20 Trending Questions to Ask Before Hiring SEO Agency
Do you know what places one company on Google’s first page and another on their fifth page? Search engine optimization, also known as SEO. In case you’re part of the few who haven’t heard about it, SEO essentially includes different tactics and strategies to get your website ranking higher on the many search engines out there, such as Google, Yahoo and Bing (the top three).
That being said, you absolutely need to an SEO strategy in place because we live in a digital world where the internet takes precedence over all else, and if you can’t be found you can’t succeed. To succeed, you need to engage with your audience; to engage with your audience, you have to get them to land on your site. This is why 55% of small businesses invest in SEO, and why it’s estimated that brands in the US will spend $72.02 billion for SEO services in 2018.
Fortunately, there are countless SEO agencies you can turn to for help. Unfortunately, finding the right one is a job in and of itself because choosing the wrong one can actually leave you worse off than where you began. Here’s where this post comes in. As you’ll soon see, there are many questions you need to ask any prospective SEO agency before you say ‘yes,’ and here are 20 such questions.
1. How long have you been working in SEO?
Up first, ALWAYS inquire how long they’ve been in the SEO game. You want someone who has the experience to propel you to Google’s coveted first page, and going with someone who’s relatively new and hasn’t gone through a couple of Google’s notorious algorithm changes may not be the best idea.
2. Why should we hire you over other agencies?
Everyone has a pitch; what’s theirs? There are literally hundreds of SEO agencies you can go to, so why should you go to theirs over another? Do they have a stellar track record? Do they specialize in your specific industry? Are they the perfect combination of quality work and an affordable price?
3. Have you worked with companies in my industry before?
Most SEO agencies claim to have worked with companies in varying industries. Sure, they may have worked with a fashion brand here, a tech company there, a leasing agency over there, but have they worked with someone in your industry? Every industry has its differences and nuances, and these need to be taken under consideration for an SEO project to be successful.
4. Do you have any references or case studies?
Like the first question, you want someone with experience, and inquiring about references or case studies will show you exactly what they’re bringing to the table. References, for one, can tell you what to expect because they’ve already worked with that agency. As for case studies, you can use these to get insights into how they work and the results they can get.
5. What’s your payment structure like?
Contracts can be tricky and you don’t want to be caught off-guard with hidden fees. Always ask exactly what their payment structure is like, what services you’re paying for, how much you’re paying for each service, and so on.
6. What happens if we end the contract early?
You never know what’s going to happen. It’s unfortunate, but the unexpected may occur and you need a backup plan to protect you. Whether it’s because they’re not living up to your expectations, or because of an unforeseen expense that limits your budget, you need to know what happens if the contract has to be cut short. Will there be fees attached? Can you get part of your money back?
7. How do you measure success?
Everyone measures success differently; some focus more on traffic while others place higher value in conversions. For you, this means making sure that all parties are measuring success the same way. Otherwise, they may be ecstatic because they’re seeing improved traffic, but you’re less enthusiastic because what you were looking for all along was more conversions.
8. Do you provide other services?
SEO is a must today, but it’s not all you can do to help your website get found. For example, do they offer other things like PPC services that can be used in tandem with SEO to experience immediate benefits? Always inquire what else they can bring to the table and you’ll be rewarded with better results.
9. How often will we communicate?
You want to be kept in the loop of everything that happens. If something isn’t going according to plan, you want to know about it right away and take the appropriate measures to fix it. This means setting up weekly or bi-weekly calls, constant email communication that informs you on every development, and so on.
10. What types of reporting will you provide?
Like above, you always need to know what’s going on. As such, you need to be kept on the loop of any changes to your website. For example, will they let you know if there are any changes in ranking? What about improvements in traffic? Maybe a new trend is on its way — will they be able to fill you in on what it entails and what you can do to make the most of it?
11. What do you need from our end?
SEO campaigns work best when all parties involved contribute something to the table. Sure, you’re paying them for their services, but this doesn’t mean that you should just wait for things to happen. Instead, you need to be actively involved in the process and do what you can to bring about better results. For example, you may want to provide some brand guidelines that outline your brand’s voice and style, its target audience, and other things that contribute to a successful campaign.
