Is your SEO agency doing a good job?

How do you tell if your SEO agency is really providing value? We thought some advice and expertise around this question would be of some benefit - so here goes...

The search engine optimisation marketplace is growing every day, getting a phone call from someone saying they can get you ranked on page 1 of Google is just about as common as getting a phone call from someone trying to sell you cheaper gas and electricity, right? The worrying, and frankly sickening aspect of this is that there are so many seo companies out there that are either promising the impossible, confusing the client with technical jargon, or just not delivering the results.

SEO is a tricky subject, even the phrase "search engine optimisation" doesn't really make much sense unless you work in the internet industry. Too often companies talk to their clients about link juice, 301's, 404's and canonicalisation. In my every day life I hear people talking about SEO companies all the time and it always shocks me how unaccountable many of these companies are - no reports, no analysis, just promises that progress should be visible "soon".

So, how can you tell if your SEO company is performing?

The obvious factor, results!

Ok lets get this one out of the way. It's pretty obvious to tell whether the agency have achieved the agreed goals, are you on page 1?, position 1?, or have you started to see a substantial increase in traffic? If you are experiencing an increase in traffic you should try to assess whether it is the right type of traffic. Is the traffic converting into sales or enquiries? SEO is about driving traffic to your website, but the emphasis should be on the quality of traffic not just quantity.

Delivering on their promises

There's actually something slightly wrong with this, and that's the word "promise". I'm not for a second saying that SEO companies shouldn't be confident in their abilities but definitely watch out for promises that you perceive to be too good to be true. Can they really get you to position 1 within a month for the phrase "accountant" - seems too good to be true! I realise this is hard to do, but at the outset try to set some goals with your agency that are both realistic and measurable.

Reporting on, and discussing progress

If you were to ask a marketing agency to manage a TV/radio or newspaper marketing campaign for you you would expect them to be accountable for the results, you would expect to have a business discussion with them about the results wouldn't you? So why should it be any different with an SEO campaign? As a business/website owner you need some form of report that shows progress, if there isn't any progress or the progress you expected don't be afraid to ask why not - and ask for the answers in plain old English.

Check progress yourself

Don't rely purely on the reports that your agency will hopefully be providing you with. There is a wealth of information on how to make use of Google analytics. Carry out some searches for "google analytics for the business owner" and you should find some useful resources.

Whilst the process of SEO is different to traditional advertising methods the goal is the same - to generate business. So like any other advertising campaign you have to ask yourself whether you are getting value for money, if not can you at least see that the results are getting better each month? It has be stated that SEO can be a much slower process than those traditional advertising methods, but the rewards should be well worth the investment in time and money.

In short, work closely with your SEO agency, remain focussed on progress and if there's something you don't understand don't be afraid to ask. Like any other business relationship communication is key.