What to Consider Before Hiring a SEO Agency in 2024

One important factor is the agency’s track record and experience. Reputation among previous clients and ability to deliver measurable results is also crucial. Consider the agency’s expertise in your industry and target market. Evaluate their strategies and techniques to align with your goals. Inquire about communication and pricing, ensuring it fits your budget. Ask about their timeline and approach to tracking data. Consider their level of customer service and responsiveness. These are crucial factors to consider before hiring a SEO agency in 2024.

1. Understanding Your SEO Needs

The high-end service is to employ a full-service company to carry out various marketing tasks which will relieve you from doing them. This service is most suitable for business owners who have the determination to complete the marketing campaign but lack the knowledge or the time to carry it out.

When it comes down to the types of services an SEO company provides, they fall into various categories. Some companies are more suited to consultative services, i.e. they’ll advise you with the methods of carrying out your marketing campaign, and they’ll leave you to carry it out yourself.

First things first, you need to consider what your target result from employing an SEO company. Are you looking to increase the number of visitors to your site? What about the demographics of people who would be interested in your website? Probably you’re looking to get more sales through your website? What would be your ideal time frame for setting up this kind of marketing campaign?

When it comes to making a decision in choosing the right SEO company to help you market your website on the internet, you would need to consider a number of things to make your selection worthwhile. Let’s face it, if you don’t get the kind of service that you’re looking for, you’re left with a very expensive bill with very little to show for it.

1.1. Identifying Your Goals

II. “We’re attempting to create revenue off of ad clicks” This goal isn’t much unique of the first one. It’s over the budget ad revenue rather than actual products/services, and the best way to measure SEO effectiveness for this is quite much the same. Keep in mind that you would possibly desire to contact an AdSense optimization consultant sooner or later to ensure you’re getting the most money possible from ad clicks, as earning revenue off ads is a science in itself.

I. “We’re trying to get more people to purchase our product” This is a noble objective for any company selling products and services. Keep in mind that this objective always requires improving a website’s conversion rate, as it’s the rate at which people arriving at your site take a desired action. Whether buying a product, signing up for an account, or browsing an article. A simple way to measure SEO effectiveness for this objective is to track change in traffic arriving at conversion pages from organic search, and actually take before and after screenshots to show your boss what an awesome job you’ve done.

When it comes to SEO, it’s hard to get anywhere if you don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish. Each company is going to have different objectives in mind when beginning a campaign. Take the time to sit down and write out what it is you’re trying to achieve. Below are five general classifications to get your thought process moving. They are, in order of complexity and ‘advanced-ness’:

1.2. Assessing Your Current SEO Performance

Assessing your current SEO performance. This area is important, a critical area for company owners and is often skipped too quickly. Current SEO performance and your SEO goals often may not align with one another. If the company has had previous SEO work implemented, you need to know the reasons behind the activity and the results. How did it benefit the business and what areas of activity have been a negative result? Are you considering that the time, money, and effort put into SEO is worthwhile and what would you need to achieve by outsourcing it? Perhaps for a company that has never had any SEO activity before, this stage can be dismissed, but it is still important to consider any previous work undertaken and results it has achieved. Other than that, act as the evaluation for company position right now, find out standing against the competition. What have they done that you have or have not done? What is your current search engine rank for your targeted keywords? And finally, a determination for business growth and sales from organic traffic as to set realistic SEO goals.

1.3. Determining Your Budget

In order to understand what a fair price may be, you will first need to assess your current SEO standings. If you have never conducted SEO for your website, it will almost definitely require an intense initial investment which should subsequently decrease into a regular maintenance fee. At this point, it is important to decide whether you would prefer to outsource the work or hire an in-house employee to conduct the SEO. Keep in mind that if it is an area you are unfamiliar with or there is not much competition in your market, it may be beneficial to hire an outside company due to the reduction in training costs. If you do already have a certain level of SEO, it will serve you to allocate a portion of increased revenue to further increase your current rankings. An effective SEO can push your business from the lower pages of a search engine to the first page, significantly increasing traffic. So long as you save receipts, these costs are often tax deductible, an added bonus for companies.

This is a crucial practice for determining which company you will choose to conduct your SEO. By deciding how much you want to spend and for what specific purposes, you can sift the companies that do not meet your requirements. Chances are a company that charges a price far beyond your budget will not be suitable considering they will eat into your resources for other activities. However, a company that charges too little may not have the skills to effectively increase your SEO at a rate which could, in the long run, save you money.

