When is it the right time?
Are you in-house or do you outsource?
Agency or freelancer?
What is the right budget for you?
You have never been to an agency or had a bad experience.
QUESTIONS, questions, questions!
Do not worry, we are here for you.
First, create a brief description of the problem you are trying to solve with SEO.
Despite my digital marketing agency delivering outstanding SEO results, I won’t answer YES. You will need to determine the correct answer for yourself. I can help by asking you questions.
Do you own a website?
An SEO agency can assist you with information architecture, layout, navigation and keywords. If the content on your website’s static pages is written with keyword research as a focus, it will prevent this from becoming a double deal. You could first have a website built and then hire an SEO agency.
If you have a website but traffic is low, you should check if the organic search is possible in your industry. This can be done with many free tools and will give you an idea about where you might be if SEO is implemented. This applies even if you have a brand new website. Many people spend a lot on creating beautiful websites but don’t realize the website can be too heavy to be found by Google.
Have you ever tried marketing in any form?
Your overall marketing strategy should include SEO. This is because a typical consumer buying path involves multiple touchpoints before the purchase actually happens. SEO is an attempt to create a new touchpoint that isn’t pushy, but that people can discover for themselves. It stimulates the natural curiosity of people who are willing to buy, either immediately or in the future.
If you have not invested in other forms of marketing, it might be a good idea to take a look at all available channels and how they work within your industry. Then make a plan for testing them with a limited budget to find the ones that are most effective. Because each channel works in a different way, budgets should be allocated to them.
A quality agency will want to see how the other channels are performing in order to help them align their communication strategy.
Based on your cash flow can you allocate some funds to long-term activities?
SEO is a long-term strategy. Anyone who promises quick results, or worse, guarantees them, is lying. There is no shortcut for SEO. And if they do, it’s most likely that they are using shady tactics which could endanger your website. You should avoid quick rankings if you’re looking to build your brand over the long term.
SEO can produce results within 6-12 months. Some websites may have quick fixes that lead to quick wins. SEO is a long-term game. You should not hire an agency if you are unable to set aside enough money to continue doing this for a longer period of time. Instead, try some best practices optimizations yourself or at work. If you have a clear understanding of the work and need someone to just do it, you could hire a freelancer for a project.
SEO is not the only type of marketing. The way it works is that you can achieve amazing results by gaining more data. However, this is only possible if your SEO investment and execution aren’t continuous. Only hire an SEO agency if you are willing to make the investment.
Do you or someone on your team have the experience to manage an in-house SEO manager?
To do a great job, momentum is essential. It means working hard on the problem, coming up with ideas, planning, and then executing them. You will also need to analyze data and identify patterns and potential opportunities. You can also manage an SEO team in-house if you have the skills and experience to do so. This means you can set goals, provide feedback, and even remove roadblocks.
What rights do I have to speak with a developer about my project?
Technical SEO is a large portion of the SEO work that requires developers’ assistance. Technical SEO refers to the work that takes place behind the scenes, but it is just as important in ranking your website. Some business owners are not comfortable using technology. That’s why it is important to have a developer in your team. A big SEO agency will likely assist you with technology implementations if you are a partner. You might be looking for something cheaper, but they may be able to help with only the essentials. Although these executions are not always required, they will still need to be done every few hours.
These days, most websites are built with popular CMS such as WordPress, Shopify, Wix, and others. Some SEO Agencies (including ours), have had experience working with them. They will be able to make most of these changes without the need for a developer. Developers will need to be involved in any customizations or modifications in the code structure of the themes.
Are you ready to make investments in content development?
SEO is all about content. Google wants its users to be satisfied when they use its service to search for answers. Good content helps to achieve that goal. Google wants users to be able to find accurate, timely, and satisfactory information. But this is impossible if the company does not regularly update quality content. This is done by many websites through blogs, portfolios, or resources they create for customers. However, depending on your industry, and the amount of research required to create content, this can add up to a cost. Keep in mind, however, that content does not necessarily need to be in the format of articles. Images, infographics or videos can all be used as content. A quality content strategy is recommended by any SEO agency that is interested in your business growth. Quality content will satisfy the user who discovered you through Google and is your target client.
Can you do SEO in-house?
It is important to have someone committed to the job. This can be full-time, or even part-time. You might also need to help them with any training material or courses available, depending on their experience. It is important to have a plan in place for how you are going to manage them and allow them to succeed at their job. It would be ideal if you sat down with them to discuss their ideas, tasks and plan.
If you have the skills required and have the time to devote to it, In House can be a great option. You will either not be able to do it well or you will waste your time doing other valuable tasks.
What is better? A freelancer or a permanent employee?
Depending on your business’ stage, a freelancer could be a good choice. While they might be affordable, their business processes may not be as well-developed, making it hard to work with them. You might find them helpful if you are just starting out. It’s difficult to find the best freelancers.
A freelancer is cheaper than an agency. Additionally, if you can manage an SEO person in-house, you might have more visibility. An agency will provide you with SEO experts and help with business processes. You can now decide how important each one is to you.
What are my SEO requirements?
