Having the right SEO agency working for you can make a world of difference for your business. Did you know that\u00a0<\/span>85% of consumers look online<\/span><\/a>\u00a0before they commit to a purchase? So if potential customers can’t find your site online, you can easily miss a sale \u2013 or many sales. Finding a great SEO agency can help you rank higher for Google search queries, plus attract more customers searching for the goods or services you provide.<\/span><\/p>\n We’ve put together a guide to finding the best SEO agency, including important things to look for and a handy checklist for selecting the right SEO company for your needs.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Picking the right SEO agency for your needs is all about selecting a company whose experience aligns to your business needs. Do you wish to rate higher on search engine results pages? Are you having difficulty turning leads into conversions? Or do you have a specialized niche product\/service that you want to increase visibility?<\/span><\/p>\n A great starting point might be an SEO agency’s case studies. A good case study in your industry can provide vital information in your search. A case study can also give you a glimpse of an agency’s processes. Look for hints that may indicate that an agency is on top of current SEO trends and changes that search engines like Google make with their algorithms. Are they including\u00a0<\/span>Google analytics<\/span><\/a>\u00a0data? Is there an understanding or analysis that is easy to understand? The case studies should also be relevant to your type of business \u2013 if you’re an e-commerce site, for example, you may not need to see the results from promoting a B2B supplier or an in-person service provider. The results from businesses like yours can also give you a rough indication of the kind of conversion rates you can expect. However, if you don’t sell directly from your website and instead rely on your online presence to generate leads, then you should ask for examples of similar lead generators.<\/span><\/p>\n Remember that good results mean different things to different stakeholders. Great results are those that help you achieve your goals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Rankings and increased traffic to your website are the basic measurements of success, and if an SEO agency can’t deliver those, you should look in a different direction. However, you’re in business to make money, so if higher rankings and better click-through rates aren’t generating more leads and conversions, then you won’t be able to meet your primary goals. The best SEO agencies can show you tangible, quantifiable success by helping clients increase revenues and broaden their reach for new customers.<\/span><\/p>\n Improving your SEO is a marathon (vs. a sprint), and a top SEO agency will constantly improve your digital presence. And SEO includes many aspects nowadays. A partner may evaluate your layout, speed\/performance,\u00a0<\/span>content<\/span><\/a>, and much more to drive more traffic and present new ways to improve. They’ll also be transparent with you throughout the process, using analytics and search console data to show improvements. Think of the number of unique visitors, behavior flow (how they found you), high-volume search queries, and the kind of content that’s most popular.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Some SEO agencies specialize in e-commerce businesses, which have different needs than their brick-and-mortar counterparts. Unlike physical stores, e-commerce sites rely solely on their internet presence for success. Often, E-commerce focused agencies have a deeper knowledge of what kind of SEO they need to optimize conversions from leads.<\/p>\n These agencies can also help you find additional unique keywords that gain interest across all the goods and services you offer, helping you find more niche customers and qualified leads. Visibility is also important, and often, e-commerce businesses find plenty of success including vibrant social media into their marketing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Business-to-business sales require a different approach than those designed to appeal directly to consumers. Often, business analysis and analytics can benefit B2B companies. Analytics data can be incorporated into an SEO Strategy to create rich and engaging content, giving further information about what each company delivers. Why is this important? To stand out from the competition. To find where the target B2B customer\u2019s pressure point is and pushing on it to create sales.<\/span><\/p>\n SEO for B2B is all about understanding the intricacies of B2B buying stages. It impacts SEO, Content, Social, Email Marketing, Web Design, etc.\u00a0<\/span>Contact us if your SEO agency just doesn\u2019t understand B2B<\/span><\/a>!<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n There are a few things you can do to find the best SEO agency for your needs.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you have a professional network, ask for recommendations about which Search Engine Optimization (SEO) agency to use. Or, look at successful businesses in your area, and ask them if they use a particular SEO company. Your professional network can give you an honest assessment of their experience with different agencies. LinkedIn is a great resource for such a thing, even if you don\u2019t know a person, connect with someone you admire and ask their opinion on an SEO Agency referral.