9 tips for choosing an SEO agency

SEO agencies can vary in their quality of service. This means that a large number of brands and organizations have been burned at least once.

Additionally, many agencies look and sound the same – just swap the logo and branding. However, they offer varying levels of depth of experience and expertise.

SEO agencies are not one-size-fits-all, and entering into a bad relationship can be costly in terms of dollars and time lost.

I have been involved in this process for a long time as an agency head. It probably sounds self-serving that I am writing this article. But, let me be the first to say that I don’t want to work with every brand, and my agency is not right for everyone.

Drawing on experiences at the agency desk, I’ve outlined nine tips to help you work through the process of choosing the right fit and right agency for your organization.

1. Develop and define goals

If you haven’t translated organizational, sales and marketing goals to SEO specifically, now is the time to start thinking about it.

Good agencies will ask you pretty early on what your goals are whether those are tied to ROI, conversions, or whatever your measure of success is. (Beware if someone wants to do SEO for you without getting on topic.)

It’s fair to not know what to expect from SEO without the agency helping with the research. However, do what you can to at least know what ROI looks like for you. This can be in the form of the number of conversions you need or specific actions.

You can also look at any industry benchmarks and your own performance baselines as reference points.

Regardless of what you know or don’t know, be clear about what success looks like in making money or achieving your goals. Have as much information as possible before you start your SEO agency search.

2. Evaluate internal resources

You’re probably looking for an SEO agency because you don’t have the in-house SEO expertise or time resources needed to succeed. Whatever the case, there will be some level of cooperation or effort from you or your team to have a successful agency partnership.

Even if you have the agency to do everything, you will need certain time commitments and availability for approvals, oversight, feedback and performance reviews.

In many cases, brands and organizations hold additional aspects or have other partners to cover the full spectrum of things that SEO needs, including content, IT, UX and any collaborative elements.

Plan what your internal team could or should own. Be available to collaborate with or use the agency or external partners. This will help you assess whether the agency is suitable for all or some aspects that you will need later in the SEO work.

3. Consider your budget

You can hopefully find some budget parameters to work with, taking the combination of goals and knowing what ROI looks like, in addition to the internal resources or existing partners you can lean on.

Even if you want to hear the first number of the agency, knowing your budget parameters will help you qualify faster and filter the ideal agencies according to size, scope and suitability.

For example, if you can quickly get some prices and know what arena you’re in, you can move on if it’s way above (or below) your estimated budget.

It’s perfectly fine not to know. It’s even better in many cases to have it tied to an ROI ratio rather than a fixed number – viewing SEO as an investment rather than an expense line.

Be prompt with that information and ask about how the agency will help you in some initial strategies or review steps to understand ways to reach your goals and the risk for different budget levels and investments.

4. Do your research

As you look at websites, talk to those who refer you to potential agencies, or enter into any initial outreach, be aware that specific dimensions matter.

That includes the size of the agency compared to your organization. Or, more importantly, how well they are able to serve your company. The stage of your company’s growth and life cycle could be another factor to consider.

Agencies can be pure generalists who take all the clients who have a dollar to pay them. Some take into account different factors that help narrow things down a bit, such as price minimums, focusing on particular niches or industries, audiences, conversion types or even the composition or structure of your team.

Save time and energy by searching for the right areas that match who you are and what you want. Resist pitches from agencies that seem to be out of your league or not aligned with your focus.

Do your homework and be prepared to question or challenge any contradictions or mixed messages you see.

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5. Have an interview plan

Often, I get a lot of really good questions from prospects I talk to. Other times, I don’t get asked enough, so I end up answering questions I wish were asked or assume my potential clients want to know.

The more organized you are in the questions you ask, the more objective your comparison can be at the end of the agencies you are considering.

Plan questions related to anything and everything important to you, whether that’s related to:

Be prepared, especially if you have some internal resources that will own copy or content, dev or other things that require tight partnership and collaboration.

Additionally, know who you are working with and how cultures align (or not).

Have a solid list of questions, plan for who asks what, and whatever grade level or scorecard you can. Finally, you can be objective and also go back to your finalist(s) with deeper levels of detail that you want to solidify.