2. Researching and Evaluating SEO Agencies

2.1. Checking the agency’s reputation and experience Finding a reputable SEO agency can be a daunting task. You’re often vetting businesses against one another, unsure which is the best choice. One surefire way to identify whether or not an agency is up to par is through their reputation. In the SEO industry, there are a few companies that offer excellent service, documented results, and superb customer service. There are also a slew of companies who offer poor service and constantly attempt to fix a bad reputation. A good SEO firm is hard to find, but the rewards of hiring an agency that offers high-quality SEO greatly outweigh the low-quality alternative. When looking for a reputable SEO agency, you should always ask for a case study or two. A case study is a document that shows exactly what the company plans to do with your site. It is similar to a proposal, but what makes it different is the fact that a good case study clearly demonstrates what the company will do to benefit your website. Case studies of currently successful clients are great, as they are the most persuasive. A case study with no results is not a case study; it’s a gamble. If they mention the old days, run for the hills, as this means that they used to benefit from a search algorithm that no longer exists. A good SEO firm will have case studies that prove the effectiveness of their strategies.

2.1. Checking the Agency’s Reputation and Experience

Start by making a visit to their corporate website. Almost all will have an “about us” section including testimonials and case studies. Here you will be able to assess the company’s strength and goals. If it is a new company with little to no data on their site, it might not be the right agency for you. If the company clearly outlines its objectives and strengths, this is a good step. Case studies are a written synopsis of successful campaigns they have implemented, detailing the problem and solution, and SEO results. This is the best way to assess what to expect from the company. If it has a similar case to yours with positive results, likely you are in good hands. A testimonial is much like a case study, however, it is a short quote simply stating something like “___ company rendered a great service, an increase in __ traffic to our site, and higher search engine rankings. We are happy with the results.” Again, this is an encouraging sign, however, it might not always be credible.

Upon considering working with an SEO company or consultant, it is imperative to understand and learn about their reputation and experience. This can be done through a number of approaches. Unlike hiring employees, your objective in hiring an SEO firm is to establish a partnership for the long-term building of your website. It is indeed important to have a clear and concise vision of your website being built organically or as an internet marketing channel. This can only be done if you are confident in the company, know their capabilities, strengths, and past experience, and take the time to assess the situation.

2.2. Reviewing Case Studies and Client Testimonials

When considering an SEO agency, it is a good idea to check and review their case studies and client testimonials before you decide to spend any money on the services they might offer you. If an SEO agency has a proven track record, it will be more willing to reveal what they have done in the past with other companies. To check case studies, it might be a little bit harder to obtain information and sometimes it may require a phone call to the company. If this is the case, the agency may be willing to disclose information on the phone if they feel confident about their abilities. This is also a great opportunity to find out if the consultant is trying to “hard sell” you. If they are really pressuring you to sign on the dotted line and won’t even give you an inch of information without a commitment, this may not be the proper company for you. After getting off the phone with a consultant, use your judgment on how they made you feel about the information they disclosed to you. Did he sound confident, was he friendly, did he make sense, were you convinced from what you heard? All these are questions you can ask yourself and it will help out in making your final decision.

2.3. Assessing the Agency’s SEO Techniques and Strategies

The next step would be to request an analysis of the strategy proposed. There are many companies that provide SEO services, but you have to make sure that the provider you are dealing with is providing a service. This could be done through learning and understanding what the technique will do to your website and what changes it will bring about on your website. Then, ask the provider to provide analysis and a comparison of your website’s current standing prior to the strategy being implemented. This analysis is essential as it will give information on the strategy being implemented, as well as proof that it has actually brought about a change.

SEO encompasses a wide variety of strategies and techniques which, when implemented properly, will assist search engines to locate, index, and rank your site better. These techniques are vast and varied, and thus an SEO technique can, in one way or another, affect your website ranking. So, in assessing an SEO strategy from a provider, it is important to understand how it directly affects your website. Asking for a detailed explanation of the technique being proposed is a good start in better understanding what it does and how it will affect your website.

Search engines have seen growth in both user base and technologies in the past years. This, however, has also resulted in a vast increase in competition as companies are clamoring to get themselves noticed on popular search engines so that potential clients can notice them. This has seen an increase in search engine optimization (SEO) service providers.

