Whether you have been managing your own SEO for your business or just started dipping your toes into the world of SEO, one thing is for certain. Hiring a professional SEO agency can only boost your business online and help improve the credibility of your website and business.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) focuses on improving your website’s ranking on search engines like Google. This may seem like a simple concept but is much more difficult to carry out due to Google’s ever-changing rules and algorithms and the competition for those top spots that your company may face.
Here we’ll look at the benefits of hiring an expert SEO agency, what you should look for in the agency that you choose and all the ducks you need in a row before hiring an agency.
Let’s start off with what you need to know before hiring an SEO specialist!
What you should have organised before looking for an seo agency
Looking for an SEO agency is a top priority to start growing your business, but it will all be for naught if you don’t have these essentials nailed down first:
- Your business offering
- Your vision ie. your desired goals, and outcomes
- Your target audience
- Your competitors
- Your budget
Benefits of hiring a professional seo agency
Now that you know what your business is all about, have a rough budget and have your goals clearly laid out, you can start looking for an SEO expert that can fulfil these. Here are the benefits of hiring one:
- Saves You Time & Money
Your time is one of the most valuable resources you have to give your business. This is time that you probably don’t want to spend figuring out all the nitty-gritty aspects of SEO, optimising your website and creating constant content all while keeping up to date with Google’s changes.
This also includes time spent learning a new SEO software that can cost alot of money and one that isn’t as effective if you’re not using specific tools you don’t know about. While learning about SEO, you will most likely also make mistakes, which can cost you hours of time and money.
- Keep Up With The Latest Algorithm And Industry Changes
Rapid changes often occur in the SEO world. What was deemed essential yesterday is old news and not needed today. An SEO Agency is dedicated to remaining on top of Google’s ever-changing algorithm and rules so that you aren’t left behind your competition!
- Produces Better Results
Hiring an SEO agency means hiring experts who have a solo focus on optimising your website. This focus will always yield better results than if you were going to do it all by yourself. In addition, with their years of experience, they can add even more value to your business through sound advice they’ve learnt from working with other companies like yours over the years.
- Get Additional Website Maintenance
SEO is an ongoing process where rankings are never static. Therefore, your website will have continuous changes, updates and maintenance done to it by your SEO agency. This can include installing software that increases your website speed or minimises the size of your images. It also includes redirecting broken links or recycling old, irrelevant content. All these things and much more are done to maintain your rankings.
- Boosts Website Credibility
A site that is ranked highly is usually there because Google deems it to be relevant and credible. Therefore, enlisting the help of a professional team, your site and overall business can grow in credibility in the eyes of users and Google.
- Reach More People
Optimising your site and targeting specific keywords will help you reach a much larger online audience. Different to paid marketing, which can target specific areas and demographics, SEO targets organic (none paid) searches, which is a much larger slice of the pie and can include users in various stages of the buyer’s journey.
- Improves Engagement
An SEO company isn’t only focused on improving your ranking on Google but also on creating valuable and relevant content for your target audience. Like a never-ending loop, these two goals feed eachother and work together since Google will only start ranking relevant content. With a more valuable website comes more engagement from a loyal, quality audience!
What should i look for in a successful seo agency
Now that you know the benefits of hiring an SEO Agency, here are some of the ‘green flags’ to look out for when scouting an SEO Agency:
- Face To Face Meetings
Face to face meetings are essential to get to know the team you will be working with. Of course, in this time of a pandemic, Zoom meetings have become more of the norm. But when things start getting back to normal, face to face meetings are a must for developing a strong relationship and getting your needs and goals across properly.
- Monthly Check-In’s or Reports
It’s important to get regular updates on the progress of your SEO standing and rankings through monthly check-in’s or easy to read reports to measure the value of your SEO agency. Through these check-ins, you’ll learn about the constant changes in Google’s algorithm, linking opportunities and where improvements can be made.
- Experience
The level of experience a company has is indicative of their years in service and the number of clients they have worked with. Your SEO Agency should always be transparent about how long they have been in business and the amount of clients they have had. It’s important to find out if they have had experience with clients in the same niche as you. This valuable experience will help create an excellent working relationship full of good advice and growth.
- Testimonials Or Case Studies From Previous Clients
It’s always a red flag if there are no testimonials or case studies on a potential SEO Agency’s website. If you can’t find any, it’s always a good idea to ask for case studies of previous clients. These case studies should give great examples of their performance and expertise and help solidify their experience.
- Certifications
Along with years of experience and client testimonials, it’s crucial that your SEO agency has the relevant certifications it needs to boost your SEO. There is no such ‘SEO’ certification, but professional SEO agencies will hold PPC certifications from search engines such as Google, Yahoo or Bing. This shows they have an in-depth knowledge of these search engine’s advertising platforms, which can come in handy in the future if you want them to also manage your paid search marketing.
- Google Compliant Strategies – No Black Hat SEO
The SEO company that you choose should be able to describe their strategies to you with a level of transparency (you may not find complete transparency due to keeping trade secrets in-house). Here it’s important that these strategies comply with Google’s Webmaster Guidelines and that they are not performing ‘black hat SEO’ practices that can harm the credibility of your website and business for years to come.
Ready to take the next step and dive into looking for a professional agency to manage your SEO? With over 10 years of experience in the field, we could be the perfect team of specialists for you. Want to find out more? Schedule a free strategy call today to find out how we can level up your business!