12. What’s your methodology?
This question is very important because you need to know how they’re going to approach SEO; what they’re going to do and what they’re not. As we’ll touch on later on, this also includes ensuring they’re following SEO best practices instead of resorting to black-hat tactics that hurt you down the line.
13. How do you approach SEO’s different facets, such as local, mobile, voice search, etc.?
SEO is made up of a lot. Apart from the general things, SEO also has different facets like local SEO, mobile SEO, voice search SEO and visual search SEO. For you, this means making sure that they have a strategy for optimizing all of them. For example, we’re now married to our phones and divorce seems highly unlikely. In terms of SEO, this means that because our go-to search option whenever we’re on-the-go is the smartphone, you need to optimize your website and its content to support your mobile users.
14. What’s your content strategy?
You’ve undoubtedly heard that content is king. Well, you heard right because SEO pretty much revolves around content. Content is what will attract your audience and what will give them the nudge to convert. Because of this, you need a partner with a solid content strategy that includes regularly churning out blog posts, guest posts, articles, images and any other content types your users enjoy the most.
15. What’s your backlink strategy?
In case you’re in the dark, backlinks are links from other sites that point back to your own, or links within your own site that improve your site’s navigation. Anyway, like content, backlinks are a vital component of SEO and will determine how you rank on search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing. As such, you need to know what they’re going to do to build your backlink profile and get you ranking higher.
16. Can you guarantee that I’ll rank on Google’s first page?
If you ask for a guarantee that your website will rank on Google’s first page, and get an affirmative, leave that very second because it is absolutely impossible to guarantee any sort of ranking. For starters, some industries and keywords are EXTREMELY competitive, and ranking on the first page is next to impossible. Second, if they’re guaranteeing you first page rankings, they’re probably doing the same for their other clients. Turning to math for a second, this means they have a 100% track record, which, like promising first page rankings, is simply impossible.
17. How long will it take for my website to rank on Google?
While an SEO agency can’t guarantee you first page rankings, they can definitely give you an estimate on which page you can make it to and how long it will take to get there. Keep one thing in mind though, if they tell you anything that sounds too good to be true, such as a couple of weeks or months, they are lying. With SEO, improvements typically begin appearing after four to six months (unless you pair SEO with PPC services that give you an added boost), so don’t fall for anyone that promises better.
18. How do you stay up-to-date on industry trends and changing algorithms?
A trend is exactly that: a trend. Trends come and go and you want someone who’s on top of every single one and prepared to deal with all of them. Additionally, Google is infamous for rolling out algorithm changes every now and then, such as ‘Fred’ last year, and being late to make any updates after a change can wreak havoc on your rankings.
19. Do you engage in any black-hat practices?
If you get the feeling that they cut corners here and there and engage in what’s called “black-hat SEO,” hang up the phone or get out of there. For those who don’t know, these practices involve doing things for search engines instead of people, such as keyword stuffing or swapping out pages once they start ranking. Not only will search engines like Google punish you with lower rankings, but the money you spent for those ‘results’ will also be wasted, as you’ll probably be worse off than when you first started.
20. Do you limit the number of clients you take on at once?
Finally, how many clients do they typically take on at once? On the one hand, an agency that works with too few companies may not be your best bet because it signals they can’t attract customers. On the other end, you don’t want an agency with too many, otherwise they risk spreading themselves too thin and delivering subpar results as a consequence.
Let’s Take a Second Look
There you go, now that we’ve gone over these 20 questions you can say ‘yes’ and start your journey to improved rankings. In case you missed one or a few, here they are all over again:
- How long have you been working in SEO?
- Why should we hire you over other agencies?
- Have you worked with companies in my industry before?
- Do you have any references or case studies?
- What’s your payment structure like?
- What happens if we end the contract early?
- How do you measure success?
- Do you provide other services?
- How often will we communicate?
- What types of reporting will you provide?
- What do you need from our end?
- What’s your methodology?
- How do you approach SEO’s different facets, such as local, mobile, voice search, etc.?
- What’s your content strategy?
- What’s your backlink strategy?
- Can you guarantee that I’ll rank on Google’s first page?
- How long will it take for my website to rank on Google?
- How do you stay up-to-date on industry trends and changing algorithms?
- Do you engage in any black-hat practices?
- Do you limit the number of clients you take on at once?