2.4. Inquiring about Reporting and Communication

On a lighter note, implementing a successful SEO campaign can take time, not to mention money. Do this right and it’s money well spent. Considering the readability and viability of your results and goals with any given company is noteworthy. The last thing you want to do is shell out money trying to figure out how an article you bought was useful for your site. You may have to try different tactics and monitor the results to find the most effective strategy. Or, you might find it more worthwhile to hire somebody else to take care of the grunt work. Depending on what you find, your needs and result viability can vary. Always make sure the company understands your decisions and goals, keeping in mind a feasible timeframe and a constructive campaign, so there are no misguided efforts on their part.

It is crucial to track progress and changes to your campaign. Often times, companies will use outsources for link building, or a newly appointed SEO company will make big changes to your website; however, failing to inform your SEO agency change strategy can get you in trouble. It can be as simple as letting them know and only your fears or checking in on a regular basis on the progress being made. By staying in the loop, you can help mitigate poor results and redirect any efforts into a more effective and strategic campaign.

Another aspect for selecting a professional SEO agency is examining the communication and reporting efforts of the agency. You will want to know exactly what you are getting in return for your investment. Make sure the company sets clear expectations of your deliverables, and do not settle for generalities. In addition, you will want to specify the frequency of the reports you will be receiving. Whether it is a scheduled update or a detailed analysis at the end of each month, it is important that the agency meets your reporting needs.

3. Considering the Agency’s Expertise and Specialization

A common mistake is to assume that all SEO is the same. In reality there are various different types of SEO, it would be unproductive to go into too much detail, but one of the key differences is between ‘Global’ and ‘Local’ SEO. A clear distinction would be a company that sells products, and one that provides a service. The company selling products will want to target a national market to sell its items, in this case it will want to do global SEO. On the other hand, a service providing company will have less desire to target a wider audience, and may prefer to do so on a regional basis. This is where local SEO is of benefit, and it will be important for these service providers to find an SEO agency that can offer these services, be it specific or general to the area. This is essential to avoid wasting time and money on SEO that is not effective and not the right kind for the business. A way of identifying the level of this is to see if the agency offers local SEO packages, and of course to inquire as to what they specifically class as local SEO in comparison to global.

No matter the service, specialization is a matter of utmost importance. This is the knowledge of the industry the business seeking services is a part of, the more specific the better. An SEO agency may be highly skilled at what they do, but the main goal here is to find one focusing on a certain industry. This will be an added benefit to companies as the agency can use its specific knowledge working within the industry to the benefit the SEO process. The benefits of this expertise will be in the knowledge they have of the industry, and in some cases this can mean they have pre-established connections with other businesses. Subject to the typical “it’s not what you know, it’s who” saying, they can provide link building opportunities with other businesses within the same industry, the value of this is immeasurable as it provide the stepping stone for high quality link building. To evaluate this know how the agency should be asked if they have worked with a similar sort of site to yours and what knowledge they have of the industry. This would also be the time to request case studies of similar work they have undertaken with their results.

3.1. Evaluating the Agency’s Knowledge of Your Industry

When evaluating the right SEO agency for your company, you have to take a few things into consideration. One such consideration is making sure that the agency has expertise in your industry. If the agency has worked with companies similar to yours, they should have a better idea of what your company needs in terms of SEO. Because SEO is a long-term investment, this knowledge can save you time and money down the road. An agency familiar with your type of business is more likely to hit the ground running and get results faster. Conversely, an agency unfamiliar with your industry might go through a trial-and-error period while they try to learn what works for your company, and this could take longer and cost more. If you’re dealing with a local business, you might want to prioritize location. In this case, it might be beneficial to find an SEO agency that is familiar with the local competition and other businesses in the area. Knowledge of the local business environment can translate to an effective SEO campaign geared specifically to your local area. This relates to another consideration which is coming up later (3.3), but it is still good to keep in mind as an aspect of industry knowledge. All of this is information that you want to discuss specifically with potential agencies. Ask about their experience working in your industry and/or local area, and ask for examples of their success. This will give you a good idea of whether the agency has ever worked with businesses similar to yours, and how they have been able to help them.

