Know if a Digital Marketing Agency Is Worth Hiring

Like just about every company out there, yours needs a digital marketing agency in order to stay competitive in our Internet age. If you’ve already done some looking, I don’t need to tell you that you won’t lack for options. I probably also don’t need to tell you that this isn’t necessarily a good thing. You could be in for a lot of trial and error before you finally land that one digital marketing agency that will be worth their price. In order to make things easier on you, consider the following characteristics all digital marketing agencies should have.

They Have the Right Attitude

That might not sound like the most important trait for a digital marketing agency to possess, but it really makes a difference. Agencies tend to have a dominant attitude trait. They could be any of the following:

•Artists
•Engineers
•Scientists
•Worker Bees

You want all four. The ideal agency absolutely must be creative like an artist. However, they need to harness that creativity and build something that will perform like an engineer. Like a scientist, they must be able to step back from their creation and think analytically, putting their artistic passion aside for a moment. Lastly, they need to have the work ethic of worker bees—relentlessly putting their talents into getting the job done.

I know this isn’t exactly an interview question, but it’s something you’ll definitely want to feel out. Even having three out of four of these traits could hurt you.

They Bridge the Gap

Every digital marketing agency—or any marketing agency, for that matter—has one huge challenge in common: you. Don’t take it personally; it’s just the way things are. As the customer, you know what you want: more and better exposure. As the marketing agency, their job is to provide it. However, you can both have very different views on how to do this. Even though you’re not the expert, sometimes you’ll be right; chances are that every time, you’ll at least think you are.

So a good marketing agency needs to know how to bridge that gap. They have to both sell you on their idea and educate you on why it’s the right one. Be wary of digital marketing agencies that gloss over the details when you’re interviewing them. This might be a sign that they’re a little too comfortable with the idea that they’re the experts and you’re the meal ticket.

They’re Innovators

Your company needs a digital marketing agency that knows how to innovate. Of course, they need to have mastered the basics and have a good grasp on all the building blocks for a good marketing campaign. But one of the essential blocks some companies miss—in an effort to play it safe—is innovation. If you want to stand out, you can’t use the same formula as everyone else, plain and simple.

They’re a Master of All Mediums
A Chicago digital marketing agency needs to do more than just write keyword-laden copy for you. They need to create copy that flies off the page and convinces people to buy. But that’s far from all. The reason you’re going with a digital marketing agency, as opposed to a traditional one, is because they should also know how to get videos made for you that will also work well. They should know how to get your social media presence to the next level. Their ads should feature beautiful photos/graphics with the right selection of words accompanying them.

Get the point? Any digital marketing agencies you’re considering need to have a portfolio that spans every medium out there. And if you’re not using every medium out there, your SEO is suffering.

They’re Curious

They might be masters at SEO, SEM, and everything else, but no digital marketing agency is going to know your company as well as you do. So it’s essential any agency you consider goes through the discovery process regarding what it is you do, how you do it, what you charge, etc. You should know during the interview process whether or not they have this kind of approach—you’re not the only one who should be asking questions, to put it another way.

Making the right choice out of all the digital marketing agencies you have to consider can be a lot of work. But if you keep the above in mind, it will be worth it.

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Source : http://www.sooperarticles.com/internet-articles/internet-marketing-articles/know-if-digital-marketing-agency-worth-hiring-1369418.html

Mistakes to Avoid When Hiring an Internet Marketing Agency

Hiring an Internet marketing agency is a necessity these days. Their expertise can land your company right in front of your market. That being said, you need to know what to look for in order to hire the right one. Otherwise, the one you end up with will be far more trouble than they’re worth.

If your company is in the market for an Internet marketing agency, this should be a pretty exciting time. Soon, your bottom line will benefit from the expertise of a company that can bring you more exposure than ever before. However, now is not the time to lose your head. Hiring the right Internet marketing agency is indeed going to be a huge help. Hiring the wrong one, on the other hand, could set your business back considerably. So here are some mistakes you’ll want to avoid making.

