Getting website traffic to your new site is no easy task. If you have given it a shot and not seen any meaningful results, the question “Should I hire an SEO agency?” is likely to have crossed your mind.
Well, if that’s the case then the short answer is if you’re looking for long-term success, then yes, you absolutely should! Plus, it’s not as expensive as you might think. The aim of an SEO agency is to get you the best possible return on investment, so that your marketing efforts pay for themselves and you’re able to scale.
If you’re interested in hiring an SEO agency, but don’t know where to start — keep reading. We are going to discuss some of the benefits of hiring an SEO agency, how to hire one, what questions to ask and what to look out for.
What Does an SEO Agency Do?
Every SEO agency has their own unique methods and practices, but one thing all agencies should have in common is the goal of helping your business generate more revenue. An SEO agency aims to optimise your website to be more visible in search engines and get you more organic traffic that translates into more leads and sales for your business.
This process can include things like competitor analysis to see what’s working for your competition, making on-site improvements to optimise your website to be more SEO-friendly, outreaching to other websites in order to earn backlinks, creating performance reports and implementing any necessary changes and tweaks, writing engaging and compelling content for your website, conducting experiments and tests to maximise your SEO campaigns effectivness and more!
If you want to make SEO a part of your marketing strategy it’s definitely worth parterning with a reputable agency with a track record of proven results.
READ MORE: Why is SEO Important: Understanding the Importance of Search Engine Optimisation
Is Hiring an SEO Agency Worth It?
In most cases, the answer is yes. If your marketing strategy is focused on achieving long-term results, then it makes sense to hire an SEO agency. It could help your business generate more leads and sales from organic search to a larger extent than you could on your own. An agency will have more resources at their disposal, including advanced marketing tools and software, SEO experts, industry connections and more.
A good SEO agency will be able to conduct topic and keyword research for your business to create a solid campaign.
You should also keep in mind that if your competitors are doing SEO, they will likely outrank you in search engine results 10/10 times. This will send any potential customers who are searching for products or services like yours directly to your competitors. If that’s the case then it might be time to hire an SEO agency for your business too.
Of course you can work on create your own SEO campaigns in-house, but consider if you have the time and resources for it. It can prove to be a very beneficial relationship when you partner up with an agency to handle that aspect of your marketing — especially when you consider the potential return on investment.
How To Hire An SEO Agency?
Hiring an SEO agency can sometimes prove to be a daunting task. After all, you want your time and money be put to good use and actually see a measurable return. That’s why it is so important to do your research and hire the right agency for your business.
The first thing you should do when considering which SEO agency to hire is check their online reviews! Just like any other service-based business, customer feedback can be a pretty good sign of how good a company really is. Regardless of how good an agency may seem on paper, customers will always be the best advocates of their work.
Once you’ve narrowed down your choices, make sure you consider if you will be charged per hour/month or a fixed fee per project. This will give you a good idea of which agency would be the best fit for your needs and budget.
Finally, you have to make sure that any SEO agency you decide to hire understands your audience and your industry. This way they can tailor their campaigns to be much more effective. Looking at what type of businesses and industries an agency has previously worked with will give you an idea of their experience in your industry or sector.
Considering these three things before making a decision on hiring an SEO agency should ultimately save you time and money, and provide the best results.
More tips on how to hire an SEO agency:
- Consider how much time, money or resources you want to put into this project before hiring an agency.
- Research local SEO agencies in your area.
- Reach out to a few potential candidates and make sure they offer the services you need.
- Ask for references that can attest to their work quality and past projects.
- Do not hire an agency that charges per hour if you don’t have the budget! You should look for a fixed price instead.
- Choosing an agency that specialises in other aspects of digital marketing like website design and social media marketing can be beneficial.
- Ask if they offer any guarantees regarding their work (it’s usually a bad sign if they do).
Questions To Ask An SEO Agency
You don’t need to be a digital marketing expert to hire an SEO agency, but knowing what sort of questions to ask will help.
Here are some questions to ask when hiring an SEO agency:
- What is your pricing structure? Will I be billed by the hour or pay a fixed price per project?
- What is included in this price and what can and can’t I expect from you?
- Do you offer other services like website design, social media or content marketing that compliment the SEO work?
- Can I see some of your previous projects and get more insight into your experience and quality of work?
- Do you offer a free SEO audit?
- Do you have experience working in industries like ours and what results were you able to achieve?
- Will the work be done in-house or outsourced to other companies?
- Does your SEO agency specialise in any specific industries?
This should hopefully give enough information to make an informed decision about whether hire a particular SEO agency. Any reputable agency should be able to answer all these questions for you.
In Conclusion
SEO is a complex discipline that takes a lot of time and effort in order to see a meaningful result. If you want to hire an SEO agency that will help you to achieve your business goals, you need to start by asking the right questions.
This article should give you some idea of what questions to ask before hiring an SEO agency and hopefully, it will be helpful for those looking into their options when deciding whether or not they want the work done by professionals or take on the task themselves!
If SEO sounds like something you want help with but don’t know where to start — reach out! We’re a 5-star rated commercial-grade SEO agency and are always happy to talk about what we can do to help your business.