3.2. Assessing the Agency’s Technical SEO Skills

The first step in evaluating a potential SEO agency is to ask them to assess your current search engine positioning. If they are unwilling to talk about your current keywords, then you should be wary, as they may use this as an excuse to enroll you in a long-term plan with a new set of keywords, therefore securing extra revenue and making results harder to come by. When an agency has fully assessed your website in terms of current positioning, they can begin to work on understanding what your website is about and whether the internet “understands” what your website is about as well. Look at their meta data (information about your website) as this should identify a good understanding of your website. The key to understanding if an agency has a strong understanding of technical SEO is to establish an understanding of what they mean by the term “technical SEO”. You should then look to list the things on your website that you think fit into the technical category and see if they mention the same things. These things include (but are not limited to): site maps, broken links, redirects, load time, 404 error pages, JavaScript and flash usage, and canonical errors. Once you are satisfied that your potential agency has a good understanding, you should move on to discussing how any problems will be fixed and asking for examples of similar problems they have solved in the past.

3.3. Determining if the Agency Offers Local SEO Services

Always make sure that the agency you are considering has had past experience successfully attaining high organic search rankings for companies in a similar situation to your own.

Consider using a hypothetical situation focusing around a random page and random keyword on the hypothetical business of “Chicago” style dog trainer. Searching for “dog training” will return an almost infinite number of results with very broad competition. But changing the search to “dog training Chicago” will return a very specific results page with the competition being local businesses also targeting people specifically in Chicago. This example shows that the change in competition and keyword specificity in a local market can be much higher than in the global market for the same industry, and a different approach is necessary.

While not all sites need local SEO, it’s important to know that the agency you’re considering has had success in the local SEO field. Local SEO requires a different skill set than global SEO because it is targeted to a specific geographic area. Often times small businesses, regional specific companies, or professionals such as lawyers or doctors will need to promote their services in a single market and thus require a more refined approach. This can include the use of press releases, article marketing, and event sponsorships, and knowing that your agency is capable of these activities can be crucial.

4. Examining the Agency’s Approach to Keyword Research and Optimization

Therefore, the number one thing to seem for in keyword optimization is how relevant the keyword is to your site. If you’re not getting to understand which keyword is relevant to your customer base, then search Google. Inputting keywords in quotes will bring results on what proportion competition that keyword has. As an example, “food” returns about 4 billion results, whereas “organic food” returns 815 million and “organic candy” returns 87 million. As a result of the lower results have less competition, they’re getting to be the upper choice for your site.

Keyword optimization is probably the most basic issue that an individual might desire to do to make sure that their website has success. It’s in a literal sense the beginning, because if you’d wish to lookout for and determine relevant keywords to your business, within your SEO campaign, you’ll got to have a robust understanding of what terms your customers use when they’re checking out your product. Choosing the right keywords will make or break your SEO efforts. If you were selling candy as an example, and you were to optimize your website to hunt out the keyword “food”, it might be doomsday for your SEO campaign. The keyword is simply too broad. Instead, if you sold organic candy, it might be far better to undertake to hunt out something like “organic food” or “organic candy”. These keywords are getting to be too narrow for your business, but they’re going to not have the utmost amount competition as the generic term “food” and results could also be more replicable in an inexpensive amount of time.

4.1. Understanding the Agency’s Keyword Research Process

A reputable firm should have no qualms at all with providing you past examples of work they have done by using details of their customers’ success. Be wary of companies who try to avoid your inquiries for this. If you are paying for it, the firm should be readily willing to snap open their briefcase and strut their stuff.

“Stealing isn’t wise and neither is it alright”, don’t you hate it when someone takes your ideas and it was never theirs to take? Many SEO firms utilize methods such as hidden text, link farms and doorway pages to build relevance. But many times these methods can cross the boundaries of ethical SEO and venture into the realms of spam. This could be catastrophic for your site and its reputation. Ask the firm if they will employ any methods dubbed as “unethical” by search engines. If this is the case, your site could be shadowbanned, a term used for invisible banning from the search results. Often, a site owner may not notice this until some time has passed. In effect, this is money down the drain and added grief in having to begin your SEO efforts from the ground up.

It is traditional for a SEO firm to select keywords and phrases used for your site’s search engine optimization process. It could be a waste of money and time to optimize a site for keywords that are not being used by surfers when searching on the internet. Next, the company should question your privacy. When bringing in a firm to perform SEO, you are giving an outsider access to your site. Personal and private information of your company, as well as general access to your site is something a lot of people take for granted. Before you have signed on with a firm, make sure they will not retain any of your data after the job is complete.

