Hiring an SEO marketing agency or consultant is a critical decision for any business looking to grow its online presence. Whether you want to climb the search results, drive more traffic, or improve your site's overall performance, the right SEO partner can make all the difference. Having a team behind you, working with you to enhance your brand and to increase sales, can be extremely effective.
But how do you separate the experts from the amateurs? Technical know-how will go a long way but at Adtrak, we believe strong customer service and ethical collaboration matter just as much as results. And we can deliver both.
In this article, we take a look at the key qualities we believe you need to find when hiring an SEO partner.
1. Clear Communication
Communication is key in all things, and it’s no different when choosing a marketing agency. An effective SEO partner can explain strategies, results and next steps in a way that’s easy to understand.
2. Transparency & Accountability
You should always have clarity on what’s being done on your marketing at any given time. Your partner should provide clear timelines, details on objectives and a strategy for future work.
3. Responsiveness
Availability can vary with marketing agencies. Even the great ones. But it’s important that they respond in a timely fashion with enthusiasm and a plan of action. Problems can build up over time if things are not resolved within a timely manner. Any worthwhile marketing partner will look to respond as soon as possible, depending on the severity of the issue.
4. Proven Track Record
It’s always worth asking for case studies or examples of previous projects they’ve worked on. This will show not only their past successes but also display what brands or companies they’ve worked with. Results matter, so don’t be afraid to ask for examples of what they’ve done for other businesses.
5. Service Offering
Digital marketing agencies usually offer a range of services, with some, like us, providing full solutions across all disciplines and others that only provide certain aspects of online marketing. With SEO encompassing many elements to be successful by working alongside departments such as Paid Media and Web Design, we always recommend a full-service approach. This offers flexibility as well as more opportunity for success.
6. Technical SEO
There are many aspects to a well-rounded technical SEO skillset. Being able to identify everything from crawl issues and error pages to dealing with tracking issues and performing on-page optimisation is essential to maintaining a healthy organic presence. We recommend also looking for someone who can not only perform these fundamentals, but wants to continue to develop them too. This could be someone who has a solid understanding of a variety of CMS platforms or keeps their finger on the pulse by regularly updating their knowledge on the latest SEO changes. Having this kind of versatility will pay off in the long run.
7. Effective Keyword Strategy
One of the most important things you will need from a capable SEO agency is an effective keyword strategy. This underpins the basis for all of your SEO work and getting this right at the very beginning is crucial for success in the long term.
They should target the right search intent, and not just high search volume keywords but terms that actually drive relevant, converting traffic.It could also help guide you moving forward, as to how your business can grow online.
8. Reporting and Analytics
One of the key elements for any successful SEO marketing campaign is reporting and being able to show progress for your website performance. Regular reports with KPIs, trends and actionable insights show how your SEO campaign is performing, and will often identify opportunities and the direction that your consultant can take moving forward.
9. Adaptability
Search engine algorithms are always evolving and a good consultant or agency will monitor these shifts and proactively adapt strategies for your website campaign. Being able to shift strategic approach midway through a campaign is important, especially with the constant industry and algorithm changes in SEO.
10. Local SEO Expertise
Depending on your business and goals, it’s advisable to make sure your site marketing includes local optimisation. This can be across your local services or at least your business location and where you are based. This can help not only local customers find you, but help to build your brand online, regionally .
This list is what we believe contributes the most to a happy and successful relationship between your business and your SEO consultant or agency. The above will not only mean productive results but also ensure you’re giving your business the best opportunity to thrive online.
Why Adtrak is the best SEO Marketing Agency in Nottingham
Adtrak are the best SEO Marketing agency in Nottingham because we encompass all of the above and more. We have achieved increased sales and leads for customers, across a wide range of client campaigns and provided local SEO, Ecommerce SEO and comprehensive SEO audits. We are a full service marketing agency, providing effective strategies to industries nationwide.
So if you’re looking for an SEO partner, give us a call on 0115 959 8900 or send us an email to see how we can help.
