It seems like the entire world has moved online these days which means you need a digital marketing strategy to keep up. An SEO company that specializes in search engine optimization could be your ticket to soar to the top of Google.
Everyone wants to make promises about how they can help you rank and discover more organic traffic for your site.
If you want to know how to choose an SEO agency, you should interview every company and take a closer look at what is being offered as part of your package. While they may not be able to promise a specific ranking on Google, they can help guide you closer to organic search traffic relevant to your brand.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions to find the best SEO company. A reputable company has no problem answering questions, showing you their past work, and talking openly about the goals you have for your brand.
8 Questions You Should Ask Before Hiring an SEO Agency
When you sit down to discuss SEO strategy, it’s okay to ask questions. While they may be a third party and ultimately not a part of your company, they still have to fit in with the culture of your brand. Your initial meeting with them is like an interview where you both evaluate if you are a good fit.
Here are 8 questions you should ask before you enlist the help of any SEO service (Creative Collective included!).
1. What Does Your Portfolio Contain?
Every industry and niche has certain standards or knowledge that your audience expects you to have. Especially if you are working with an agency that specializes in content marketing over more technical SEO factors, you will want to see lots of samples in their portfolio that relate to your industry.
This means that they have a basic understanding of the market – and the unique challenges that you might have when it comes to ranking. It also means that they might have expertise and a background in a more technical field which can be extremely helpful if you require a degree of precision with your topics.
If they don’t have experience in your unique industry, that doesn’t necessarily disqualify them as the right SEO agency for your needs. Look to see if they have expertly written content in another niche or even experience doing SEO for other local businesses. It might turn out that they have their finger on the pulse of your local market including a thorough analysis of your competition.
Be flexible on what you want to see in a portfolio, but make sure they have something to back up any SEO expert’s claims that they can help your business.
2. What Tools or Techniques Do You Use to Create SEO Content?
The market is brimming with options that help content experts optimize for search result pages without sacrificing quality. If someone tells you that they don’t use any tools and their process is simply intuitive, you may not be thrilled with the results. The truth is that there are indicators Google uses to decide who to rank and where to place them in the SERPs. Oftentimes, this is the result of keyword research.
At Creative Collective, we use a variety of tools to help us position you as an authority figure. We use Keysearch to find the high-volume, low-competition keywords that will be an obvious starting place for your content (which is how we form the basis of your content calendar). We also use Market Muse to include LSI keywords and other terms that people are looking for related to your main topic.
Keep in mind that not every SEO expert is going to be above board with their strategy. They might engage in what industry experts call black-hat SEO which tries to make your site more appealing to Google at the expense of the user experience. Chances are you’ve stumbled onto a website like this before. It had lists of keywords and no real substance.
Make sure that this isn’t the strategy your SEO company is going to use.
3. Do You Customize Goals for Each Business?
Even if you hire the best SEO agency in town, you might wonder how they can help your business build authority on search engines. If they have multiple clients who work in the same industry, ensure that your goals and projects are customized for your business.
Odds are that you have at least one thing that sets you apart from your main competitor, and this should be played to your advantage. In other words, you don’t want a content calendar that looks identical to another company, especially if you both work locally.
Creative Collective takes the time upfront to establish what matters to your business during our kickoff call and strategy. We keep detailed records of what you want your business to be known for, what products or services you want to lean into, and how we can help you reach your goals. Only once we have all of that information do we start performing keyword research – just for your brand.
The result is a unique content calendar that targets your ideal customer avatar and what you have on offer.
4. What is Your Experience as an SEO Expert?
Finding the right SEO company is kind of like looking for a needle in a haystack. Anyone can market themselves as an expert, and there are very few ways to verify whether this is true. You have to make sure that their style and experience align with your brand. Just because someone has worked on eCommerce SEO doesn’t necessarily mean that they know how local SEO works.
And this is important because local SEO accounts for almost half of all search queries. If the goal of your SEO campaign is to get more traffic through the door, you need to ensure that your team has experience on the ground in your area.
That’s why Creative Collective prefers to work with local clients. We have made a difference in major cities around the United States and Canada, but our passion is helping small Lowcountry businesses get the traffic and lead conversions they need to keep the lights on. Our SEO firm has more than ten years of experience behind it and thousands of pieces of content.
