What Criteria Should Be Used in Selecting an SEO Agency?

The SEO business is in continual motion. What leads to a better ranking position on a search engine today could lead to the collapse of your rank and success tomorrow. In the following, we will give you a glimpse of the most important criteria that should be considered when looking for a suitable SEO agency to work with.

1. Clear definition of goals: Summarize your business goals as precisely as possible. What do you want to tackle with the help of the SEO agency? Do you want to optimize your ranking? Will this require changing your product range? Do you want to achieve an increase in the percentage of clicks or sales? Some SEO agencies also offer questionnaires, where you as a potential client can express your wishes and goals so you can see if the company specializes in the areas you need.
2. Billing model check: There are different billing models that are used in the SEO business. The options include fixed-price and monthly flat-rate models. The former are usually offered in packages, with the price determined by the amount of success. For those who find the second option more appealing, you should talk to the agency ahead of time to define what is exactly meant by success and to create a fixed contract based on this.
3. Points for likability: Do not let yourself be influenced by the employees who lead the presentation or present the offer, because you will likely have nothing more to do with them during your collaboration. Instead, getting to know those with whom you will later work on a day-to-day business is important. They should be knowledgeable on the subject matter. It is advisable to choose an agency that has a team of experts who are trained and knowledgeable in different niches.
4. Impression of the agency: You should also take a closer look at the department and team structure because that can say a lot about a company. How many employees does the agency have? What rules are already set up? What happens if your contact person is sick or changes jobs? And what outlines and divisions of work does the company have? Does it seem chaotic to you? Organized? What resources does the agency have to offer you? And also important: does the SEO agency have similar-sized companies as customers? It is often the case that if an agency is not organized, larger companies may be given more privileged treatment.
5. Reference check: You can check whether the SEO agency can meet your needs beforehand by asking to see work samples and reference projects. This step is indispensable. Orient yourself to the basic aspects of the SEO field, i.e. content marketing, programming, and technology, as well as also link building and account management. It’s also valuable, when possible, to have a conversation with former customers of the agency to get a few different opinions.
6. Agency know-how: Another key element of a motivated agency is good content. For this, you can ask the agency to explain how they would put together content strategies for your business. Based on this, you can learn more about whether the agency has a specialized editorial team and whether texts are tailored to different targets.
7. Backlinks: In which ways would the agency build backlinks for you? Have this contractually recorded, because, in the worst-case scenario, search engines could impose penalties on you if backlinks are not assembled legally. You should also ask about a fee model and make sure that you do not pay according to the number of links.
8. Technical skills: Whether an agency has the technical skills to optimize your goals on your company’s website can be seen in their references and during personal conversations.
9. Regular reports: Make sure you will get regular reports to check the success and set goals. This should include, above all, the positions of relevant keywords, bounce rates, comparative figures for competitors, SEM values, or, for example, new backlinks and link quality. In addition, the agency should offer you the possibility to regularly coordinate with a contact person within the company about your numbers.
10. Skepticism: Skepticism should arise when dubious promises and guarantees are made by an agency. Trust the offer, compare it with your goals, and pay attention to the above-listed criteria. These can serve as an important measure for selecting a suitable SEO agency for you.