<\/p>\n Top SEO agencies will also show you their methodology for improving your SEO. This might include: site optimization, user experience and user interface suggestions, testing of headings\/headlines, user flow and element placements, image optimizations, site link profiles, authority development recommendations, and much more. The more research that your agency does for your business and goals, the better they\u2019ll be able to make the right choices for your website.<\/p>\n The best SEO agencies will also have transparent reporting, showing you how they calculated the increase in traffic. Your agency should start every engagement with a detailed scope that all parties agree to. And success can be measured by using several different tools or platforms to determine which keywords and content are contributing to increased traffic vs. which parts of your website need work.<\/p>\n Ask for costs upfront:<\/p>\n Some SEO agencies may be outside your budget,\u00a0And be very cautious with low-cost SEO agencies.\u00a0<\/strong>The adage, \u201cyou get what you pay for,\u201d is most apparent in the world of Search Engine Optimization. If an agency isn\u2019t charging much for services, they\u2019re probably not providing the same quality of service vs. a reliable, cost-conscious agency would. A good agency will be able to determine how much work improving your website\u2019s SEO will take, and price it accordingly.<\/p>\n An estimate should provide a line-by-line explanation of where your money is going, and how that money leads to success.<\/p>\n Ask how the SEO Agency quantifies results. Include tracking how your site ranks for Keywords over time (for Search Engine Results Pages\u2019 sake) and what metrics they use to determine the success of their SEO campaign overall. The SEO campaign program\/strategy is ultimately an effort to help your business make more money. And a top SEO agency will also show you how you perform with key performance indicators. These go well beyond tracking Organic Traffic only; also think about:<\/span><\/p>\n Ask the SEO agency for examples of recent websites that they\u2019ve optimized with their SEO programs (and, if possible, the keyword rankings that they helped these sites achieve). Remember to look for the current examples \u2013 what worked five years ago for SEO is much different today. Some SEO programs in various marketing verticals simply take a while to show results. I think we all understand that. However, a good agency will still be able to show progress even if their business is in a difficult industry.<\/span><\/p>\n Once you have an idea of your desired results (KPIs establish, quarterly or bi-annual check-ins, etc.), pick the SEO agency that has experience helping other companies achieve similar goals. Remember, your SEO agency is your partner, and an SEO Program is a lot of back-and-forth collaboration. They get to know your goals and your business ins and outs. And that information drives some decisions. Combined with intuition and expertise, this should create a successful collaboration (over time) for both parties.<\/span><\/p>\n And if an estimated ROI isn\u2019t part of the initial calculations for success\u2026\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>Contact us<\/span><\/strong><\/a>!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n 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 \u2013 e.g., W+K, 72 and Sunny, etc. \u2013 that’s not the end of the world), but do you like what they’re posting? Does it align with your values? Are they making any political stances you disagree with?<\/span><\/p>\n Read reviews from other clients, and look at independent testimonials. It’s ok if they don’t have any reviews\u2026 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 typically easy to spot and are done when an Agency (just like a product review) needs to balance out some of the bad reviews.<\/span><\/p>\n 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 digital presence. So ask questions:<\/span><\/p>\nHow To Choose an SEO Company<\/span><\/h2>\n
What Should I Look For in a Top SEO Company?<\/h2>\n
Do I Need a Specialized E-commerce SEO Agency?<\/h2>\n
What about an SEO Agency that specializes in B2B?<\/h2>\n
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<\/a>B2B sales are a different animal (vs. B2C). Sure, people are people and reaching people and putting them through a funnel might be the same at an elementary level… however, having an SEO agency that understands the intricacies of the overall B2B sales cycle can be critical to your success. If your business works with larger corporations or if you\u2019re a government supplier, having the right SEO to stand out from the crowd (and rank higher than your competition) is extremely important.<\/span><\/p>\nChecklist For Finding the Best SEO Agency<\/h2>\n
1. Ask Your Professional Network (People you Know and Respect in the Industry).<\/h3>\n
2. Require an open, honest, and transparent estimate<\/h3>\n
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3. Determine What Success Looks Like Early<\/h3>\n
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<\/a>4. Do Your Own Research and Make a Decision.<\/h3>\n\n
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