How to Choose an SEO Company

The process of selecting an SEO agency can be overwhelming, especially if you haven’t outsourced digital marketing services before or are unfamiliar with SEO technicalities and jargon. 

As a marketing manager, there are some key considerations to keep in mind while choosing the best SEO company for your business to ensure that there is a right fit between the agency’s capabilities and your unique SEO challenges.

This question is part of the common inhouse vs agency debate.

If you’re considering whether you should outsource SEO services or continue to operate in your in-house marketing team, then be sure to reflect on the following:

• Does my team have the resources and capacity to deliver an SEO strategy in-house?
• Does my team have the skills to build a strong organic strategy?
• Is my team up-to-date on the latest SEO trends and best practices?
• How much does an SEO audit cost - or am I best to hire an SEO specialist in-house?

Ironically enough, it’s always best to start with a Google search. Consider searching for ‘SEO agencies in Sydney’ or ‘SEO agencies near me’. You might even try ‘Top SEO Service Agency’. Look at the ones at the top of the search results, but also consider ones down the page. You want to keep your options open and don’t rely on the first website you click on.

Also, don’t just stop at Google! There are many business directories, industry-specific websites like B&T, and even customer review platforms that will give you more agencies to consider. 

Additionally, reach out to colleagues or connections in the industry personally or via LinkedIn. They might be able to give you recommendations on an agency they have worked with in the past and loved, or perhaps share insights on an agency they had a poor experience with.

You now have your list of agencies that you can reach out to, but what should you looking for in a good SEO company? While results are important, nearly every agency you search will promise you great metrics. You need to take into consideration the experience and reputation of the company, whether they have worked with companies similar to yours before, pricing plans, and their strategic recommendations.

While this process is long, it’s important. You don’t want to compromise on budget or performance, and end up with extremely poor results in the long-term.

This is one of the most important factors to consider when deciding to outsource SEO services. You should want to work with an SEO company that has the experience to deliver results for your business, and also has a positive reputation within the industry.

• What do current and previous clients have to say about them?
• Do they have case studies that demonstrate their ability to deliver?
• Have they won any SEO awards for their work?
• Do they work with businesses such as yours?
• What does their company culture look like on their social media channels?
• Have they been in the news or industry publications for their work?

Google reviews and websites such as Clutch are excellent at providing you with a snapshot of how they worked with other companies, and whether the feedback is positive or negative.

A good SEO company should be transparent about their strategies and provide regular updates on the progress of your campaign. They should also be available to answer any questions you have and provide clear explanations of their recommendations. 

Consider these questions to ask your SEO agency:

• What is your communication process and frequency for updates and progress reports?
• Can you provide a timeline for expected results and milestones in the SEO campaign?
• Can you provide recommendations for both short-term and long-term SEO activities to ensure consistent growth for our business?
• What SEO metrics would we be working towards?

Every business is unique, and your SEO strategy should reflect that. Look for an SEO company that creates customised strategies tailored to your specific goals and needs, not an agency that is going to give you a cookie-cutter solution. Avoid companies that offer a one-size-fits-all approach or promise guaranteed results because with SEO, nothing is 100% guaranteed. 

Regardless of the type of agency, your SEO agency should have trained digital marketing specialists that understand the idiosyncrasies, trends and industry updates of SEO practices.

A specialist agency is likely to have more knowledge and insight on trends in your specific sector, but also the market for one or more of your competitors. 

Generalist agencies on the other hand work on campaigns for clients across industries. They work on hundreds of campaigns and are in a unique position to offer apply learnings from one industry to the other.

If you are working with an established SEO outsourcing company then your organic performance should improve over time. It’s important to keep in mind that this process will not occur overnight. At large, SEO is a long-term process than can take anywhere between 6-12 months in order to start seeing a real impact on results. However, the long-term pay-off makes it worth it, as steady organic leads helps you be less dependent on paid channels.

When you have a set plan on how to improve SEO, and you have set realistic objectives in your SEO strategy, then you will be able to measure whether your optimisations are having a positive impact on the traffic, website engagement, and conversions on your website and for your business.