It’s difficult to overstate the impact that good SEO agency services can have on your brand’s lead generation success. Having a great product is one thing, and getting people to know about your product and buy it is another. Consumers don’t always gravitate towards the best products but the best-marketed ones. With a good SEO company by your side, maximizing your sales through great marketing will be easy.
A great company will understand the best keywords to use, how to generate quality content, and what it takes to rank more highly in Google SERPs. It could also help you increase your website’s revenue. On the flip side, working with the wrong company could easily inhibit your marketing efforts.
Remember, you might be just another customer to the SEO company. For you, your website’s SEO success could be the lifeline of your business. Great SEO agency services offer long-term benefits, which is why you must be extremely selective with the agency you choose for your business.
Here are a few signs that you should consider changing your current SEO agency:
You Expect More Value for Their Price Tag
You should be getting the value that matches the SEO service price tag. While most businesses are interested in lowering their costs, the lowest price point isn’t always the most valuable. Some SEO companies lower their price (and the quality of their services) to undercut the competition.
On the flip side, expensive SEO agency services don’t always mean that you are getting the best value. The trick is to understand exactly what results you expect and set measurable goals to determine if your SEO agency is delivering on its promises.
For instance, you might want a combination of PPC, SEO, and content marketing services. This means that a company that offers all three and at a high-quality level will be ideal for you. Assess the kind of value you want, and if your current SEO company falls short, consider switching to another service provider.
The Agency Uses an Unethical Approach to SEO
Any good SEO company will only use ethical SEO techniques. There are three categories of techniques; black hat, gray hat, and white hat SEO. Ideally, you’ll want to pay for white hat SEO agency services. This means that your SEO company follows the rules that Google considers ethical.
Black hat SEO, on the other hand, involves using shortcuts and unethical means to help improve your rankings. While it might work initially, it could easily lead to you being penalized by Google. BMW used black hat SEO in 2006, which resulted in Google removing it from its index. Some of these penalties could affect your business’s rank in the long term.
Grey hat SEO is a hybrid of black hat and white hat techniques; some companies might generally employ white hat techniques but supplement them with black hat approaches. Consider asking a potential SEO partner what they consider white hat and black hat, and how they ensure they don’t cross the line. Ethical providers of SEO agency services will be transparent enough to explain their approach.
The SEO Agency Doesn’t Take Security Seriously
Your website’s security measures can make or break your SEO efforts. A security breach can easily lower your SEO rankings. You could also lose customers and incur hefty fines due to a data breach. 82% of consumers will wisely shy away from visiting a website that isn’t secure.
Web security is a role played largely by web developers, but it is wise to hire a good SEO company that cares about your security. The earlier security issues are identified, the faster they can be rectified, resulting in fewer repercussions. Does your current agency prioritize security as part of their SEO agency services? If they don’t, you should consider looking for help elsewhere.
The Agency Doesn’t Take Mobile-Friendliness Seriously
In 2019, Google made mobile-first indexing a default, which meant that they prioritized websites’ mobile versions when indexing them. The change was a long time coming, considering that mobile traffic accounts for over 50% of the global internet traffic. If you ignore your site’s mobile-friendliness, you are potentially alienating this large audience. A mobile-friendly site should:
- Be responsive to different screen orientations and sizes
- Load quickly
- Deliver an outstanding user experience
- Have limited pop-ups
- Have optimized meta descriptions
- Feature an easy-to-use navigation bar
You cannot ignore mobile-friendliness if you are looking to convince and convert site visitors through great SEO agency services. Test your site on different mobile devices. If there are any lapses in mobile-friendliness, you should raise the issue with your current agency. However, consider working with a different agency if there are extensive lapses. When vetting your next agency, you should assess the mobile-friendliness of the past sites they have worked on and how well they keep abreast of the latest SEO trends.
Your Content Doesn’t Attract Customers
Custom content can be a great lead generating tool. 80% of consumers prefer learning about a brand through custom content. This means that generic content will not cut it when looking to generate quality leads. Your site’s content needs to be targeted to specific individuals while providing great value. The content should either provide information or encourage action — or both.
If your SEO agency services are producing the right content, your ROI will improve. If it resonates with your target audience, they may be attracted to your brand and will purchase from you. Great content will also please search engines, which in turn increases your rankings. That’s why assessing the effectiveness of your content marketing efforts is essential.
A good SEO company will take time to understand your company and its values. This understanding will be reflected in the quality content it creates for your site. The goal of SEO agency services goes beyond being found by potential customers; it should help you generate and nurture leads through resonating with them.
Your Decision Should Be Value-Oriented
It can be scary to switch to a new SEO agency, but it is necessary if you aren’t getting good value from your current one. When looking for a new agency, make sure you know what you want. You should then set out to look for one that matches your needs. Never stop measuring and tracking the results of any SEO agency services you pay for, since this will help you determine whether they are worth the investment.