Choosing an SEO agency has become a tough choice for many business owners. With several thousands of options, businesses and brands may find themselves overthinking the process.
While there’s no one ultimate guide to selecting an SEO agency, a customer wrote a web20ranker review highlighting some of the important things they looked for in an SEO agency before deciding. This article fleshes out those important considerations from the customer’s point of view to ensure you know what to look for.
Step-By-Step Guide to Choosing an SEO Agency
Determine Your Goals and Outcomes
Choosing an SEO agency is easy, however, the tough part is getting the desired results. To get the desired results, you must first understand what the challenges are and what you aim to achieve. Knowing your goals and setting a benchmark for the desired outcomes can help guide your selection process.
For example, a business looking to drive more organic traffic to its website may not get as many results from hiring a social media marketing agency. This is because most social media users make their decisions quickly and on the same platform. They may, however, enjoy more traffic by hiring an agency offering SEO-optimized content marketing solutions.
Knowing what you want can help you to better understand the outcomes and who to choose. However, if unsure, you should choose a full-service SEO agency that does it all. With this, you can pick from a wide range of services or get expert recommendations to achieve your desired goals.
Start Researching SEO Companies
With our goals and expected outcomes determined, you can now streamline your search based on your wants. Before kick-starting the search, determine whether you want an SEO agency you can meet with on-site or remotely.
If on-site, you may need to consider hiring an SEO agency within your local environment. This could be an agency in your city or state. This allows you to arrange a physical meeting with the agency to discuss your SEO needs and how they intend to help.
If remote, you can spread your search across borders. Remote service SEO agencies eliminate the location barrier, allowing you to access the best options around the world.
You can start the search process by looking online, visiting SEO forums for recommendations, or asking other business owners for a recommendation. The selection process, whether on-site or remote, can be overwhelming. However, start by collecting a list of the most reputable agencies suggested online or offline.
Your research should also include important details like the agency’s portfolio and reviews. Look online for case studies or portfolios of work done by the agency. You should easily see this on the agency’s website. Study a couple of those to understand the pattern and whether it may work for you. It’s also important to read reviews from customers who have tried the select companies. Pay attention to the negative comments and how the company has attempted to address them.
Consider Experience, Services, Ethics, and Promises
Experience is an important factor when it comes to SEO. You want an agency with extensive experience and several consultants who can brainstorm to deliver the right strategies. While considering experience, you should also look through the agency’s range of services and solutions.
Full-service agencies may be the better option, especially if you want to avoid the future stress of searching for another agency when your SEO needs expand. With the right services, you can examine the company’s ethics and whether or not they make unrealistic promises.
It is always important to note that there are no guarantees in SEO, which is why you should also hire an ethical agency. Agencies that use shady means to deliver results may set your business up for penalties in the long run. Ethical agencies, however, do everything by the book, thus reducing your chances of being penalized for unethical practices.
Schedule a Consultation
Most SEO agencies offer consultation or demo services to help you understand their process and how they tend to deliver results. Transparent agencies will explain their processes in detail, ensuring you know what each service means and how it can help your business.
It is important to avoid agencies that promise a secret sauce or guarantee specific outcomes. Such agencies may either not deliver on their promises or may set your business up for penalties. Scrutinizing each agency and how in-depth their strategy is can help you pick the next experts to work with.
Consider Pricing
Cheap SEO doesn’t exist. If it’s too good to be true, it probably is just that. Consider the pricing offered by the agency compared to the standard market average. It is also important to have a realistic budget for your SEO needs.
With the right pricing, great reviews, and a transparent yet detailed process, you can be sure you’ve hired the right SEO agency for your needs.
