Ten years ago, not many people would have recognized the term SEO. Since then, the web has become a leading medium for commerce, promotion and interaction between businesses and their clients, while search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo have become a primary way for people to find products, services and information. As a result, SEO (search engine optimization) is now widely known in Internet vocabulary. However, with popularity come claims. Knowing that SEO is increasingly important to websites, the number of companies offering SEO services has multiplied, often making it difficult for potential clients to tell if they’re partnering with an experienced digital marketing company or someone who may be underqualified and simply spouting a lot of acronyms. Given the competition and potential for confusion in the industry, how can a business ensure it gets the highest possible return on an investment in search marketing? The following five tips will provide some guidance in choosing an effective search marketing agency.
- Ask about the industry experience the SEO agency offers. Search engines are highly complicated, and Google and other operators are constantly tweaking their algorithms. It takes extensive experience to learn how search engines work and to anticipate the likely effects of changes. Someone with a decade of experience in SEO is a good bet for being an expert who will greatly benefit your campaign.
- Full service SEO is more important than ever. This is a good way to separate the amateurs from the professionals. While keywords are an important part of SEO, professional digital marketing agencies go far beyond just keywords, offering full service SEO that will also include social media, local marketing, off page SEO and PPC management.
- Look for industry partnerships. If the agency being considering has industry affiliations (such as being a Google Adwords Certified Partner, Yahoo Search Marketing Ambassador or Microsoft adExcellence Company), these are good indicator of being “plugged in” and in good standing with the industry.
- An effective search marketing campaign doesn’t take place in a vacuum. Beware of companies that do a quick scan of a website and come up with a plan a few hours later. The best SEO agencies will certainly provide a quick analysis of a website, but they follow that up with detailed research of the client, the customers and the competition, along with a comprehensive strategy containing milestones or checkpoints and the ability to provide updates via analytics.
- It may be old school, but the Better Business Bureau is still a great way to size up a company. People are quick to complain about poor SEO company experiences, so finding one with an A+ BBB rating is a good indication that a digital marketing agency not only takes good care of its clients, but also provides them with a high return on their search marketing investments.
About the Author
SEO analyst, writer and blogger Tony Berastegui has been active in the industry for years, including working for a leading search marketing agency. In his most recent series of articles, Tony outlines tips for running an effective Internet marketing campaign.
Tags: Search Marketing Agency
