While there are literally thousands and thousands of SEO agencies in the world, finding one that you can confidently invest your time and money into is actually much harder than you might imagine. Of course, just because there’s an abundance of something, it doesn’t equal consistent quality.
As such, if you are in the market for the best SEO agency to help you grow your online awareness, connect with your audience, and ultimately make more sales through your website, you’re going to need to do your due diligence.
In order to make the process that little bit easier for you, we’re going to share the 3 qualities that all of the best SEO agencies have in common.
Read on and we’ll point you in the right direction…
1. A comprehensive portfolio with recognised brands
If you come across a prospective SEO agency and they have no portfolio or case studies to speak of, we’d argue that you err on the side of caution.
After all, if you are the best at what you do…surely you’d have a lot of evidence to support those claims?
While many SEO agencies argue against the use of case studies and claim that they don’t need them, we contest that having a detailed and expansive portfolio of previous success stories is anything but a negative.
Unless they have an overwhelming amount of 5-star reviews, how can you know if the “best SEO company” is really as good as they say they are without case studies? Are you supposed to take their word for it?
You also have to ask yourself: just how dedicated will this SEO agency be to my campaign if they can’t be bothered to put together a PowerPoint presentation with some of their previous successes?
On the other hand, if you find a company with lots of 5-star reviews and case studies from recognised brands to boot – you know you’re on to a winner.
The reality is, investing in an SEO agency is always a risk – so mitigate that risk and improve your chances of success by seeking out third-party agencies who have gone above and beyond to collect and provide evidence of their authenticity.
You are under no obligation to invest on blind faith alone.
2. No nonsense – only total transparency
“We guarantee this!” “We promise you that!” “You’ll be hard pressed to find a better agency!”
Talk is cheap in SEO. And given the fact that there is so much industry jargon, it’s easy to confuse prospective clients and dodge and weave the important questions.
One thing that you’ll find all of the best SEO agencies have in common is a no-nonsense approach to the way they do business.
From start to finish, you will enjoy clarity of communication.
The best way to know if you are on the right track? Ask them some difficult questions and see how they respond:
- Which SEO strategies do you use?
- How do you know this will work for my business?
- If I retain your agency, what monthly deliverables can I expect?
- How do you measure success?
- What tools do you rely on?
- Can I see what kind of results you have achieved for other clients?
- Do you have any client testimonials?
- What kind of pricing model do you use?
- How will you involve me in the process?
- Who will be in charge of my campaign?
- How will I know if any progress is being made?
- What happens if I decide to stop working with you?
These are all perfectly acceptable questions and you can learn a lot about an SEO agency by how those questions are dealt with.
The best SEO agencies will not duck and weave and come back with vague meanderings with unnecessary industry jargon. Instead, they will come back with clear cut answers; total transparency.
You have every right to know what you are signing up for – so ask the difficult questions and ditch any agency that can’t give it to you straight.
3. They ain’t “cheap”
If you find an SEO agency that is so cheap that it almost feels too good to be true; I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it is!
Proper SEO is time and resource intensive and if you are to achieve a sustainable ROI, outperform your competitors, and start making a killing through your website, that doesn’t happen for an impossibly low price – nor does it happen overnight.
If you want to find the best SEO agency who can help you transform your business, remove “cheap” from your lexicon. In fact, worry less about price and shop on reputation and results instead.
An agency with hundreds of 5-star reviews and a wealth of previous success stories will be worth every penny. So, look at it as an investment instead and do what has to be done to secure your success.
Leave the cheap SEO agencies for the bottom feeders and go after quality and class. That’s the key to the long-term success of your business.