I’m going to assume you can now better understand whether or not you want to hire someone to help you with your SEO needs.
Moving forward, we assume you have made the decision to hire someone.
You must first clarify your SEO requirements.
SEO can provide you with any of these.
Traffic: SEO
This is especially true if your website is earning from ads.
SEO for Ecommerce Sales
SEO must be done if you want to reach people searching online for your products or services using keywords like “buy” OR “online”.
SEO for Branding
SEO will also help increase trust and authority in your brand. This is why you can offer very useful resources that will impress buyers before they purchase anything from you.
SEO for Lead Acquisition
For service-based businesses that cannot sell completely online, SEO strategies are a great way to bring people to your site.
SEO for Reputation Management
If you want to rank high for search terms like “reviews”, or increase positive mentions about your company, people will be searching for it. This can also be used by the company to highlight its positive experiences and encourage customers to buy.
You can choose one of these options or combine them.
Next is to determine your budget.
For the right partnership, you should have a range of budgets that you are comfortable with. It is important to consider whether you need to stretch your budget. SEO is a long-term venture. You may feel panicked if you don’t get results quickly. A very low budget might not suffice to connect with SEO experts.
Pricing and packages in the South African SEO market vary widely. However, you can find freelancers on Upwork, freelancers or Facebook groups for as low as R 1,000.
A monthly retainer fee for agencies can be anywhere from R 2,000 up to R 10,500, depending on your business size, industry and website. No matter what your budget is, do your research to ensure that the funds are allocated appropriately.
How to evaluate an SEO Agency
After reading this, you have already defined your SEO goals, set a budget, and decided to hire an SEO company.
Congratulations! You’re about to enter an extremely confusing time
Ask around to see if you can get recommendations. If you don’t like the outcome, you’ll post it on LinkedIn or Facebook. If you do, you’ll drown in all of the calls, emails, and messages you get regarding your request for the next several days.
SEO professionals are abundant so getting proposals shouldn’t be a problem. The hard part is deciding who to go for and how you will assess the many people reaching out. They all begin to sound similar, let’s be real!
Because you have decided to do this activity and not more fun activities, I want you to know that I am here to help. Let me give you some ideas to help you make your final decision. It is better to read this before posting your request on social networks.
Let’s get started with the important factors to be aware of:
Location:
Many people search for agencies located in the same area as theirs. It doesn’t really matter if you don’t want to meet face-to–face. It is important to not limit your work with agencies that are based in a specific city. Professional SEO agencies would have developed processes that allow them to work with clients all over the globe, using the many technological tools that we have today.
Features:
Some factors may not be important, or they might matter to different people at different levels. The size and experience of the agency. If you have any preferences, you can either specify them in your requirements or visit their website to see if they have. Let me just say that you should be open to the possibility of finding agencies that fit your criteria but that can help you reach your goals.
Team:
It’s important to get to know your potential team members. SEO is a long-term strategy. As I’ve said before, SEO is a long-term business. Therefore, you need to get to know the people you are working with. While this may seem important to many, it is very important for me. Apart from their experiences, it’s important that they communicate well. Because you will be relying on them to update you, talk to you, and listen to your needs.
Methodology:
Many agencies offer an opportunity to see their processes before you make a decision to hire them. Some agencies provide audits, inform you about their reporting frequency, and offer free or charged consultations. People who promise “too good for you” results are often false. It is also possible to obtain those results by using untrued practices that could harm your Google search engine presence.
Proof:
If you need proof that your team is talented, they will either give you case studies or provide references from previous clients. It’s possible that they have published material or done original research. However, SEO works best when it’s tailored and customized. You need people who are knowledgeable in the field and willing to work closely with you to make your site a success.
Prices:
This is, without doubt, one of the most important. Before you make any decisions about pricing, it is essential to learn how other people price these services.
There are three types of pricing models that are most popular in this industry.
- Monthly Retainership: This is a cost-effective and popular option. You pay a monthly fee for resources that are allocated to your SEO requirements. You get support from a team that works on the strategy, execution and analysis of your SEO. You will most likely receive updates and calls from your team bi-monthly or weekly to check on progress and give inputs.
- Project-based: This allows you to decide the tasks that you need to complete and receive quotes for those tasks. It works best if you have clear expectations about the tasks and deliverables. It depends on the experience of the person working on it.
- Hourly rates
There are also agencies that charge their SEO services according to a variety of keyword models. Webbero does not do this because the focus of keywords may change depending on the new data we uncover.
Also, agencies and freelancers will often offer very low prices. However, I advise that you be careful about accepting these offers. As someone who has worked with service providers, you will know that quality and affordability don’t always work together. This is obviously not the type of service you want.
SEO is a complex and creative field. It requires a lot of research, analysis and planning. I don’t think anyone could do it. It would require a lot of research, analysis, and creativity.
That’s all I have to say.
What I’ve talked about so far:
- Should you invest in SEO for your brand?
- What should I do if I want to hire an SEO agency
- What are my SEO requirements
- How to evaluate an SEO Agency
If you’d like to learn more about what SEO can do for your business, you can fill out the form below and we will get back to you.