It’s no secret that establishing a strong online presence for your brand is key to increasing your overall revenue.
One of the best ways to accomplish this is by implementing a proper SEO strategy, which is often accomplished by outsourcing to a professional.
There are some things you’ll need to keep in mind when hiring SEO agencies, though.
Not sure where to start? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
Let’s take a look at everything you need to know.
1. Overall Level of Experience
It’s essential that you hire an agency that has a significant level of experience in the industry.
Although this isn’t to say that newer firms can’t provide great results set an affordable rate, you’ll essentially be rolling the dice if you enlist their help.
There’s no specific number of years that you need to look for when browsing prospective agencies.
In fact, their past work is more important than how long they’ve been around.
For example, it’s not uncommon for some agencies to technically be more experience in the industry after two years and other agencies are after 10 years.
2. Accessibility
Ideally, the professional that you work with will be accessible whenever you have questions or concerns about your SEO campaign.
It can easily become frustrating if you pay a significant amount of money for someone to work on your website’s SEO and then have it be impossible to get in touch with them.
While it isn’t realistic to expect that they are available 24/7, it’s reasonable to ask for weekly updates on your performance.
This will also make it easier for you to monitor whether or not their strategies are effective.
3. Content Strategy
A content strategy to implement is the bread-and-butter of any SEO agency.
For example, there’s a huge difference between an agency that implements high-quality blog posting, thorough keyword research, etc. and one that simply focuses on links.
As you may be able to tell, it’s imperative that you research their content strategy before you and less their help.
Otherwise, you could find yourself wasting a significant amount of money without making any progress.
4. Long-Term Results
Does your potential agency advertise short-term results or long-term results?
You should avoid “SEO professionals” who promise a significant ROI within a short period of time, as these claims are either misleading or achieved through on ethical SEO practices.
There are even shady agencies out there who will run ads to increase your site traffic and then claim that your results came directly from their SEO strategy.
So, search for an SEO agency that focuses on organic, long-term progress, as this will be the most beneficial for your company overall.
5. Past Reviews
One of the best ways to gain insight into the efficiency of an SEO Agency is by looking at their reviews online.
In general, it’s best to use a neutral platform like Yelp or Google reviews as opposed to the review section of the company’s website.
This is due to the fact that the company may alter the content of the reviews or suppress negative reviews.
You should also keep in mind that overly positive and overly negative reviews of the company are likely to not be accurate
It’s not impossible for a long, thorough review with perfect grammar about how amazing the company is to be exaggerated.
Similarly, you should pay attention to reviews that were clearly written during a fit of frustration.
The more you research, the more likely you’ll find an agency that will be able to accommodate your knees without encountering any issues.
6. Price
Price is an important metric to keep in mind when searching for an SEO agency.
How much a company charges for their work you should always be proportional to the results they claim to provide.
For example, you wouldn’t want to work with anyone who charges thousands of dollars for their link building strategy.
Focusing on the price will also help you narrow down your decision among multiple professionals.
It’s not unlikely for you to encounter a handful of agencies that can provide the same level of service, and choosing the cheapest one will allow you to save some extra cash.
7. White Hat vs Black Hat
White hat practices are those that use conventional techniques in order to boost your ranking on Google.
This includes providing high-quality, relevant content, optimizing different areas of your website, etc.
Black hat techniques involve strategies that are against Google’s terms of service, such as keyword stuffing, using software to automatically generate content from a similar article, etc.
While these may work initially, Google is highly efficient at discovering black hat techniques and subsequently punishing them.
So, while your ranking may initially rise, you may find that black hat strategies cause your site to be buried in Google’s search results.
In extreme cases, Google could even the de-index your website, making it impossible for anyone to find it through their search engine.
Hiring SEO Agencies Can Seem Difficult
But it doesn’t have to be.
With the above information about what to look for while hiring SEO agencies in mind, you’ll be well on your way to ensuring that you enlist the best professional for your company and make the decision that’s right for you.
