SEO agencies can vary in their quality of service. This means that a large number of brands and organizations have been burned at least once.
Also, many agencies look and sound the same – just change the logo and branding. However, they offer different levels of experience and expertise.
SEO agencies are not one-size-fits-all, and entering into an ill-fitting relationship can be costly in both dollars and wasted time.
I have been involved in this process for a long time as an agency leader. It probably sounds selfish that I am writing this article. But let me be the first to say that I don’t want to work with every brand and my agency isn’t right for everyone.
Drawing on experiences from the agency side of the table, I’ve outlined nine tips to help you work through the process of choosing the right and appropriate agency for your organization.
1. Develop and define objectives
If you haven’t translated your organizational, sales, and marketing goals into SEO specifically, now is the time to start thinking about it.
Good agencies will ask you very early on what your goals are if they are tied to ROI, conversions or whatever your measure of success is. (Be careful if someone wants to do SEO for you without going into the topic.)
It’s fair to not know what to expect from SEO without agency help with research. However, do what you can to at least know what the ROI is for you. This can be in the form of the number of conversions you need or specific actions.
You can also look at any industry benchmarks and your own performance baselines as benchmarks.
Regardless of what you know or don’t know, be clear about what success looks like in making money or achieving your goals. Take as much as you can before starting your search for SEO agencies.
2. Assess internal resources
Chances are you’re looking for an SEO agency because you don’t have the in-house SEO expertise or time resources to be successful. Whatever the case, there will be some level of collaboration or effort from you or your team to have a successful agency partnership.
Even if you get the agency to do everything, you’ll need some time commitment and availability for approvals, oversight, feedback, and performance reviews.
In many cases, brands and organizations hold on to additional aspects or have other partners to cover the entire spectrum of things SEO needs, including content, IT, UX, and any collaborative elements.
Plan what your internal team could or should have. Be available to collaborate or use the agency or external partners. This will help you assess whether the agency is right for all or some of the aspects you will eventually need in your SEO work.
3. Consider your budget
Hopefully, you can find some budget parameters to work from by combining goals and knowing what the ROI looks like, in addition to internal resources or existing partners you can draw on.
Even if you want to hear the agency’s first number, knowing the parameters of your budget will help you qualify faster and filter the ideal agencies in terms of size, scope and fit.
For example, if you can get some quick pricing and know what range you’re in, you can move on if it’s well above (or worryingly below) your estimated budget.
It’s totally okay not to know. It’s even better in many cases to have it tied to an ROI ratio rather than a fixed number: see SEO as an investment rather than an expense item.
Be open with this information and ask how the agency will assist you in any initial strategy or audit steps to understand the pathways to your goals and the risk of different budget levels and investments.
4. Do your research
As you look at websites, talk to your referrals to potential agencies, or engage in any initial outreach, keep in mind that specific dimensions are important.
This includes the size of the agency compared to your organization. Or, more importantly, how they are able to serve your business. The stage of growth and life cycle of your business may be another factor to consider.
Agencies can be pure generalists who take on every client who has a dollar to pay them. Some take into account different factors that help narrow things down a bit, such as minimum prices, focus on specific niches or industries, audiences, conversion types, or even the composition or structure of your team.
Save time and energy by finding the right areas that match who you are and what you want. Resist pitches from agencies that seem out of your league or not aligned with your focus.
The best ways to do this include:
Looking for case studies, credentials, references and thought leadership content pieces. Looking at the mix of clients they currently work with.
Do your homework and be prepared to question or challenge any contradictions or mixed messages you see.
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5. Have an interview plan
I often get a lot of really good questions from the prospects I talk to. Other times, I don’t get asked enough, so I end up answering questions I’d like to be asked or assume my prospects want to know.
The more organized you are in the questions you ask, the more objective your comparison can be at the end of the agencies you are considering.
Plan questions related to anything and everything important to you, whether it’s related to:
Your approach (or aspects of #4 above). His approach. Ways you would work together.
Be prepared, especially if you have some internal resources that will own copy or content, development, or other things that require close partnership and collaboration.
Plus, you know who you’re working with and how the cultures align (or don’t).
Have a solid list of questions, plan who is asking what, and any level of notes or scorecards you can. In the end, you can be objective and also come back to your finalists with deeper levels of detail that you want to solidify.
6. Evaluate the fit
Do your personalities match?
I’m not just talking about you and me, the president leading the conversation at the moment (or the sales or account rep).
I’m talking between those on your team and the agency team that will be working together in the trenches.
Assess fit between teams. Learn about employee retention rates and stability. Understand what level of transparency to expect. How practical will they be?
These aspects, plus agreement on the agency’s approach, are critical. You don’t want to hit a wall or get stuck right after signing the contract or just a few months into an ongoing deal.
7. Do a bowel check
Does anything sound too good to be true? something not? Is there a red or yellow flag somewhere?
Trust your gut and dig deeper. If you have doubts about how you can relate to the agency, please validate them. Ask your tough questions.
Don’t move forward if things are wrong or don’t feel right. This is a warning sign and you should trust your gut to pause and dig deeper.
I’m not saying run away. Maybe you’re the first client they’ve had in your niche or industry. This could be fine with the right level of transparency, research focus and risk tolerance. In some cases, it can be great to go with someone new versus the cookie-cutter strategy that the rest of the industry uses.
8. Understand the process
Beyond resource constraints and a lack of sufficient SEO strategy knowledge, mismanaged communication and expectations are among the biggest obstacles to success.
Each client has a different level of SEO knowledge, knowledge of SEO processes, and an understanding of the agency’s unique characteristics about these things.
We (the people at the agency) can take it for granted that not everyone is nerdy to the level that we are.
Ask and ask again if you are unclear about the process.
What will it look like in terms of steps from contract to discovery, onboarding, research, strategy, optimization, reporting, communication, timing and accountability for results?
Be clear about everything. Keep asking if you don’t know and make your notes to catch up and have the right level of responsibility and expectations for the partnership.
9. Be clear about the terms of the agreement
Don’t sign anything you haven’t read! If you do not understand the content of the agreement, have a lawyer or consultant familiar with SEO review it.
Beware of long-term agreements, rigid cancellation clauses and claims of ownership of the work. None of these things are wrong, but you want to know what you’re getting yourself into.
In the long run, it can save you costs and commitment on both sides of the relationship. SEO takes time. However, you want to avoid the following scenarios:
Holding your work product, content, or property hostage. Working together for a couple of months only to receive change orders. Assuming other areas (such as content, developer updates, CRO, etc.) are covered and part of the agency’s responsibility, only to discover they weren’t. Enter a gray area where they were not written.
The ideal scenario is for the relationship to be built on trust and accountability, where billing and value remain balanced over time. You don’t have to think about the contract again after signing it.
conclusion
Selecting the right SEO agency is difficult. It can be difficult to cut through the clutter of so many that sound the same, find ways to assess experience and expertise, or map out your fit with them.
More than that, it can lead to a waste of time, energy and dollars. I don’t want this for you.
Hopefully, the tips I’ve shared will help you prepare and think through the process in a detailed way to ensure you find the right fit for you and be successful.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.
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About the author
Corey Morris is a qualified marketing professional with over 15 years of experience developing award-winning, ROI-generating digital strategies for local and national brands. He was recently honored as the winner of the 2019 KCDMA Marketing of the Year Award. Corey is the Director of Strategy for voltage – a marketing company based in Kansas City, MO. He previously founded the KC Search Marketing Conference to help build a local community for search marketers for professional growth. He was recognized for his involvement in the conference and invited to join the global board of SEMPO (now part of DAA) as Vice President of Cities.
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