We’re happy to provide you with examples and case studies of how we work with businesses like yours to get results.
5. What Guarantee Do You Make?
This is a tricky question that you should always ask when you’re looking for a good SEO company. The truth is that even if someone specializes in this industry and offers all the right services, there’s no way to guarantee whether you will get that coveted place at the top of the search result pages.
SEO guarantees are a risky business because Google is always evolving and shifting its ranking factors as it becomes more knowledgeable about search behavior.
If you interview a potential SEO agency and they guarantee you can get to the top spot, be hesitant.
Even the best agencies that cost thousands of dollars per month might not have the magic touch to boost you into that spot. An SEO specialist at Creative Collective can monitor your progress and adjust our tactics according to what appears to be working for your brand. However, we would never guarantee that a single SEO tactic would put you at the top.
It’s just impossible to know, though we have seen some excellent results from our content marketing.
6. What is Included in the Monthly Retainer Fee?
You made it this far in the interview process with potential agencies, so now it’s time to get down to brass tacks. They are going to charge you a fee for your keyword research, content marketing, SEO copywriting, or whatever other services you signed up for. Most will do so on a monthly retainer, but be sure you understand exactly what is included in that fee or you may be in for a big surprise when the bill comes around.
For example, they may include one round of revisions in their content marketing for free but charge for additional rounds. They may include topic selection, a batch of keyword research, and fees that cover their costs for the tools we discussed earlier. Knowing what your package includes is essential.
Creative Collective is very clear on what our packages include:
- A kickoff call and strategy meeting
- 4 blog posts per month (varying lengths, depending on your needs)
- Keyword research
- Creation of a content calendar for the duration of your time with us
- Formatting and uploading to a WordPress blog
For a better idea of what quality SEO will cost you, be sure to see our detailed page on packages here.
7. What Have Past Clients Had to Say?
The right agency won’t hesitate to let you know what past clients had to say about their services. They are proud of the many testimonials and reviews they have from clients who loved their experience working with them.
Any SEO company that is too hesitant to share examples of their work or social proof of their track record might throw up a red flag.
Creative Collective is proud to have helped more than 150 clients improve their online presence. We’re happy to show you our reviews and even have some of our favorites up on our website for you to view before you contact us.
We want you to know that our digital marketing agency is legitimate and reviews can help put your mind at ease.
8. Is Writing Outsourced to Another Company or Freelancer?
This is an important question that doesn’t get enough air time. Do you know who is really going to be writing your content when you hire an SEO agency? Sure, they might be great at email marketing or social media marketing, but can you rely on consistent quality content each time? If they have a revolving door of freelancers, the answer may be no.
Creative Collective doesn’t use freelancers to complete your content so that we can ensure the highest quality standards for your brand. Our founder, Ashley, touches every piece of content that is written and edited before it comes across your desk. She’s the final stop for quality control – and for good reason. She’s been doing this since 2011!
When we bring new writers on the team, our emphasis is on finding local hires that boost your Lowcountry economy. Anyone we bring on will be a permanent staff member, not a freelancer. They are thoroughly interviewed, vetted, and tested to ensure that they have the right skills to help brands like yours stand out in the market.
Another thing to consider is whether they are using AI in their SEO practice. The software is too new to know how Google will prioritize content not written by humans. You may also be able to tell that the AI tools on the market today aren’t as efficient as the SEO tools we utilize at Creative Collective. They are constantly learning and may get things wrong in the details of your content. They may not be able to recognize LSI keywords which are key for ranking on Google.
Are You Ready to Hire an SEO Agency?
SEO techniques can bolster your business in the organic rankings of Google’s search pages. You may get a $2.77 return on investment for every $1 spent. Every jump up in your results gives you an increase in traffic, leads, and ultimately revenue.
The truth is that you can’t afford not to hire an SEO company that understands your industry and can get you results. Be sure to ask these eight questions before you bring on a digital marketing agency.
The right agency might be just a few clicks away. Reach out to Creative Collective today to learn more about our services or set up a meeting with our SEO experts.