4.2. Evaluating the Agency’s Strategy for On-Page Optimization

On-page optimization is also vital to resist the urge of the many spam and black hat SEO methods. This is manipulating search engine results in an unethical manner. These methods will get your site penalized or banned from search engines. Even if these methods provide a quick boost in rankings due to the instability of results, you have no guarantee that your site will not be penalized in the future. So it is not worth the risk. A solid on-page and off-page optimization will provide a strong sustainable search engine rankings with a healthier flow of targeted traffic.

Quality keyword research is the cornerstone to every SEO campaign. As mentioned before in on-page optimization, certain keywords must be optimized in order to rank the site well. Keyword research needs a lot of commitment and deep thought. It is very difficult to identify the right keywords. Good keyword research will have you looking at certain elements on a specific basis. Your industry, your target market, the competitiveness within your website itself, and the price and demand of certain keywords.

On-page optimization is extremely important in the SEO process. This happens when your code is optimized using certain keywords so that it ranks higher in the search results. It also involves having optimized content that the search engines can read and use to determine what your site is about. While off-page optimization is a very important step in the SEO process, it is usually best after a solid on-page optimization is established. The better your on-page optimization, the less off-page optimization you will need to do.

4.3. Considering the Agency’s Approach to Off-Page Optimization

Your interest is to have the SEO firm take care of your off-page optimization in detail. This is an aspect often overlooked by many people. It mostly involves work off your site and takes much longer to achieve results. It will help to understand if your selected firm is planning to do this service. Always, it’s a great concept to inquire your SEO firm what will be involved in the link building procedure. If they are not clear with the strategy, then you could be uncomfortable with the firm. I highly recommend that you do not take this endeavor as an easy link building campaign. Link building is done in a number of different ways nowadays. Make sure and understand what type of link building your SEO firm is going to be doing. Step away from firms who are link building the only way of link directories. Although this can be a great tool in link building, it is not always the method to taking things to an end. Link directories will often times be a means of creating links which are not damaging. Another popular method of link building event is through the use of blogs and article writing. People frequently use blogs and articles to get the one-way links to their site because comments and placing links in blog text always seem less forced. Blog link building is often times very similar to link directory methods. It will mostly involve you with business people who are trying to show a quick way to get links without putting in much effort. Step away from this job and make sure the firm is doing link building with intuitive methods. The controversial paid link building often boils down to a grey hat method of SEO. This can be a quick method to obtain links to the site but usually with irrelevant content. Some links are placed on web pages purely because of the money exchange. It is a wise move to never exchange money for links on your own site. This is spoken from an off-page optimization standpoint. A website link is a URL address. You want the URL address to your website to contain links which can be counted towards your effective link building activity. When link building, it is a great idea to provide someone with the URL and anchor text for your link. Anchor text is your URL “title”. This would involve a URL exchange with the other party consuming HTML format. Always confirm and check if you are unsure. This is an easy way to see if your links are being placed with an effective method. Your job is to be involved with the off-page optimization as much as possible, deciding which links are best to be set for immediate results and deciding which links are best to build their link reputation on for long-term results. Always keep contact with your SEO firm to ensure you have a full understanding of the ideal they are creating for your link building campaign. This will be a sure way to clarity.

5. Reviewing the Agency’s Content Creation and Marketing Strategies

It is important to ask the agency who the content will be written by. Many agencies outsource cheap labor overseas to write the content, however, often the standard of English is poor and the content is full of spelling mistakes. Good quality writers can often be found in the UK and US, but be aware that the cost of the content will be higher. A great way to justify the spend on content is to create a company blog and write frequent posts about industry news. This will also serve as a great way to keep adding fresh content to the site and provide more internal linking opportunities.

The first area to evaluate is content quality and relevance. The most effective way to create content that is rich in targeted keywords is to create genuine quality writing. With the recent Farmer update in the Google Algorithm, keyword-based content has been penalized. A good way to explore the standard of content that the agency will be offering is to request some samples of work in the form of articles that are based around a specific topic or industry.

When it comes to SEO, content really is king. An agency can claim to be focusing purely on back-end links and metadata, but without quality content creation and marketing, the chances of ranking for competitive search terms are minimal. Before hiring an SEO agency, it is essential to learn about and understand the agency’s content marketing strategy. Exploring the three areas of content quality, content promotion, and social media will give an excellent insight into the professionalism of the agency and the level of dedication to providing great service to their clients.

5.1. Assessing the Agency’s Content Quality and Relevance

A clear sign of an SEO content writer is the structure and optimization of the written content. This will be evident in the use of header tags and keyword focused content. Finally, it is important to note the date at which the content was last updated. This ensures whether or not the agency is maintaining their site, as a regularly updated site is mainly reflected in the date of written content.

