New year, new me. Many people follow this mantra to make positive changes at the start of a new year. January is also the time of reflection for businesses, with decision makers considering changes to bring positive results in the year ahead. One such area under consideration is the digital marketing strategy a business has and the SEO tactics in place to drive organic traffic and conversions.
With 5.6 billion searches a day on Google, having a visible presence on the world’s largest search engine is important to any business. Not every business has the facilities in-house to build and implement an effective SEO strategy, which is why many companies turn to digital marketing agencies.
Whether you’re looking at working with a digital marketing agency or are considering switching agencies, there are several things you have to consider. Take a look at how to choose the right SEO agency in 2020.
What digital marketing and SEO agencies do
Internet marketing helps you achieve more sales by using various tactics to attract customers and develop your online presence.
The services on offer by marketing agencies will vary, but the majority offer these services:
- SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
- Market and keyword research
- Google Ads (PPC)
- Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Advertising (Paid Social)
- Content Marketing
- CRO (Conversion Rate Optimisation)
With the use of each service above, a digital marketing agency will work with you to create an effective internet marketing strategy, that increases your online visibility and sales.
Why hire a Digital Marketing agency?
We’ve written previously on the reasons why you should hire a digital marketing agency. To summarise, we know the impact an agency such as ours can have on a business with the following advantages:
- You can cut costs by working with a digital marketing agency. By outsourcing your SEO and digital marketing efforts to an agency with access to a host of expensive tools, you can focus your budget on growing your business. A single agency will have people with skills in organic SEO, PPC, CRO, Paid Social, Technical SEO and Content which would be expensive to recruit for.
- Seeking help from industry experts is not a sign of weakness, it’s a step towards growth. Do you know the best SEO tactics to use right now? Are you up to date with the latest algorithm changes? An agency knows these things and will work with you to ensure you’re up to date with the latest best practice.
- While an agency can focus on your digital marketing efforts, you can focus on running your business. Tell the agency your short and long-term goals, and the team will assist you in making it happen.
- You know your business but sometimes you can gain fresh ideas by working with a digital marketing agency. With fresh ideas on your marketing strategy, more can be done to increase impressions of your brand.
- Most importantly, an agency can help grow your business. With an agency supporting to bring in increased impressions and conversions, your business can reach the level it aims to be.
Is it time you switched SEO agency?
January is the month of change, a time to reflect on what you are doing currently and what could be done better in this brand new year.
While various decisions will be made that will have an impact on your business, one such choice shouldn’t be overlooked. If you are already in a partnership with a digital marketing or SEO agency, January is the time when you should consider their effectiveness. While they may have delivered results when they first came on board, there’s a chance they aren’t delivering the results you want any more.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- Is the agency delivering on its promises?
- Is the agency worth the fee you’re paying?
- Are you seeing a return on investment?
If you can’t answer these questions positively, it’s perhaps time you considered switching SEO agencies.
3 signs you need a new SEO agency
If you are considering a change of digital agency, you’ve likely picked up on the following signs.
1. Lack transparency
Transparency is vital to the success of any working relationship. Being open and honest brings trust between two parties. Do you get clear reporting? Can you talk to your account manager over the phone when you need to? Do you know the name of your account manager? A good agency can present the work they’ve completed and what has been achieved with your investment.
2. No strategic plan
Every SEO agency should have a plan in place to improve on the rankings and metrics they report to you. An agency should do more for you than gaining links or improving landing page speed. There should be an overall plan and vision in place. When talking to your SEO agency you must ask:
- How will you help establish authority for my business in our industry?
- How will you improve user experience to drive visitors from interest to purchase?
- How do your SEO strategies fit in with the bigger picture and other inbound marketing methods?
- How do you plan to get my business to page one and keep us there?
- What is the content strategy and how it will drive keyword and traffic growth?
3. The agency doesn’t understand your brand needs
When investing in an SEO agency, a business is looking to increase its bottom line through greater organic traffic and conversions. For this to be effective, your agency must understand your business goals. Boosted stats and getting to page one isn’t everything, they must be on board with delivering results to bring a return on the investment you made.
Their understanding of your brand will be most noticeable in the content they produce. Potential customers will come to your website looking for a product or solution to their needs and expect to see high-quality authentic content that doesn’t confuse them.
If you’re unsure that your SEO agency has quality content in mind, ask yourself these questions of every page on your site:
- Does my content provide users with original information?
- Does my content contain a comprehensive description of the topic?
- Does my content contain interesting information or relevant analysis?
- Do titles provide a descriptive summary of the content?
- Could this content be seen in an industry-related website or book?
Work with Ricemedia in 2020
If you’re looking to work with an SEO agency for the first time or are considering switching agencies, Ricemedia are ready and waiting to work with you. Our specialist team will help build a winning strategy that will bring a great return on your investment. Find out what we can do for you by contacting us today.
