How should we know which SEO company to choose?
Introduction
Let’s be fair, there are simply tons of digital marketing agencies out there now. Most businesses will be constantly bombarded by offers from seo agencies, whether that’s through a cold call, or via floods of e-mails coming into your company’s inbox.
So this can only be a good thing right? Thousands, if not millions of companies to choose from means that there are loads of companies all bidding for your business.
Yet, what can often happen is when a company does need a marketing business, well it can be hard to find the right business. That’s to say finding that diamond of a business, that offers the marketing skills you need, well how do you find such a business.
Well, do not worry, as we will now walk you through four things that we think you should consider when choosing a marketing agency.
#1 Make sure you invest in white hat work
As you know there’s loads of companies to choose from, yet not all agencies will offer good quality work.
That’s to say writing really good quality content marketing and building quality backlinks does take a lot of time, so there will always be those rubbish marketing agencies that cut corners.
Yet, cutting corners is never a good idea when it comes to SEO, and the reason is a business could incur an algorithmic or manual penalty.
Basically this means that Google will be able to spot rubbish seo, and then implement a penalty.
The penalty can cause a drop-in rankings, and it can also mean that the business is removed altogether.
Penalties can be costly to recover from, because sometimes some businesses approach a seo business to correct the problems.
Sometimes then a lot of time is needed to fix the problems, such as disavowing spam backlinks, and this can sometimes result in a rather hefty bill from a marketing agency.
So, in a nutshell, its really important that you choose a white hat agency. Yet, also be aware that some digital marketing agencies say that they are white hat, when they are not.
#2 Don’t overspend!
Okay, taking onboard our last piece of advice, you may be thinking cheap seo is a waste of time, and you would be right. So, some companies then go the complete opposite direction, and then choose the most expensive agency they can find.
Sometimes this means using the most well-known agency in your city, yet you have to ask yourself this, is this sustainable?
We use the word sustainable for a reason, that’s because SEO is quite different from other forms of advertising, in that most businesses pay a monthly fee to an agency.
And where some forms of advertising can give you an instant return, such as radio advertising, seo often does not.
And here’s why, your competitors may have already been investing in organic seo for some time, which means they may have set the benchmark quite high.
Now, in order for your business to overtake the competition, your website must be stronger. To be stronger often takes a lot of time, so be prepared to invest for the long-term.
Plus, when your marketing agency has your business at the very top, well the seo investment shouldn’t stop there- and you’re probably thinking, well sure you would say that!
Yet it is true, and here’s why, your direct competitors will be looking to knock your business off the top spot. So, if your business was to strop investing, well its sometimes be only a short amount of time before a competitor succeeds in reaching the top, and your business must then move down.
So, in a nutshell, organic seo often requires a monthly investment, so don’t choose an agency that’s too expensive as you have to have a monthly spend that your business can comfortably afford.
#3 Don’t just settle for speaking to the sales person
Most seo businesses have a sales person, that person will obviously go out and sell that agencies services to other businesses.
All well and good, yet you should really visit the agency, and ask to speak to the person who will be managing your seo account day to day.
As if they haven’t got the foggiest about what your business does, well how the heck are they going to implement a marketing strategy that works?
#4 Think about using a specialist marketing agency
As we have mentioned there are now so many seo businesses to choose from, this means that there are also specialist marketing agencies.
This means there will be a digital marketing agency that specialises in offering SEO for certain types of businesses. So, whether you run a dental practice, or you are a divorce lawyer, you may wish to use a specialist marketing agency that only works with businesses in your business sector.
The advantage of using such an agency is they should have a much better understanding of your business. Yet, which ever business you do choose, make sure that the seo work is white hat.