How to Pick an SEO Agency, Part 5: Finish with Your Own Research

Do Your Own Research

Check out the agency online. Peruse their social media presence and their website (note, some of the greatest ad agencies out there don’t post much on social – e.g. W+K, 72 and Sunny, etc. – that’s not the end of the world), but do you like what they’re posting? Does it align to your values? Are they making any political stances you disagree with?

Read reviews from other clients, and look at independent testimonials. It’s ok if they don’t have any reviews… remember, people usually post negative reviews before positive. So no reviews can be a great indicator. Also look out for fake, overly positive reviews. They’re usually easy to spot and are done when an Agency (just like a product review) needs to balance out some of the bad reviews.

SEO agencies are primarily marketing businesses, so one without a strong online presence may indicate one without the experience or talent to make your business successful. It could also indicate an agency that’s just so busy they don’t have time to work on their own presence. So ask questions:

Ask why pages or posts haven’t been updated (in the past week/month/etc.).
Ask if they’ve worked with businesses in your vertical (it’s probably ok if they haven’t, but sometimes an industry niche makes all the difference in a marketing program).
Ask if they specialize (maybe they focus on ecommerce, local SEO, or your industry niche)
Ask how often they’ll meet with you. Even the lowest budget clients have monthly touchpoints in our agency
Ask what other services they provide. Usually SEO isn’t the only service (but it just might be). If they offer other marketing mediums, does this help you?
Ask, ask, and ask again. Make sure you feel comfortable with your choice.

Time to Make a Decision

Compile all the feedback from Steps one through five and make a decision. And don’t wait too long, waiting too long can start to creep into the realm of unprofessional. There’s risk involved in everything, selecting an SEO Agency to help boost your own career progression is just another risk. And while no one makes a decision hoping for failure, failure is part of said progression as well. The Point? Don’t be afraid. Take your educated decision, stand by the agency you picked, and run with it. You should know within 3-6 months if the company you selected to represent the SEO arm of Digital Marketing was the right one. And if their not (for whatever reason), start the process all over again. Take what you’ve learned from this agency that you didn’t like, and make sure to look out for the undesirable attributes in your next agency.

YOUR TIME IS NOW! LET’S GO!

Feel like we missed something? Have a little secret when select an SEO Agency you’d like to share?

We’re not perfect, but this has been our checklist (in five parts) of what we think a client should look for when selecting an SEO agency. However, feel free to share what you think in any of our social media accounts. And as always, we’re available to add fresh life to your digital presence. Each business is unique, and it’s important to us to understand each client’s goals so we can take specific steps to help achieve them.

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