The internet has become a cornerstone of the success of any business. You don’t need to be an e-commerce company like Amazon to leverage and take advantage of online resources. Digital marketing has made it possible for smaller companies with a minimal budget to reach a lot of people and make their presence known in quite a short period of time.

This is mostly done because of search engine optimization, which makes your business visible to people in the digital world. Unfortunately, knowing the importance of SEO is one thing, and implementing its strategies is a whole other ballgame. You need to hire a professional agency to help you create a successful SEO plan for your company, but how can you do that?

Experience 

This is one of the first factors that you need to consider when it comes to selecting an SEO agency for your business. There’s absolutely no point in trying to deal with an agency just starting out, even if they look quite good. Search engine optimization is a ton of practices and intricate knowledge of the digital world, and you need someone who’s been there before and knows how to take your business to the next level in terms of marketing and exposure. 

Consider their specialties 

Before even considering dealing with an SEO agency, you need to open their website and see if they have any specialty. Some companies specialize in medical or real estate SEO. Others provide custom-tailored services based on your business. Whether you want a company that has a specific line of expertise or a jack of all trades is up to you, but you need to keep this point in mind before making the final decision. 

Check reviews 

You’d search online for reviews on any product or service you’re about to purchase, and you should do the same with an SEO agency. Ask the person who referred you to those people what they liked about their services, and spend some time online trying to read up on what other clients have to say about the agency’s search engine optimization experience.

Some agencies even deal with other entities that specialize in SEO strategies to help them deliver the best service possible to their clients –– including you. This is not something you need to worry about; what you should make certain of is that previous and current clients have good things to say about the agency you want to hire. 

Ask for examples and case studies 

You can’t just take the agency people’s word on their experience. They should have previously done case studies and examples of the work they did for clients, and it’s absolutely within your rights to ask to see those.

You need to see websites they’ve optimized and content they’ve created so you could form an idea on the level of quality these people provide. The more the examples, the better the idea you’ll be able to form. And make sure you’ve received recent materials and studies, not cases from a couple of years ago.

How well do they know SEO?

This is something you need to carefully consider. How good is their knowledge of SEO? Do they attend conferences and keep track of recent developments and the latest strategies? Did any of the team members academically study this? These are questions you need to ask so you could figure out whether or not this agency has the proper experience that your business needs. 

Meet the people

Speaking of team members, you need to meet the people that will be handling your accounts and websites. It’s not just about experience; cultural similarities are a very important factor in the SEO agency you’re to deal with. Do these people speak your language? They might have all the experience in the world but share a different set of values and ethics from yours. That would definitely make them the wrong choice for your business. 

Never go with the cheap option 

Any company wants to save money at the end of the day, but you can’t afford to do so with the eCommerce SEO agency you are going to hire. It’s not just the fact that they might not get you the results you want, but they also might do irreparable damage to your rankings. Certain practices in the SEO world are quite shady, and if and when Google spots them, it could ruin your digital marketing strategy. 

Take some time to consider your options. There are plenty of search engine optimization agencies out there, but most of them won’t get you the results that you want. Only a few will match your vision and ideals, and you need to do some research until you find that perfect mix between experience, knowledge, and cultural fit.