to put in automated processes to pick up issues rather than relying on having a human trawl through each page looking for problems.

Data

Even if you’re not all about the numbers, the SEO agency should be. They should be more than comfortable with tracking your results and analysing data from your website. A good starting point is an audit of your current situation, before putting into place targets and goals.

Red Flags

There are some things which should set alarm bells ringing about SEO agencies. Some things to look out for are:

• Prices considerably lower than the competition
• Promises of immediate results
• Using the same tactics for every SEO project