13 Key Questions to Ask an SEO Agency Before You Sign On

• May 6, 2024
• sb2b
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Finding the right SEO agency can be a growth-driver for SimplifiedB2B. Partnering with the right SEO experts propels your brand to the top of search engine results in the digital world where visibility equals viability. But with so many agencies promising the moon, how do you choose the one that will actually deliver?

The secret lies in asking the right questions to SEO companies! This guide is designed to arm SimplifiedB2B with the essential queries to ensure making an informed choice, helping sift through the jargon and find an SEO agency that genuinely understands and can meet business needs.

Top Questions to Ask SEO Agency to Ensure the Best Fit

It may look simple but hiring the right SEO agency is more than just comparing prices and services. Let’s say SimplifiedB2B is a local business in the UK. This means needing to look out for the best SEO agencies in the area that can align perfectly with business goals, thus effectively enhancing online presence. As SimplifiedB2B navigates through options, consider the below questions that will help uncover the agency’s true potential and suitability for needs.

What is Your Approach to SEO?

SEO strategies are like custom suits – they need to be tailored to fit SimplifiedB2B perfectly. That’s why understanding an agency’s approach is crucial before signing on the dotted line.

Here’s what you want to hear: How do they craft SEO plans specific to the industry and goals? Dig deeper and ask about their on-page and off-page SEO methods. Most importantly, find out how they stay ahead of Google’s constantly changing algorithms.

By asking these questions to an SEO agency, SimplifiedB2B will get a clear picture of their ability to adapt and innovate. After all, SimplifiedB2B needs a partner who can create bespoke strategies that make the business stand out from the crowd.

Can You Provide Examples of Successful Projects?

A portfolio of accomplishments needs to be available for viewing by any reputable SEO agency. Let’s say SimplifiedB2B is a business operating in the US market – they’ll want to see specific case studies of how agencies improved search rankings and increased organic traffic for other US-based companies, particularly those within the region. Seeing capability in action provides a valuable blueprint for what to expect. Make sure to ask for recent examples, as this reflects current competency in a changing field. Additionally, this is a good opportunity to determine if they rank among the top SEO companies through a proven track record and client testimonials.

How Do You Measure SEO Success?

Don’t just pick any SEO agency. Rather, focus on understanding their tracking methods and performance metrics. Any good agency will conduct a thorough website SEO analysis and use a bunch of different metrics to see how their campaigns are doing, like website ranking, organic traffic (how many people visit the site naturally), how many people convert (become customers), and how many people bounce (leave right away).

This detailed analysis is conducted with the help of a few tools, of course, such as:

• Google Analytics: Used for visitor behaviors and to measure metrics like bounce rate, pages per session, average session duration, and conversion rate. The bounce rate measures the percentage of visitors who enter the website and then leave (“bounce”) rather than continuing to view other pages. A high bounce rate can indicate that the site isn’t engaging enough or relevant to the visitors’ needs. In addition, pages per session track the average number of pages viewed during a session. More pages per session means more engaging content or effective site structure. Finally, while average session duration indicates the average length of a session on your site, conversion rate tracks how many visitors complete a desired action, such as signing up for a newsletter or making a purchase.
• Google Search Console: Used for keywords and page tracking. Important metrics measured by this tool are average position, Click-Through Rate (CTR), and impressions. For instance, the average position metric shows the average ranking of SimplifiedB2B’s website for search queries, helping understand visibility in search engines. CTR is the percentage of people who click on the site after seeing the listing in search results. Remember, higher CTR can indicate effective title tags and meta descriptions! Finally, if SimplifiedB2B is on the hunt to learn the number of times pages are displayed in search results, they need to look for the impressions metric. Monitoring impressions in addition to clicks can enable to assess how well the website’s SEO is working to increase visibility.

How Do You Integrate Content Creation in Your SEO Strategy?

Everyone throws around the phrase “content is king” in SEO, but how an agency uses content to rule the search rankings is what really matters. The best SEO plans are built on high-quality, relevant content that grabs SimplifiedB2B’s audience’s attention and keeps search engines happy. This is where understanding the importance of content in SEO comes in. By asking about an agency’s content strategy, SimplifiedB2B gets a feel for its ability to create or improve content that works for both SEO and business goals. It’s a big question because it shows if they can bring content creation, keyword research, link building, and keeping users engaged all together to drive organic website traffic and boost rankings.

When it comes to impressing the search engines with content, there are important points an agency should be aware of. SimplifiedB2B can ask about whether they create content according to Google’s E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) rules. E-A-T rules basically want the content to be written by knowledgeable writers who are experts in their respective fields, demonstrating the practical knowledge or skill acquired over time by the content creators or the organization in their particular niche. The content should position SimplifiedB2B’s brand as a leading voice in the industry.

Each piece of content should serve a clear purpose, whether it’s to inform, educate, or entertain, thereby adding value to the user’s experience.

Furthermore, to significantly amplify the reach of content, SimplifiedB2B’s potential agency might be collaborating with social media experts. Strategic posting, active engagement with followers, and targeted promotions on social platforms can help content not only reach the intended audience but also speak to them. Feedback from these interactions provides immediate insights into trending topics and audience preferences, guiding future content creation and updates.

