As digital marketing is a rapidly growing industry, its importance is still not fully understood by many. Thus, small business owners often fall for the tactics played by some agencies.
When a business owner is looking to hire a digital marketing agency, it’s actually because of one of the following reason:
- They want to grow their business
- Need a more robust web presence
- Need help in fixing all mistakes made by their previous SEO agency
However, what sets a great agency apart from all? Though there may not be a cookie-cutter approach to find one, you can find the best agency based on your needs and industry. Here are some of the mistakes you can avoid in the process:
Falling For Fancy SEO Presentation
You have learned not to judge a book by its cover back in school. It’s time to dig up those skills and start critically thinking about it.
Every digital agency will start with some “fancy” presentation to pitch their SEO services. However, SEO agencies that spend a lot of money on fancy presentation often spend less time and effort on their actual clients. There is no magic potion for high Google rankings. It’s just hard work, better compliance with Google’s rules, and a solid implementation strategy. If any agency fails to explain the best SEO strategy to you in simple terms, you should avoid them.
Not Choosing a Full-Service Digital Agency
Not all agencies are created equal. Some companies may provide social media marketing services, but they do not specialize in offering powerful website and SEO services. It is important to know that these services work best when it comes to one unit. So, you should choose a digital marketing agency that does it all, starting from crafting robust websites to generating compelling SEO-based content.
Choosing the Cheapest Agency
You get what you pay for. You might be thinking of choosing the cheapest online marketing agency, but it can damage your brand image in your client’s eyes if the work quality is poor. Google has specified black-hat techniques and penalizes them. Choosing such agencies will increase your chances of being penalized.
A reputable agency with a higher or reasonable price will enhance your brand perception. They get paid for their high-quality work, and thus it can justify the investment you made in their agency.
Not Having A Clear Marketing Goal
It’s important that you do your research before approaching digital marketing agencies. You do not wish to hire a company with unnecessary services. And, there is nothing worse than hiring an agency you need to change within a year. It’s messy. You understand your business goals and work, so choose a company that aligns well with your marketing goals and helps you accomplish your company’s mission and vision.
Working without a Defined Marketing Costs
Establish a marketing budget for the year and define the percentage of that budget dedicated to digital marketing. Remember, website design and development is a one-time cost, but marketing service costs are recurring. Furthermore, if you want to run ads on digital marketing platforms, define a particular budget for it as well.
Only Looking For Local Agencies
The best thing about digital marketing is that it can be done from anywhere in the world. So, you do not need to choose a local digital marketing company. A well-experienced SEO agency should dominate and understand your local market no matter where they are located. You can broaden your horizons and get a better ROI.
Failing to Check an Agency’s Reputation
Always do your best research before choosing any digital marketing agency. They should have a strong web presence and reputation. Check their social media platforms, client testimonials and observe the language, images, and videos they use on their own website and in the presentation.
Questions To Ask When Hiring an Online Marketing Agency
Here is the list of certain questions that you should ask an agency before choosing them. Take a look:
- What process will you be used to accomplish our goals?
- What techniques do you approach when things don’t work?
- Are you a Google certified partner or agency?
- What is your process for link building?
- What metrics do you report on?
- Have you ever resolved exact problems and accomplished better results?
- What will the first 30-60 days of work include?
When it’s time to realign your marketing strategies, an extra pair of eyes can be a dream come true. By keeping the above-mentioned points, you will surely be able to find the right digital marketing agency, which will help you accomplish your marketing goals. Don’t fall for any fancy things. Stick to the results and reality.
