Marketing a website is going to take a lot of work. Whether you don’t know where to start or have the time to do it, you may be thinking about hiring a professional agency.
However, before you pick up the phone or send an email, you have to realize that hiring the right agency is crucial. If you fail to hire the right company, you can risk your search engine rankings, damage your brand or even get kicked off Google and Bing.
To make things easy, here’s what to look for in an online marketing agency —
Years of Experience
Sadly, anyone can start up an online marketing agency and start work tomorrow. Unlike other industries that require certifications or a proper education, there are no set rules to follow, and because of this, it’s so important that you look for a track record. You don’t want to hire someone who thinks they know what they are doing. The lesson here: A good online agency is going to have years of experience with evidence to back up their claims.
Ask for Proof and Case Studies
No matter what kind of company you want to hire in life, it’s so important that you look at the work they have done in the past. So for example, if you wanted to hire a web designer, you would probably want to look at their portfolio.
Whenever you talk with an agency, always make sure that you look at what they have done in the past. What websites have they ranked? What keywords did they rank for? What did they change? If they are willing, see if you can speak with their previous customers. This is a great way to ask questions and get honest answers.
Marketing Strategies
Today, marketing a website online is a lot more than sending backlinks to a website and hoping for the best. Unlike the past where you could rank just about anything in the top 10 results, it’s going to take a lot more today.
A good online agency is going to know that marketing a website online is more than just placing your links everywhere on the Internet and hoping everything works out. Make sure that you ask them how they market the websites and what steps they take to reach their goals. A good company shouldn’t avoid your questions and should be as honest as possible. If you feel they aren’t open with their strategies, then there’s a good chance they are up to no good.
Communication
Communication is key when you want a third-party company to work with your website. Whether you want to change your marketing plan or swap something on your website, this company should be accessible during most of the day. If it takes the company longer than 24-48 hours to contact you, then you may want to look elsewhere.
In the online marketing world, there are a lot of scams out there. It’s so important that you ask questions, interview multiple professionals and trust your gut. It’s easy to find an agency in your area. Since this company can potentially damage your online brand, you don’t want to make any mistakes.