How Do You Stay Updated With SEO Changes and Google Algorithms?

Another important question to ask an SEO Agency: “How do you stay updated with SEO changes and Google algorithms?” After all, SEO isn’t static. Search engine algorithms, especially Google’s algorithm history, change all the time, with recent updates like the Helpful Content Update (HCU) prioritizing content that’s genuinely helpful, informative, and written by people with expertise. These changes can disrupt even the best SEO strategies!

So, a top agency must be staying on top of these changes. SimplifiedB2B can ask them how they keep their finger on the pulse of these updates and adjust their strategies accordingly. This way, SimplifiedB2B will know if they’re always learning and ready to adapt to the ever-changing digital world.

What SEO Tools Do You Use?

The SEO agency tools a company employs can tell a lot about their professionalism and precision. SimplifiedB2B can inquire about the software and tools they use for keyword research, link building, analytics, and competitive analysis. Familiar tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, and Moz suggest a certain level of credibility and investment in their craft. Each of these tools has unique features that can aid in different aspects.

SEMrush: Most commonly used for creating topic clusters, conducting thorough keyword research, and performing competitor analysis. SEMrush helps identify opportunities for content and keyword optimization, making it a versatile tool for improving overall search engine visibility.

Ahrefs: Well-known for its backlink audit and research capabilities. A unique feature of this tool is the domain rating metric, known as “DR.” DR assesses the strength of a website’s backlink profile compared to others in Ahrefs’ database, providing insights into link quality and potential for improvement.

Screaming Frog: A powerful tool for technical SEO audits, Screaming Frog allows to crawl websites and collect a comprehensive array of data. It’s particularly useful for identifying common SEO issues such as broken links, improper redirects, and missing meta tags, which are crucial for maintaining a healthy website infrastructure.

DeepCrawl: For deep website crawling and monitoring, DeepCrawl is the go-to tool. DeepCrawl helps track and diagnose technical and performance issues that can affect SEO ranking. The tool provides detailed reports and analytics, supporting continuous improvement and compliance with SEO best practices.

How Do You Handle Link Building?

Link building should be an integral part of any SEO strategy, but it needs to be done right. So, this brings SimplifiedB2B to the perfect question to ask an SEO agency: “How do they do link building?” Ask about the types of links they aim to build and their process for securing these links.

Basically, it’s about quality over quantity. It’s integral to achieve backlinks from authoritative and relevant websites. Ideally, backlinks should come from websites that are:

• Authoritative: Having a high domain authority, indicating trust and credibility in the eyes of search engines.
• Relevant: Topically related to SimplifiedB2B’s website and its content.

This focus on quality ensures avoiding penalties from search engines like Google, which can happen pretty often and can severely damage website’s ranking – the opposite of the reason why SimplifiedB2B has decided to work with an SEO agency in the first place.

Highly important! They should use ethical link-building strategies like PR links, outreach, or similar tactics to achieve these high-quality backlinks.

What’s Included in Your SEO Reporting?

No doubt transparency is key in any partnership. So, it is expected that a reliable agency will provide detailed reports that not only show what has been done but also the impact it has had. SimplifiedB2B can ask about the frequency of these reports and what metrics are included. The report should show overall website positions, ROI, and keyword rankings. SimplifiedB2B must be able to see the current positions of the website in the SERPs, for a broad range of keywords while also including data on how the SEO practices are translating into measurable business outcomes such as lead generation, sales conversions, and revenue growth.

Basically, effective reports should help understand the ROI of SimplifiedB2B’s SEO investment, which keywords are improving in ranking, which are declining, and any new keywords the site is ranking for.

How Do You Communicate with Your Clients?

Communication is key in any marketing campaign, like seriously key! SimplifiedB2B needs to know how often they’ll update on the campaign’s progress and what those updates mean. Emails, calls, or even in-person meetings work – the important thing is getting clear and regular updates to keep the project moving smoothly.

What is Your Pricing Structure?

SEO doesn’t have a standard price tag, so SimplifiedB2B needs to understand what they’re paying for. They can ask about the agency’s pricing guide – whether it’s project-based, retainer-based, or performance-based. This can affect how their budget is managed and give insights into what to expect in terms of payment schedules and deliverables.

What Happens If SimplifiedB2B Decides to Part Ways?

No one likes talking about breaking up, but it’s good to know what happens with SimplifiedB2B’s stuff if they decide to move on from the agency (it happens!). This means figuring out who owns the content and data they create for them, how the transition would work if they switch partners and any other contract details. Knowing this upfront saves a ton of trouble down the road if SimplifiedB2B decides to change their SEO strategy or pick a new agency.

What is Your Client Retention Rate?

Asking about client retention rate is one of the top questions to ask an SEO agency because it reflects the agency’s ability to maintain long-term client relationships and consistently deliver results. A high retention rate indicates a reliable agency that meets or exceeds client expectations, essential for businesses investing in SEO for the first time.

Can You Describe a Project That Didn’t Meet Expectations and How You Handled It?

SimplifiedB2B can expect that a good answer will explain how they tackle challenges, learn from past experiences (both successes and setbacks), and take steps to avoid similar issues in the future. This transparency can build trust with the agency, so it’s definitely a question they should ask when choosing an SEO company.