Staying on top of search engine optimization requires time and effort that many small businesses can’t afford in-house. One obvious solution is to turn to an agency. But which ones can be trusted and which will under deliver and overcharge? Before just picking the number one result in a Google search for “SEO,” make sure to investigate the agency.

SEO Agency

Pay attention to the following:

Experience – does the agency’s personnel sound professional on the phone and act professionally in person? How many years has the business been offering SEO services, and how many years of SEO experience do the people who will work on this account have? Is the agency focused on SEO specifically or do they offer a wider range of marketing services? Do they have experience in specific industries or countries?

Location – weigh the pros and cons of a local agency versus one located elsewhere. Local agencies can offer on-site consulting more easily and with less cost, but the SEO talent pool may be shallow. Agencies in other cities can make up the distance fairly easily with regular phone calls and webinar presentations of the deliverables. But on-site presentations and training will likely be more costly due to travel expenses and time out of the office.

Ethics of the agency – does the agency follow Google webmaster guidelines? Do the agency engage in link buying, competitor sabotage, keyword stuffing or other sketchy behavior?

Past successes – with whom has the agency worked? Any agency that won’t reveal at least a handful of clients has something to hide. Get the list and check out those sites. Are they stuffed with keywords, over laden with links, or even selling links themselves? Will other clients recommend the agency? Ask for references. Call the references and ask about the aspects of the agency that are of most concern such as extra charges, communication, knowledge, the ability to act on the recommendations given.

Case studies – it’s not professional to share specific data with prospective clients. But if the agency can’t speak at a high level about several success stories, be wary.

Expectations and measurement – how will the agency measure success? It needs to measure success according to the client’s critical metrics for the engagement, whether that’s incremental revenue, links created, or leads generated.

Timeframe – when can the agency start? When can it finish? What will it deliver and on what timeline? Get an initial timeline as part of the agency’s proposal. It may shift as business needs do, or as roadblocks come up, but an initial timeline gives both sides something more concrete to work with.