6. Evaluate fit

I’m not just talking about you and me, the president who is leading the conversation at this point (or whatever sales or account representative).

I’m talking about between those on your team and the agency’s team who will be working together in the trenches.

Assess the fit between teams. Learn about employee retention rates and stability. Understand what level of transparency to expect. How practical will they be?

These aspects, in addition to agreement on the agency’s approach, are critical. You don’t want to hit a wall or drop right after the contract is signed or just a few months into an ongoing agreement.

7. Do a gut check

Does something sound too good to be true? Is something off? Is there a red or yellow flag somewhere?

Trust your gut and dig deeper. If you have concerns about how you fit in with the agency, get them validated. Ask your tough questions.

Don’t move forward if things are off or don’t feel right. That’s a warning sign, and you should trust your instinct to pause and dig deeper.

I’m not saying run away. Maybe you’re the first customer they’ve had in your niche or industry. That could be fine with the right level of transparency, research approach and risk tolerance. In some cases, it can be great to go with something fresh versus the cookie-cutter strategy that everyone else in the industry is using.

8. Understand the process

Beyond resource constraints and lack of sufficient understanding of SEO strategy – communication and mismanaged expectations are among the biggest roadblocks to success.

Each client has a different level of SEO knowledge, awareness of SEO processes, and understanding of the agency’s unique takes on those issues.

We (agencies) can take for granted that not all nerds out at the level we do.

Ask, and ask again if you don’t know what the process is about.

What will it look like in terms of steps from contract to discovery, onboarding, research, strategy, optimization, reporting, communication, timing and accountability for results?

Be clear about everything. Keep asking if you don’t know and make your notes to step up and have the right level of responsibility and expectations for the partnership.

9. Be clear on the agreement terms

Don’t sign something you haven’t read! If you don’t understand the content of the agreement, have a lawyer or consultant familiar with SEO look it over.

Beware of long-term agreements, sticky cancellation clauses and work ownership claims. Neither of those things are wrong, but you want to know what you’re getting into.

Long term could get you savings and commitment from both sides in the relationship. SEO does take time. However, you want to avoid the following scenarios:

The ideal scenario is that the relationship is built on trust and accountability, where billing and value remain balanced over time. You don’t have to think about the contract again after signing it.

Conclusion

Choosing the right suitable SEO agency is difficult. It can be challenging to wade through the clutter of so many sounding equals, find ways to gauge the experience and expertise, or map out your fit with them.

More than that, it can lead to wasted time, energy and dollars. I don’t want that for you.

Hopefully, the tips I shared help you prepare and think about the process in a detailed way to make sure you find the right fit for you and be successful.

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.

Corey Morris is an accomplished marketing professional with 15+ years of experience developing award-winning, ROI-producing digital strategies for local and national brands. He was recently honored as the recipient of the KCDMA 2019 Marketer of the Year award.

How much does SEO cost in 2022?

Corey serves as the chief strategy officer at Voltage – a marketing firm based in Kansas City, MO. Previously, he founded the KC Search Marketing Conference to help build a local community for search marketers for career growth. He was recognized for his involvement in the conference and invited to join the global board of SEMPO (now part of DAA) as the VP of Cities.	type
cost	Cheap SEO
$500 to $3,000 per month	Mid range SEO
$3,000 to $15,000 per month	Advanced SEO
$15,000-$30,000 per month	Enterprise SEO

$30,000-1 Million + per month

How much should I pay for SEO optimization?

How much does SEO cost in 2022? Expect to pay $2,000 â $10,000 per month. Beware of SEO agencies with no e-commerce experience. Plans cost more with content creation/writing included.

How much can you expect to spend on SEO? If you hire a top SEO company to run a local campaign, expect to pay $500.00+ per month. A national or international campaign will require a minimum budget of $2,500 to $5,000 per month. Some companies offer a “trial package” at a lower price, without a contract.

How much should I charge for SEO optimization?

