So, you’ve decided to invest in some good ol’ fashioned digital marketing to increase traffic to your website, and to overall become more successful. Excellent choice. Now that you’ve decided to invest in your company’s future, how do you go about choosing a digital marketing agency, and what do you even look for?
Let’s take you through what to look for and what to avoid when it comes to your newfound quest for a compatible SEO services package.
Establishing Your Needs
Before searching for an SEO services package, you want to make sure you’ve thought about what you need, and what you want out of the experience. Do you need well-written articles to include on your webpage or blog, or do you already have articles that just need some upgrading? Do you need keyword research? What do you ultimately hope to achieve with your digital marketing experience, and most importantly, what can you afford to spend?
Choosing the Right Digital Marketing Team
Before even considering which SEO services package is right for you, you are going to want to make sure that you’ve chosen the right digital marketing company for your project. Ideally, you are going to want this to be a long term relationship, so choose wisely. When choosing the right digital marketing team, you are going to want to consider the following:
- Reviews. Make sure your prospective new BFF (your new digital marketing team) has good reviews. Look for reputable reviews from previous or current clients on their website, as well as other online reviews. Seeing what other people have to say about them is always a good place to start, as you can identify some potential red flags right away!
- Schedule a consultation. Before putting any money down or committing to a service package, schedule a consultation. A good digital marketing company will offer a free consultation, and won’t make you feel like you’re wasting their time. At Content Refined, we give you the option right on our website to have a look at our calendar and schedule a free consultation appointment that suits your schedule.
- Look out for anything that seems too good to be true. If a digital marketing company is promising you results that seem too good to be true, they probably are. It is important that they are realistic with you, both in statements they make on their website, and when they are speaking directly to you. Make sure that they explain to you what their process is, how they would go about it for your particular company, and what they would realistically expect to see as a result. If a digital marketing team tells you you’ll receive 10,000 followers overnight, you should probably hit the road!
What You Should Look for
Now that you’ve established what you want and the digital marketing team you want it from (cough, Content Refined), you are going to want to take a look at the packages that they have to offer. An SEO package is multiple SEO services bundled together to create a (hopefully) cost-effective approach to your digital marketing needs.
Packages generally vary depending on what is needed to be done, and as a result, the price varies as well. Here are a few things to consider when choosing your SEO package:
- Simple and direct. Your SEO services package list should be simple and direct, and not include dozens of promises that make you think you are getting additional value for your money (when in reality, it is worth little to no value to your company or is an aspect that is already included in another category). If you look at Content Refined’s website, we break our packages down into no more than six services, and we simplify each step – no long lists, no “exaggerations” about what we have to offer.
- Suits your budget. This probably goes without saying, but make sure you keep your budget in mind. Be upfront with your digital marketing agency about what you can afford. More often than not, they will have different packages available with different budgets, depending on how much work you would like to be done. If a digital marketing agency is trying to convince you to spend more than you can afford, they are probably not the best team for you to be working with.
- Includes the minimum.Certain services are essential to a good SEO services package, and should always be offered, whether or not you choose to opt into them all. As well as offering search engine optimization, they should also be offering content creation and editing, keyword research for you and your competitor, an audit of your existing content, content upgrades, a dedicated point of contact, reporting and more. While yes, you do want to avoid long lists with unrealistic promises that don’t make a lot of sense, you need to make sure that you are getting at least the basics that your company requires for success.
- Timeframes. Be sure that the package you’re selecting comes with a timeline that suits your needs. You may feel like your company has the time to wait six months for a package to be complete, but ordinarily, that’s not the case. During your consultation, speak to the project manager about what your realistic timelines are. They’ll tell you which packages fit in with your timeframes and if what you are looking for is possible. Keep in mind that quick turnaround times may be a possibility, but may also cost you more.
When it comes to choosing an SEO services package, clearly there is a lot to take into account. It’s not as simple as just choosing a package out of a hat – you have to decide on a digital marketing agency before you even choose the package that’s right for your company.
Trust us when we say that doing the necessary research is worth it when it comes to finding the SEO services package that is best for your company – it could be one of the most valuable investments you will ever make.
