So what to look for when choosing an SEO agency? There can be a lot of selection and assessment criteria, so we advise you to assess the situation comprehensively, and then draw conclusions.
Important Criteria for Choosing an SEO Agency
Let’s find out what is important when choosing SEO services.
Communication Speed
The manager disappears at the negotiation stage for 2 days or more, communication is interrupted, you cannot get through to someone during working hours? The company probably does not have well-defined processes for handling leads.
Leave a request on the site – if the company promises to answer everyone within 24 hours but does not answer you, be careful. Breaking promises before the first conversation is not the most successful trick on the part of a good contractor.
You can make it easier for your potential customers to find you – and reduce the risk of losing leads to your competitors – with tailored support from SEO service UK – Focus on Digital.
Experience in Your Niche
An SEO company can successfully promote dozens of projects from different market segments, but this does not mean that it can handle yours just as easily.
Look at the list of clients (usually on the main page or in a separate section of the site), cases (can be in a separate section or in a blog).
If you find colleagues there – it is the first plus. Ask directly about the experience of working with your niche from those specialists who will lead your project.
If the company refers to the NDA, ask for screenshots from Analytics / Metrics with reports on search queries and traffic.
Individual Strategy
The contractor should create and deliver a business proposal during the negotiating stage. Evaluate how it is really done for you. If the KP takes into account the specifics of the business and niche and relies on the actual state of your site, this is a plus.
Team and Office
This is a conditional indicator that sometimes saves you from risks, but sometimes it may not justify itself: often excellent specialists work without an office. After all, you probably want your project to be led by a real team, and not by novice SEO specialists.
Look for photos of the office and team on the website. The blog contains stories about employees or photos from events. In the “About Us” section, photos of specialists with links to social networks are sometimes posted – this is also a plus.
Expertise, Professional Recognition, and Regalia
Not all companies want to “share experiences” and “help colleagues in the field,” but many use this to advertise and prove their expertise. Search the website or ask the manager for certificates/badges Google Partner or Premier Partner.
You can also pay attention to the Google Analytics certificates, but this is more like a bonus, not a requirement. By the way, if you are looking for a PPC contractor, ask for Google AdWords certificates – they look the same – and this is an official Google certification.
In terms of public recognition, this is a good indicator of expertise if employees are invited to speak at conferences. Look for mentions and reports from profile conferences. For example, if you are developing software, it would be a plus if your contractor was a presenter for Outsource People.
Reviews
Testimonials should not be overly trusted, but in general, it is a great way to learn about the work of the company and adjust expectations. Pay attention to the reviews on Facebook – select several authors and contact them personally to find out how they liked the company, whether they can recommend it, whether the work was going well.
Progressive companies ask customers to leave reviews on Google Reviews. However, it is also worth checking.
You can almost certainly trust the reviews that are signed by well-known profile specialists and companies.
Price
Each area has average prices for typical services. First, there is no “express SEO” that can be done 5 times faster than competitors and take 5 times less money. Therefore, the cheaper the service, the less the specialist gets. This means that a specialist can be a beginner with little experience. Or one specialist can lead several projects at once. Usually in such situations, there is not enough time for full-fledged work, a deep understanding of the business, and a serious approach.
Secondly, the price includes the work of the entire team and administrative staff: account manager, training specialist, etc. If the price is low, it is possible that the company simply does not have these employees, and your project will be managed by one “jack of all trades”. This is usually not conducive to good results.
SEO services are expensive, take a long time and give the first results in a few months. And therefore, the choice of a contractor is the riskiest moment: an unsuccessful decision is not immediately noticeable, but the budget is depleted and time is running out. Thus, you’d choose an SEO company that is reliable and suits your niche.