Well written content is both site relevant and industry relevant. Site relevant content is information that relates to the product and service offered on that specific site. Generic information cannot effectively sell a product. Industry relevant content is information written about the industry that shows the customer the agency has a sound understanding of their field of work, and can therefore be trusted to conduct their service.

The primary step to determining an agency’s content quality is to evaluate their own website. The agency should be able to effectively market their own product. Start by analyzing the site’s visual and written content. Visual content is a clear sign of dedication the agency has to marketing. Visual content should be at a professional standard. It is important to ensure that visual content is not being presented as an alternative to good written content.

Content quality and relevance heavily influences a webpage’s ranking potential. Before hiring an agency, it is essential to analyze the quality of their content and ensure that it is of a standard that will enhance your ranking.

5.2. Evaluating the Agency’s Content Promotion Tactics

To gauge the effectiveness of the agency’s content promotion tactics, you need to know how and where they are promoting their own content. Seek out the content they have produced and determine whether the agency is practicing what they preach. A strong indicator of the agency’s content promotion tactics is how well their content ranks in search engine results. Look for the agency’s articles by using varying search terms. If an agency claims that they can improve your search engine rankings, but their own content is difficult to find, it’s likely that they won’t be able to deliver the results you are looking for. Another element to consider is the agency’s activity on social bookmarking and content aggregation sites. Content from these sites can gain wide exposure if promoted effectively. An agency that understands how to create and promote interesting content will likely have an active profile on these types of sites. A strong indicator of content promotion via social media can also be found by cross-referencing the agency’s content on Twitter. Take an excerpt from an article and search for it on Twitter. If the agency has a strong Twitter promotion strategy, you should see the article title or link among the search results.

5.3. Determining the Agency’s Social Media Marketing Approach

Taking into consideration the importance of an effective social media marketing in enhancing SEO, it is essential to evaluate the social media marketing strategies employed by the SEO service provider. Do they employ their social media accounts to promote their own content, or to offer their services as an alternative to SEO? Do they simply automate their content sharing via a service like TwitterFeed, or do they actively participate in social communities and initiate sharing from others? Answers to these questions will disclose whether they truly understand social media marketing, and whether it’s just an add-on to make their service look better. Look into the quality of their social messaging. Visit their social accounts and ask yourself: is it messaging the same way they inform about the SEO service it offers? If so, they do not understand using social media as a marketing tool. If they’re targeting to promote content, they should be using compelling messaging with a focus on benefits and calls to action. Always keep in mind that it’s possible they do not have an effective social media strategy, but client companies should ideally look to complement SEO with their own social media marketing in this case. So long as the SEO service provider is proficient in SEO, and it’s cost-effective to do so, replicating their service can attain similar results to SEO for a double benefit in online marketing. The official SEL blog often publishes information and tips on using search and social together for dual benefit, and “social media marketing” is a frequent topic on the main site and in posts on Sphinn. These can be resources to learn about effective social media marketing, so consider whether to suggest the SEO service provider to become more proficient in search and social to attain such results. Remember that social media marketing is an ever-evolving practice. If the SEO service provider’s social media strategy is not up to par, it may be something to suggest they work on as part of a second phase of SEO upon increased site and search engine visibility.

6. Considering the Agency’s Reporting and Analytics Capabilities

If the agency has the ability to track SEO efforts, it is likely that they will have a system in place for data interpretation. It is common for SEO agencies to make the mistake of basing their strategy on assumptions generated by website and competitor analysis, rather than on hard evidence and data. A successful SEO campaign is an iterative process, and an effective cycle can only be created through the analysis of data and the means to determine and act upon its implications. It is important to determine whether the agency has the ability to uncover useful information from large amounts of data, then to use it in a constructive manner. This can be an issue for smaller agencies who may lack the resources for developing a custom analytics program or investing in a proven third-party software package.

Consider whether the agency has the ability to track the progress of your SEO campaign. An important aspect of tracking efforts is identifying what is working and what is not. If an agency is unable to identify the increase in certain rankings generated by the SEO campaign or determine patterns in site visitor behavior, it will be difficult to alter and improve the campaign at strategic points. Tracking efforts are best measured using a combination of both quantitative and qualitative data – it is important to ensure that the data collection method can measure the improvement of specific keywords as well as overall site traffic from organic search results.

