Most traditional and local businesses are starting to realize that digitalization is necessary for their survival. And since the key to a successful website is SEO, these businesses opt to hire an SEO agency that will give them “clicks” and “rankings” and “backlinks”. It’s great that people are starting to realize the importance of SEO and SEO agencies, but there is a difference between getting clicks and getting money.
Unfortunately, most businesses nowadays fall into the traps laid by scammy SEO “agencies“. They are promised a 200% success rate and thousands of views in a ridiculously short amount of time. On the other hand, some smart businesspeople find eligible SEO agencies. But they usually pay a large sum of money in a year to achieve irrelevant goals like 100 backlinks or 1000 PPCs or whatnot. Do they generate valuable traffic? Do they earn customers? Do businesses flourish through this invalid approach towards SEO? Probably not, because they haven’t figured out when to hire an SEO agency.
This blog aims to show the reasons and justifications necessary before hiring an SEO agency. Stay tuned.
You should hire an SEO agency if:
Your Goal Is Long Term
Because slow and steady wins the race, right?
As mentioned above, many SEO companies resort to dishonest business practices. Many of them promise short-term achievements by presenting themselves in a pseudo-professional way to confuse and impress the uninitiated (but we are initiated, aren’t we?). This incident is prevalent among scammy tech companies. They come up with a bunch of tech mumbo-jumbo to impress people who are not tech-savvy. Just remember not to trust these “professionals” unless they show compelling reasons that prove their professionality.
Going back to our main topic, you must know that implementing SEO on a newly-found website is a long and perilous journey. One must also realize that as much as the process might seem mind-numbing and time-wasting at times, that doesn’t justify resorting to the easy way out. If your goal is to be the number one business in your local area or the best provider of a specific service on a global scale, you need to play the long game. If you want to have a website with a high domain authority just for the kicks, by all means, go for it. Just don’t expect a miracle from an SEO agency.
You Can Work With an SEO Agency
It’s always a challenge to cooperate with another company on a project, and as for any challenge, you must know for sure that you are ready to deal with it before you go any further with signing a contract. Those who worked with the Team-X SEO agency have seen the benefits of signing a contract with the said agency. Based on what they said, a client must have these three points in mind:
1. Budget:
There is no definitive answer to the question “How much does SEO cost?”. Some companies tend to spend almost $100K on a one-year contract. Some might spend $50K. Some might need only a specific kind of SEO service like on-page optimization and consequently, they pay less for it. The answer depends on your demands. If you are still unsure about all the money you have to spend on something you don’t have enough information about, you could always work with companies that offer free proposals and website audits. That way, you can decide how to spend your money.
2. Terms of The Contract:
There are a few notes on signing a contract with an SEO agency. First off, it’s very probable that you may not be satisfied with the agency, be it for personal or professional reasons. Therefore, you must not sign a contract that you can’t get out of. Secondly, the agency’s promises must be your goals. You are not looking to rank first on five keywords and get a couple of backlinks and be done with it. You want to make money, not have a pretty site for no reason.
3. Communication:
Customer support is one of the most important pillars of business. You, as a customer, expect to see the progress that’s been accomplished on your site through time. That’s why things like monthly reports and constant website support are crucial. The process doesn’t end with signing the contract. You have to be involved, and more importantly, they must provide the opportunity for you to be involved.
You Can Trust Them
It’s reasonable to have specific criteria for hiring a company. Your time is the most precious currency, after all. You don’t want to waste it on those scammy agencies mentioned earlier. Therefore, you must have a few things in mind before hiring an SEO agency. First off, look at their portfolio. What kinds of businesses have they worked with? Are they successful now? Do they operate in the same niche as you? Do you think this SEO company can work in your niche? How much experience do they have? Are they worth your time? Moreover, You can also chat with those clients and ask for their opinions too.
Next up, you need a guarantee that their approach is solely based on white hat SEO (basically, the correct and ethical way to do SEO like healthy backlinking, creating a website with good UX in mind, etc). No business has ever succeeded using black hat SEO (the opposite).
Last but not least, they must be ready to mix and match SEO with other digital marketing methods. It’s not a must, but SEO might not be enough if it is not complemented by SMM (social media marketing), web design and development, content creation, etc. You are paying a lot of money; it’s only reasonable that you get the complete package, right?
Conclusion
Well, that’s it for this blog. I hope you have at least a tiny bit of insight into the matter of hiring an SEO agency. As always, it’s of utmost importance that you do your own research. Don’t get scammed. Always be one step ahead, and never forget to consider all the options. Good luck!
Author bio
My name is Jacob Braun, a writer and a fan of most things online. I write about web design and development, digital and traditional marketing, small businesses, social media-related subjects, and most things revolving around the entertainment industry.