Here’s What You Should Look For When Choosing An Outsourced SEO Agency

Today’s modern business world is fast-paced and requires leaders to wear a lot of different hats. From the mediator to the salesman, the social media influencer to the administrator, there’s a lot that needs to be done, and it’s the leader’s responsibility to ensure every task is completed correctly.
That doesn’t mean that you have to do everything yourself. A key part of leadership is delegation and knowing when to pass on tasks to others with more time and experience.

SEO agencies come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from niche providers of a specific service, such as link building or content writing, through to larger organisations that can do everything for you. Some agencies work with clients in specific niches, such as healthcare or finance, while others support clients across the corporate spectrum. 

Here’s everything that you should look for when choosing an outsourced SEO agency, whether it’s a specialist one with limited services or a large one-stop-shop. 

The Services You Need
As obvious as it might sound, you need to make sure that you find an agency that can provide the services that you need. Some agencies specialise in a certain skill or niche, while others offer a broad range of solutions. When choosing an SEO team to collaborate with, you need to think about what you’re looking for and where your business is headed. Each type of agency has its benefits as well as its downsides. A smaller, more focused agency will have greater experience in a selection of skills, and as such, might be able to offer you a better service. However, they might not be as able to scale with your business. On the other hand, a larger agency that offers almost every service might not do some as well as others, but they might also be able to grow with your organisation better than a smaller company. So, you need to work out what you need and then find an SEO agency that can deliver. 

A Bespoke Service Tailored To Your Business’s Needs
SEO is a complicated practice, and it varies from industry to industry. As such, you can’t choose an SEO agency that offers a one-size-fits-all approach. As such, you should look for an agency that offers a customisable service that you can adjust to meet your specific requirements. For example, you could check out a custom link building service, like that provided by UK Linkology. If you’re interested in getting backlinks that will drive your SEO strategy forward, then you can create a custom order here with their experts.

Reliable Customer Service
Any business leader knows that customer service is at the heart of your organisation’s success. Now that you’re in the position of being the customer, you need to know that you’re getting the support you expect from your outsourced SEO provider. That means choosing an SEO agency that offers you one point of contact, is prompt with responses to queries and generally provides its services in a friendly yet professional manner. When you’re looking for an SEO agency, you should first check out online customer reviews on sites such as Google Business and social media platforms. You can then see what past and current clients have to say about the agency, and how the agency responds to reviews, both positive and negative. Then, once you’ve found a selection of agencies that meet all of your criteria, you can contact them and see how they handle your initial enquiry. Don’t be afraid to be brutal- if an agency makes a bad first impression, then the chances are that they will continue to offer bad customer service down the line, so don’t be afraid to move onto the next one. Building a strong relationship founded on trust and open communication is essential if you want to achieve your SEO goals and enjoy a long association with your new agency. 

A Strong Online Reputation 
An agency that’s promising to help promote your website online should also be able to promote its own website. If you find that the agency has a poor-quality website that’s not well-written and doesn’t appear on the top of search engine results pages for relevant terms, then it’s probably not a very good agency. Their website should be an indication of what they can do; if their site is high-ranking and functions correctly, then they will be able to assist you and provide the same service for your site. However, if an SEO agency doesn’t have a good website, then it doesn’t have any evidence that it can drive a website to success. After all, if the team can’t do it for their own site, then they’re unlikely to be able to do it for yours. Choosing an outsourced SEO business with a bad website is like choosing a hairdresser with bad highlights and an uneven fringe- it’s almost a guarantee of that you’re not going to get a good outcome.

A Culture Of Innovation 
SEO changes rapidly, so you need to make sure that your new SEO agency can keep up with the pace. Google updates its algorithms and search parameters regularly and can sometimes make major changes to the way search results are calculated. Also, new tools and metrics are launched at a rapid pace, so you need to make sure that your new SEO agency can stay on top of all of these developments. Liaise with them about how they stay up to date and how far they have evolved over the years. If you’re unsure about whether an agency can adapt fast enough to the ever-evolving SEO market, then explore other options to find an innovative agency that works for you and your business.   

Finding your ideal SEO agency takes time and commitment. You might not find the right business to collaborate with you instantly. Take the time to do your research, and then reach out to several agencies to find one that offers you the right service and support.