How to Choose the Best SEO Agency for Your Business?

In the marketing industry, new techniques and strategies emerge every day. Brands with an online presence dedicate a significant portion of their budget to search engine optimization and will continue to invest for the future.

For brands, it's crucial to start optimizing your web presence now, otherwise, you risk falling behind your competitors. If you lack SEO (Search Engine Optimization) knowledge and your company is short on marketing talent, you can outsource your organic search strategy by entrusting it to an agency.

What is an SEO agency?

The SEO agency is a digital agency specialized in techniques for optimizing the visibility and reputation of your company on search engines (like Google or Bing).

Why hire an SEO agency?

You may need to hire an SEO agency to answer these questions:

• Does my site technically meet the requirements of the search engine?
• How can I modify my site without losing my current ranking?
• What is the most suitable SEO strategy that I can implement?
• How can I optimize my visibility and be 1^st on search engines?

More and more companies are interested in organic search, and the number of SEO service providers is increasing accordingly.

Unfortunately, the market is saturated and choosing a competent specialist can prove difficult. It is therefore important to recognize the signs of quality and thus avoid choosing the wrong partner.

Common characteristics of mediocre SEO agencies

Choosing the wrong SEO partner can do a lot of harm to your business. We will review the signs that identify a less serious SEO agency.

1. Unattainable promises

You are looking for an SEO partner because you want to be present on the internet. An agency assures you that they can double your traffic in a few months. It's tempting, but in reality, it's unlikely.

It's a bad sign when a digital provider promises to quickly rank your unoptimized website on the first page. SEO is a long-term process. You are running a marathon here, not a sprint.

It takes several months to see the effects, or even years, depending on your company's sector. Nothing is impossible, but be aware that no SEO technique can guarantee that you will achieve exceptional results quickly or maintain these improvements for an extended period.

That's why, prioritize an SEO agency that is transparent with you, both in its actions and its results.

2. Lack of interest in your business goals

The second sign to watch for revolves around your business goals. A competent agency will seek to understand the nature of your goals and how SEO will help achieve them. In my opinion, a successful SEO campaign is a ROI-focused campaign that integrates your business goals.

For example:

• Are you looking to generate potential customers, but your partner agency is only interested in traffic?
• Although you want to improve your local presence, is the strategy implemented for you only focused on general rankings?

These types of misunderstandings can cause problems later on. You may fail to understand the impact that SEO can have on your business.

3. A mediocre website and a fragile content strategy

Before entrusting the SEO of your site to an agency, make sure their digital strategy is up to par! If their website and content are ugly, outdated, irrelevant, or concerning in some way, it's a sign that they don't follow their own advice.

Competent agencies understand the importance of content relevance and user experience. So pay attention to these two elements. They can help identify a provider that is not up to par.

Make sure to do a quick Google search to determine the ranking of the potential partner on key terms. Search for the following phrases: "SEO agency", "SEO in [CITY NAME]" as well as any other related terms that come to mind. Take note of the agency's ranking on each keyword. Does it appear among the top results? Does it appear on the first page?

4. Poor communication

If the potential partner does not seek to understand your goals, it is likely that they will also not be able to communicate effectively. Test their communication skills using a variety of methods. Call, send an email. Pay attention to the response time and the tone of the responses. These signals can help you identify an agency that may not suit your team. From my experience, a company satisfied with its campaigns always ends up internalizing SEO skills through training and/or support.

Common characteristics of competent SEO agencies

Before choosing an SEO agency, it's important to gather your team to discuss your content and marketing goals (we'll come back to this part in a future post). From there, you can choose a partner who will specifically help you achieve what you have planned.

When you start the process of searching for a partner, keep an eye out for the following characteristics. They are a sign of a competent SEO agency.

### 1. A personalized strategy

SEO is not just about improving ranking. Indeed, it's also about generating relevant and qualified traffic. Ranking well is good. Creating content that attracts visitors and converts prospects into customers is better.

A good agency will talk to you to understand your target audience, your services, and your goals. They will use this knowledge to develop a unique strategy, as there is no universal solution or magic formula when it comes to SEO.

### 2. White hat methods

It is essential to verify that your future partner uses white hat techniques.

There are SEO tactics that can achieve results in a shorter time by manipulating the system contrary to the engine guidelines or by trying to manipulate Google's ranking algorithm. While this can achieve quick advances, the consequences for companies that choose these methods can be significant.

These so-called “black hat” tactics can lead to penalties including the complete removal of the website from Google's search results. NEVER use these techniques on your company's main site.

White hat SEO, on the other hand, respects Google's guidelines. Don't be afraid to confront a potential partner if their methods seem shady or unethical!

### 3. Moving from words to actions

A competent SEO agency will keep its promises and do its best to meet expectations, while a very competent SEO agency will provide proof that their campaigns and methods work. They will share data, case studies, recommendations, and projects carried out for other clients with you.

These high-performing agencies are not afraid to share information about their previous work or the strategies they employ. They will also not hesitate to engage in more in-depth discussions on complex and related topics. In my opinion, SEO is just one acquisition channel among others, a good agency must have an overview of digital channels.

### 4. Appropriate analysis tools

Effective strategies can be implemented without buying expensive software. An agency must at least train its staff and clients in the use of the Google suite: Analytics, Ads, Search Console. Not only should it be able to set up Google Analytics, but it should also know how to use reporting, extract necessary and relevant data, and explain them to you in an understandable way.

### 5. Prioritize conversion

An SEO agency must be aware that, while traffic and rankings are extremely important, it's the end customers who bring money to the company. Conversions drive your business forward and an effective SEO partner will choose a ROI-focused strategy that leads to the acquisition of real customers.