SEO Buyers' Guide – Finding the Perfect Agency for your Brand
Let’s face it: it’s not easy out there. Money is tight, the economic picture is gloomy and the competition is tougher than ever before.
So when it comes meeting the challenge ahead you need an SEO (search engine optimisation) campaign that represents real value for money, reaches your entire target audience and most importantly, delivers results you take to the bank. In short, you need a digital marketing agency you can trust.
Selecting the right partner can be a complex business, but if you keep a sharp eye on the opportunities, steer clear of the pitfalls and follow our ten top tips on selecting an SEO agency however, then it is possible to ensure you get a reputable service with excellent results.
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CHECK THEIR PEDIGREE
Perhaps the first and most obvious step to take when hunting for the right digital marketing partner is to check out the agency's own SEO performance. They'll be competing with the best in their field for terms like 'search engine optimisation'. So how do they rank? If they can't do it for their own site, how can they do it for yours?
Begin by checking out the prospective agency's experience and case studies. Can they show you proven results for highly successful SEO campaigns? Do they know their verticals? Do they have specialist vertical teams? How lasting are their client relationships? If they are as good as they claim to be, they should be hanging on to SEO accounts through excellence.
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ENSURE THEY’LL KEEP ONE STEP AHEAD
Search is a constantly shifting landscape, so ask yourself if the agency can keep up with the changes from the search engines, is the agency driving professionalism through partnership with bodies like econsultancy and the IAB, and does it speak at top industry events like SMX and SES?
Do they have a firm grip of this fast-moving industry? Can they handle personalised search and video search? Things change at speed, so you need an agency that constantly monitors the external issues - particularly search engine algorithm changes – that will affect your campaign whenever they happen.
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DEMAND CROSS CHANNEL SYNERGY
Make sure your prospective agency understands the full digital marketing landscape or, even better, that they can offer multi channel campaign management. You might only be interested in SEO initially, but you may want to integrate it with other channels such as PPC, affiliates or display advertising to further increase your return on investment.
Do they know how to integrate SEO with your Affiliates, Display and PPC campaigns? Are they leading the way in online PR, video search, personalised search, social media optimisation and mobile? Do they understand SEO user journey analysis? Do they give full details of what the service process is and your input requirements?
Can they create quality search engine copywriting for you? Do they demonstrate market-leading technical expertise? Do they understand paid links and their risks? Do they offer transparent, multi-channel tracking? Delivering a successful online campaign requires a comprehensive understanding of all these issues.
Whoever your partner is, they need to have leading-edge excellence within your sector and should be capable of providing you with full visibility on your accounts.
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LOOK INSIDE THE BOX
Before you select an agency to handle your search engine optimisation needs, make sure that once they start working for you, they offer a full pre-campaign SEO audit report outlining the changes they want to make and why. Ensure they demonstrate market-leading technical expertise, have a grip on the important search engines and territories for your brand and that they offer transparent, multi-channel tracking.
When it comes to keywords, make sure you and the agency agree on them from the beginning. Are they compelling, competitive keywords that will convert? Can you change the keywords mid-campaign? Are you limited to a specific number of keywords?
Beware of agencies where there are hidden setup or account costs and make sure that they have the technical expertise to market your product across a variety of territories and languages. .
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DEMAND TRANSPARENT SEO REPORTING
Nail down a set of deliverables and expectations. When it comes to your SEO campaign keywords make sure the agency has the in-house resource to cope with ever changing keyword lists and ensure that your reports are in the format you want.
Make sure the reporting covers all of your target languages, search engines and territories Does the agency lead the way in multi-channel reporting? Can they apply click path analysis to break conversions down to indicate what part paid search, affiliates and display advertising played in the acquisition? Can the agency work with your chosen analytics provider or do they force you to use their choice of tracking tool?
Transparency is a key factor, so ensure your agency can provide full visibility on what they're doing on your behalf and why.
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CHECK FOR WARNING SIGNS
There are a few digital marketing agencies that have a raft of sales staff but prove to be very thin on the operational side, and you need to know exactly who you are dealing with, how experienced their SEO team is and who is taking responsibility.
Be wary of anyone offering 'guaranteed positions' or buying links as part of a link building program. According to Google "no one can guarantee a no 1. page ranking," so ensure that any such claims are thoroughly investigated.
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READ THE SMALL PRINT
Beware of sticky contracts! If the agency is as good as they say they are they should not need to tie you into a year long SEO contract. They should also be flexible enough to shift the campaign to a training and consultancy level if you decide to take the SEO in-house further down the line.
When interrogating a potential SEO partner, you need to ensure that they have all the answers. Check whether they will indemnify your brand from damage, ask how they'll integrate your SEO with your other activities, demand to see sample reports, request a meet with their team and ensure that you will be given sign off for every part of the campaign progress.
Ensure that all search engine accounts, performance data and analytics access remains in your control. Remember that an agency should never own anything on your behalf, otherwise you risk being held to ransom by your agency.
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MAKE SURE THEY UNDERSTAND YOU
Confidence is a key factor when selecting an agency to handle your SEO campaign. They might be recommending technical, content or aesthetic changes to your site, domain name changes or off-target keywords, and you have to be certain that you're protecting your brand.
Managing a successful SEO campaign requires that your partner truly understand and complement your digital marketing activities. It would be better if can they offer these themselves, but make sure any agencies involved are properly aware of your technical, budgetary, legal and branding restraints.
Another hot topic is that of online trademark protection. Make sure your agency understands the scope of your trademark and can advise you on best approach for maximum protection. Ideally, they need to be extremely brand focused, with plenty of experience working with valued big brands.
Just make sure that your choice of partner is sensitive to your business needs, can be flexible if they change and, most importantly, has a personality that fits.
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CHECK THEY CAN DELIVER GLOBALLY
Digital marketing is an international business, so ask your prospective agent if they can handle your SEO campaign in multiple languages and territories. Never underestimate local and linguistic nuances. Quiz them on how scalable and profitable their proposed campaign structure will actually be, and enquire whether they're capable of implementing a campaign able to cope with an ever-changing product-driven shop floor.
Do they have local knowledge in multiple territories? Are they aware of the differences between the various global markets? If your campaign is going to work for you, it must be effectively applied.
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MAKE SURE THEY OFFER TRAINING
Sometimes, there are things you’d rather do yourself. Ask any prospective agency what they can do if you decide to take your SEO campaign in house in the future.
Will they help you rather than stand in your way? Will they assist you in identifying the right people to employ, or offer to train your employees in the latest industry-leading techniques? Remember that at the end of the day you’re looking to walk into a partnership, not a hostage situation.
Want to find out more?
Find out what makes bigmouthmedia stand out from the rest of the digital crowd by visiting our Why bigmouthmedia?page.
Plus, get more in depth buyers' information on by checking out our Top Secret Guides, four digital marketing dossiers exposing industry myths and misconceptions in the key PPC, SEO, Display Advertising and Affiliate Marketing sectors.