How much should SEO cost? Average SEO costs are $100-$250 an hour for US SEO agencies. SEO costs often range from $2,500 â $10,000 per month for US agencies. The average SEO plan costs $2819 per month (per Ahrefs) Overseas SEO companies can charge $10-$50 an hour.

How much do freelancers charge for SEO?

How much can you expect to spend on SEO? If you hire a top SEO company to run a local campaign, expect to pay $500.00 per month. A national or international campaign will require a minimum budget of $2,500 to $5,000 per month. Some companies offer a “trial package” at a lower price, without a contract.

How much do SEO consultants charge per hour?

The most common hourly rate for SEO agencies is $100-$150/hour. For SEO consultants it is $75-$100/hour, and for freelancers, it is $41-50/hour.

What are SEO packages?

Hiring an experienced SEO freelancer or agency by the hour usually costs anywhere between $50-$150 per hour. Of course, you can find people who charge significantly less or more than this hourly rate. For example, this SEO hourly rate breakdown found that 6% of SEO providers charge more than $200/hour.

SEO packages are usually monthly subscription packages, are available for both local and national SEO campaigns, and can be further customized to meet the needs and goals of the business. SEO packages include services such as technical optimizations, keyword research, link building and content development.

What are the 3 components of SEO?

What is SEO and how does it work? Well, SEO stands for ‘Search Engine Optimization’ which is the process of getting traffic from free, organic, editorial or natural search results in search engines. It aims to improve the position of your website in search results pages. Remember, the higher the site is listed, the more people will see it.

What are the 5 important concepts of SEO?

The three main components of SEO are: Technical SEO. On-Page SEO (or Content SEO) Off-Page SEO (or Links)

• Throughout the rest of 2021, it’s essential to understand these five critical SEO concepts as we prepare for success.
• Core Network Vitals. …
• Mobile First Indexing. …
• Machine Learning and Automation. …
• E-A-T. …

What does SEO include?

Knowledge Gap, Semantics and Entities.

What are the 4 main components of an SEO?

SEO techniques include keyword strategy, content strategy, website audits, on-page optimization, off-page optimization, content development and competitor analysis.

How much is an SEO package?

Each component builds and complements the others. The stronger the connections between each of the 4 SEO components—technical SEO, on-page SEO, off-page SEO, and content—the better the results. Being aware of the connections will help us better understand how best to use them effectively.

What are the 4 types of SEO?

If you hire a top SEO company to run a local campaign, expect to pay $500.00 per month. A national or international campaign will require a minimum budget of $2,500 to $5,000 per month. Some companies offer a “trial package” at a lower price, without a contract.

• Having explained the approaches to search engine optimization, we can now go over what the different types of SEO are.
• On-page SEO (on-site SEO) …
• Off-page SEO (off-site SEO) …
• Technical SEO. …

What is the best type of SEO?

Local SEO.

What 4 pillars are important in SEO?

White hat SEO White hat SEO techniques are the best way to improve your SEO ranking over time and optimize it. These are the tactics that Google recommends using to help your website rank better in the results. They adhere to Google search engine guidelines and drive positive results for your business.

How much does SEO cost for a small business?

The four pillars of SEO technical SEO: How well your content can be crawled and indexed. Content: Having the most relevant and best answers to a prospect’s question. on-site SEO: The optimization of your content and HTML. offsite SEO: Building authority to ensure Google stacks the deck in your favor.

How much does SEO cost for small businesses? The average cost of SEO for small businesses is $750 to $2000 per month or $5000 to $30,000 for one-time projects. Smaller companies that invest in SEO consulting services can expect to pay $80 to $200 per hour.

Is SEO worth it for small businesses?

How much does SEO cost per month for a small business? According to a survey of 1,200 business owners and more than 350 agencies, freelancers and consultants, the average cost of SEO for Small Businesses is $501-$1,000 per month worldwide. The average cost of SEO for small businesses in the US is $2,501 to $5,000 per month.

Is SEO still relevant in 2022?

Even if you choose to invest money in SEO, the ROI can more than double if the marketing campaign is well orchestrated. So, the simple answer is ‘yes’, SEO is worth it for any small business, even those that don’t operate online.

Is it worth paying someone to do SEO?

