5 Questions to ask when hiring an SEO agency

You've made the decision to outsource your SEO... Perhaps you don't know where to start or you've taken things as far as you can and now it's time to get the professionals in.

It can be a tough decision, choosing which SEO agency to use. After all, SEO is an “invisible” product and sometimes different agencies can confuse businesses by using different terms and jargon to demonstrate their “success” within this complex arena. So how do you choose? Here are seven vital questions to ask research you potential SEO partner:

1. What experience do you have?

Try to ascertain if they have helped businesses similar to yours and whether their clients have been with the agency for a long time. Loyal customers speak volumes – as do measurable results, so demand to see the facts and figures behind similar campaigns to the sort you would expect to run. Any SEO agency worth their salt will be proud to show their past successes.

2. How much work will be done in-house?

Many agencies outsource some, or maybe all, of their SEO work. The more work that is outsourced, the less control the agency will have and the less accountable they will be for your results.

3. What contact will I have with my account manager?

Regular communication is a crucial component of an SEO marketing campaign. It’s a two-way street, though; just as you need to know what is happening with the campaign, the SEO agency must be ready to adapt their campaign to your changing business.

4. What will you need from me?

It might be tempting to leave all SEO activities to your agency, but the more input you have, the better the results will be. So make sure you understand what will be expected of you, and how you can help your SEO agency.

5. What results do you expect, and over what timescales?

No agency will guarantee certain positions within set timescales, as Google can alter its algorithm at any time. Be wary of agencies that promise to ‘have you at the top of Google within the week’ – this is an impossible ask. However, agree on goals and targets and ensure both you and your SEO agency are focused on the same outcomes.

For more questions to ask along with our list of red flags to watch out for, check out our original blog post.