The success of any SEO campaign is typically judged by the results achieved by the site owner. It is highly advantageous if the SEO agency has the ability to track and measure their efforts so that they will have a clear understanding of how the SEO campaign has impacted the site owner. Using data to make informed decisions is part of a successful SEO campaign, and it is also the best way to determine the value provided by the agency.

6.1. Assessing the Agency’s Ability to Track and Measure SEO Performance

A professional SEO agency will implement necessary tools to track and measure the SEO performance. For organic search traffic, the most popular tool is Google Analytics. Using this tool, SEO agencies can track how the website is performing for targeted keywords from the traffic, user behaviors, and the content effectiveness. Other than that, Advanced Web Ranking is a tool used to track keywords’ daily rankings for the site from different data centers as search engine results often differ from one location to another. Data obtained from here can be visualized in nice graphs for better understanding. SEO agencies can also use Google AdWords Tool to track traffic volume and local/global search for targeted keywords. For social media traffic, Google Analytics URL Builder is recommended to create individual tracking URLs as you promote content on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and etc. This can help to track which content and which social network brings the most clicks/conversion.

Tracking and measuring SEO performance seems to be the basic criteria for both SEO agencies and clients to have a successful campaign. 80% of SEO agencies might say, “We rely on the traffic and SERP movement in determining the success of our SEO campaign.” Well, traffic is of course important, but it wouldn’t make any sense if the traffic doesn’t convert. Conversion of traffic can be visitors filling up the inquiry form, making a phone call, or purchasing a product online. So, how can SEO agencies measure the success of traffic?

6.2. Reviewing the Agency’s Reporting Frequency and Format

A proactive SEO firm should provide their clients with tangible results regarding their search engine marketing efforts. Most often, this takes the form of a detailed report outlining how the client’s site ranks for its targeted keywords, as well as the amount of work that has been done on behalf of the client. An agency should not only report the amount of work that has been done, but they should also make good on increasing a client’s ROI. The work that has been done should be measured against the fee that has been paid by the client. The client should be informed of any changes in ROI. Not only is this valuable in terms of seeing how a client’s site is taking shape in the search engine landscape, but it will also enable the client to determine the cost effectiveness of the agency. Too often, smaller clients will be hard pressed to determine whether or not they are getting a fair shake from their SEO providers. An investment in a site restructure aimed at SEO, massive link building, or a comprehensive marketing campaign can cost a great deal. If the client is uncertain of the work that has been done or its effect on his/her site, he/she can feel at a loss determining whether or not they got what they paid for. In the case that a client determines that the cost is too high relative to the returns, the client/agency relationship can be soured, and the client may opt to look for a new agency. Providing a detailed account of changes in the client’s site in comparison to the fees paid is beneficial to all parties involved. This leads to more transparency in the work being done and its effects, and it enables clients to gauge the cost effectiveness of the services provided.

6.3. Determining the Agency’s Approach to Analytics and Data Interpretation

First, look for clues within the agency’s promises. “Most agencies will highlight their advantage and the way they do it on their websites,” Sibbald explains. “If their major key phrase is something like ‘improve visibility’ and ‘rank highly,’ then that is more likely to be transferrable type. The thought of an appropriate keyphrase and metadata is extra structural and can require an agency to make extensive changes to the positioning’s navigational structure. If their key phrase is ‘enhance qualified site visitors’ or ‘enhance leads,’ then they will be looking for influential keywords and creating landing page content so that they’re more likely to go for analytical type. Imagine what they will be attempting to achieve and the methods of implementation, and you should get a good idea of their choice of type and method of link. An agency might be using a couple of type of search engine optimization; it is best to ask for a percentage split between the three most important types and provide them with a feel for the percentage split you want to achieve. The simplest manner, however, to determine the type of search engine optimization they will be performing is to ask them directly. A good agency will be able to give a brief explanation of their methods; the more detail they can put into a methodology, the less likely it is to apply to any other different type. If they become vague describing a type of link and say it’s ‘generalized,’ likely this method is part of the interchangeable scalable link building we found above. Remember that you should communicate with an agency what you feel is the best kind of search engine optimization for your project and the idea you’re looking to achieve. This could involve changing their type to one you feel will be more effective or even convincing them to avoid certain methods you feel are inappropriate. It is important to enter into a two-way dialogue with your agency so that you should avoid misunderstandings and misaligned expectations.

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