Will SEO still be relevant in 2022? Yes of course. Although some SEO tactics that were effective in the past have stopped working, SEO has continued to evolve. Constantly reinventing itself to try to better match user intent, cutting out the spammy, ineffective tactics to improve.

Does SEO really work for small business?

SEO is worth it if you have the right strategy in place and work with a partner who knows how to get results. About 93% of online experiences start with a search engine, and the close rate of SEO leads is much higher than that of traditional marketing. So, SEO provides an impressive return on investment (ROI).

How much does basic SEO cost?

So – does SEO work for a small business? Not surprisingly, the answer to this question is yes. Search engines use sophisticated algorithms to deliver the exact results that people need, which means that if you provide useful content, you can compete with both other small businesses and huge corporations.

Does Google SEO cost money?

How much can you expect to spend on SEO? If you hire a top SEO company to run a local campaign, expect to pay $500.00 per month. A national or international campaign will require a minimum budget of $2,500 to $5,000 per month. Some companies offer a “trial package” at a lower price, without a contract.

How much does SEO cost in 2021?

There is no cost to appearing in organic search results like Google’s, and making changes to improve your website’s SEO can make a big difference to your search rankings over time.

Is it worth paying someone to do SEO?

In fact, small businesses spend anywhere between $100 to $5,000 per month on SEO services. But again, the average tends to be around $500 a month. As you might expect, agencies and freelancers who pay a higher monthly retainer also tend to deliver better results.

Is SEO still relevant in 2022?

SEO is worth it if you have the right strategy in place and work with a partner who knows how to get results. About 93% of online experiences start with a search engine, and the close rate of SEO leads is much higher than that of traditional marketing. So, SEO provides an impressive return on investment (ROI).

Should I pay someone to do SEO?

Will SEO still be relevant in 2022? Yes of course. Although some SEO tactics that were effective in the past have stopped working, SEO has continued to evolve. Constantly reinventing itself to try to better match user intent, cutting out the spammy, ineffective tactics to improve.

How much should I pay someone for SEO?

Yes, hire an agency if you are looking for long-term success. Unless there’s something easily fixable on your site (like blocking it entirely with your bots.txt file), the majority of SEO is building long-term success and value.

How much do freelancers charge for SEO?

If you hire a top SEO company to run a local campaign, expect to pay $500.00 per month. A national or international campaign will require a minimum budget of $2,500 to $5,000 per month. Some companies offer a “trial package” at a lower price, without a contract.

The most common hourly rate for SEO agencies is $100-$150/hour. For SEO consultants it is $75-$100/hour, and for freelancers, it is $41-50/hour.

Is SEO good for freelancer?

How much do SEO freelancers earn in 2022? How much does an SEO Freelancer make? As of September 9, 2022, the average annual salary for an SEO Freelancer in the United States is $62,760 per year. If you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to about $30.17 an hour. This is the equivalent of $1,206/week or $5,230/month.

How much should I charge for SEO optimization?

A freelance SEO career can be a fulfilling experience in terms of the type of work input and finances as well. Therefore, it is a great way to take care of your career in your hands and be a professional success, working on your own terms.

How much do SEO consultants charge per hour?

How much can you expect to spend on SEO? If you hire a top SEO company to run a local campaign, expect to pay $500.00 per month. A national or international campaign will require a minimum budget of $2,500 to $5,000 per month. Some companies offer a “trial package” at a lower price, without a contract.

How much should I charge for local SEO services?

Hiring an experienced SEO freelancer or agency by the hour usually costs anywhere between $50-$150 per hour. Of course, you can find people who charge significantly less or more than this hourly rate. For example, this SEO hourly rate breakdown found that 6% of SEO providers charge more than $200/hour.

Is Local SEO paid?

How much does local SEO cost on average? For a one-time project focused on analysis, research, cleaning and optimization the average price for a Local SEO project would vary from $300 â $1500 with an average price around $750.

How much do SEO consultants charge per hour?

Small scale Local SEO cost usually ranges from 5000 to 10000 per month. This often includes push advertising or highly targeted social media to reach a geographic audience.