The market is packed with SEO agencies.
Due to the constant growth in spending on online marketing, countless agencies have formed that want to please search engines. This poses a problem for companies without their own marketing department: How do you choose the right SEO agency?
First of all: The universally correct agency does not exist. There’s not an SEO agency that is right for everyone.
After all, successful cooperation is also about communication and the relationship with each other. Just because someone has had a good experience with an agency, it doesn’t necessarily mean you will share that experience.
Therefore, it’s especially important that you understand how to identify a reputable SEO agency. Because there are various features that make it clear at first glance whether it is worth establishing contact …
6 tips to identify a reputable SEO agency
1. No quick promises of success
“We increase your traffic by 300% in the first three months”– such promises are of course very pleasant to read at first. After all, SEO is supposed to be about increasing website traffic via organic search. Nevertheless, you should take such information as a warning signal.
SEO is a very complicated area of online marketing that is in constant flux. Regular Google updates change the rules of the game and the constant competitive situation makes it difficult to assert oneself in the market in the long term.
What we want to say: SEO is a process that takes time. Of course, there are tips and tricks to achieve short-term success. However, a good SEO strategy should always be long-term and sustainable. Real SEO experts know this and would not bait you with such promises.
Don’t get us wrong: Of course, it’s possible the respective SEO agency achieves the goal. However, the question is then whether this traffic is really about page views that depict your potential target group and can therefore lead to a conversion.
Quantity isn’t everything when it comes to traffic, it comes first all about the quality. In addition, with such short-term measures, it is extremely likely that your rankings will collapse afterward and you will start again from scratch.
2. Never top rankings as a guarantee
The Google algorithm is a complex system. SEO experts assume over 200 factors that influence the ranking. Of course, Google keeps a low profile and does not publish any clear instructions. In addition, there is constant competition with all other market participants.
What we’re getting at: Even people who deal with SEO on a daily basis can’t guarantee #1 rankings. At least not for keywords with a correspondingly high search volume and relevance. The system is too complex for that and in the end, it always depends a little bit on things like the momentum. Don’t be fooled by agencies that will give you “Ten #1 rankings over the next 4 months” promise. Because often such a quota can only be achieved with niche keywords that only have a limited quality to really prepare a conversion.
Here, too, we want to make it clear: Of course, it can happen that you are in a niche industry in which nobody does SEO and you can therefore achieve massive success relatively quickly. However, this is a clear exception. As a rule, a reputable SEO agency will also keep a low profile with such promises.
3. Clear competence and references on the website
A reputable service provider does not shy away from presenting their own work accordingly. So make sure that the respective SEO agency clearly explains and presents its own services on the website. Appropriate reference projects should also always be included.
Because that’s the only way you can be sure that it is an SEO agency with experience that may even be familiar with your industry. After all, it never hurts if the agency specializes in certain areas and therefore already knows your challenges.
You can also measure an SEO agency by its own rankings. Can the agency be found on the first page of the search results using appropriate local search terms (e.g. SEO agency Los Angeles)? Then they basically did their homework for their own website.
4. Consideration of the entirety of the KPIs & Keywords
SEO is first and foremost the possibility of visibility Increase your website in the organic search results. If you want to break it down to some kind of basis, that’s the lowest common denominator.
However, it would be too short-sighted to base the success of SEO solely on rankings or increased traffic. Because traffic will only bring you something in the end if the conversions increase at the same time. Otherwise, you will have more visitors, but you will not generate any additional sales.
It is therefore important to include the quality of the rankings. So it is not only relevant that you are simply ranking well for any keywords, but for search terms that actually match your service portfolio and thus that depict the search behavior of your target group.
For the on-page optimization of your content, it is important that the SEO agency meets the search intention. This is the only way that the increased traffic does not lead to increased bounce rates, but leads to further clicks and conversions.
In addition, the SEO work should always be carried out on a total of numbers to be measured. In the end, there are many factors that stand as KPIs for successful SEO:
- Rankings on Google
- Number of impressions in search results
- Number of Clicks on the website
- Bounce Rate or. time spent on the landing page
- More clicks on the website
- Possible Actions / Conversions
This totality makes it possible to evaluate the quality of the work of an SEO agency. A condensed presentation or too much focus on individual factors such as rankings or traffic can lead to optimization going in the wrong direction. And in the end, you or your company will not benefit from that.
5. No pushy cold calling
Most reputable SEO agencies have established channels to attract clients. A sophisticated SEO strategy is often used in combination with other online marketing options (e.g. social media, SEA, Google Display…).
However, it still happens that cold calls are sometimes used. This happens in particular from SEO agencies that are heavily geared towards sales. Here, the pure sale is often in the foreground, the actual customer care comes second.
These agencies often send emails in which you take up abbreviated information about the rankings of your company. Anyone can easily read this data with a suitable program (e.g. Sistrix, Seobility …). Such numbers are then used as a hook to contact you.
Information is often shown in abbreviated form to show potential for optimization. At the same time, such agencies often turn to companies that do not have their own marketing department. This is done in order to be able to make the best possible impression with the shortened information.
Don’t get us wrong: every SEO agency has to sell and attract clients. However, you should be careful with such emails, as they often only serve one purpose: uncertainty. And that is rarely a good basis to start a meaningful business relationship.
6. No ruthless focus on SEO
No doubt: SEO can significantly increase the performance of your website when used correctly. However, that does not justify putting the entire focus on SEO and ignoring all other facets.
Because of a website, there are always several stakeholders with their own interests. In addition to SEO, sales, management, corporate design, and much more. Accordingly, it is important that all these parties come into their own and are heard accordingly.
A reputable SEO agency will only measure itself as a building block in the big picture to understand. Even if the agency does not offer any other service than SEO. Because SEO alone is not the panacea and, if it is ruthlessly enforced, can also block many other ways.
So be sure of how the agency assesses your own performance in personal discussions and on the website. If everything else is to be subordinated to search engine optimization, the alarm bell should ring for you.
Boost your performance with a strong SEO agency
An experienced SEO agency is a helpful partner to increase the overall performance of your website. Because if you keep an eye on all the key figures, not only impressions and traffic but ultimately also conversions can be increased. It is important that you approach the selection of the right agency with the necessary care. In this way, you ideally win a partner who is committed to your concerns and your company in the long term. A win-win situation!