Not Being Specific about SEO

SEO is an essential field for getting ranked on search engines and finding your market. Unfortunately, it’s also a very broad subject that leaves itself open to vague service descriptions. So you want any potential Internet marketing agency to be specific about what they’re going to offer.

One mistake is to hire a company because they say they can handle things like backlinks, social media, directory listings and a whole collection of services that all happen away from your website. These things can definitely help; there’s no doubt about that. But what you want is a company that will also handle on-site SEO. That’s absolutely essential to climbing the ranks of Google.

Not Providing SEO Campaigns

Along the same lines, simply providing you with some blog posts or changing your meta descriptions won’t help either. You need a company that can actually give you legitimate SEO campaigns. This means syncing up every component of their SEO services so they all work in tandem to get you up those page ranks.
Don’t just take their word for it either. Ask them specifically about your company and website. What do they plan on doing with it to get results? Can they give you examples of when they’ve done this in the past?

Social Media, Social Media, Social Media

Nothing is as hot in marketing right now as social media. As such, expect that any Chicago Internet marketing agency you talk to is going to bring up this golden calf. The problem is social media—a lot like SEO—is rife with vague services and empty results.

One perfect example is Twitter followers (or Facebook friends, etc.). Each follower isn’t worth the same amount in terms of the resources it takes to secure them. Think of them like actual customers. If you ran a car lot that sold minivans, who’s worth more to you:

•Customer 1: Recent college graduate, single, lives in the city by the subway.

•Customer 2: Married career man in his 30s who’s expecting twins.

That’s how you need to think of Twitter followers and other social media currency. A company with a long history of securing these may actually not be worth your time. You don’t want followers/friends/pins, you want leads. Hire the company that shows you how they’re able to procure actual leads from social media.

Assuming They’re Responsible for Their Resume

You always want to look at the resume of any Internet marketing agency you’re interviewing. But that doesn’t mean you simply assume they’re responsible for the success they’ve had. In today’s day and age, those numbers could come from a variety of things.

This is why you have to contact their prior clients and ask them about the agency in question and how big a role they really played. It could be that a competitor went out of business, they came out with a new product or they simply started using Facebook. While this would be a rare event to happen consistently for an agency, it’s worth taking a second to make that call.

Neglecting Your Own Talents

The right Internet marketing agency will be a godsend and worth every cent that you pay. However, that doesn’t mean you need to overpay or even purchase certain services. You may be able to handle your blog perfectly well, for example. Updating social media may be in your wheelhouse. If those things aren’t jobs you can handle now, consider taking classes or otherwise learning the ropes. You could potentially save a lot of money and maintain some control.

Before you hire an Internet marketing agency, make sure you’re avoiding the above mistakes. Countless companies before you have made them and some didn’t recover.

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How to Pick from All the SEO Companies out There

Here are few best practices that could help you to select potential SEO companies that can benefit your business.

If your business could benefit from some help with their SEO (hint: everyone’s could), it’s time you think about hiring a company for the job.So here are some things to think about that should help you bring that list of potential SEO companies down considerably.

If your business could benefit from some help with their SEO (hint: everyone’s could), it’s time you think about hiring a company for the job. It won’t be long, though, before you realize there are too many Chicago SEO Companies out there to count. While it’s certainly nice having options, this time that blessing can be a real challenge. So here are some things to think about that should help you bring that list of potential SEO companies down considerably.

Experience

In today’s world, it seems like everyone is an SEO expert. This is one of the reasons why SEO companies are a dime a dozen. Unfortunately, because this is such a necessary tool and so many people who need it don’t truly understand it, a lot of these snake oil salesmen get hired.

Even if they have good intentions, becoming a true expert at SEO takes time. So that should be one of the first things you look for in any SEO companies up for the job.

Resume

Of course, they could have a decade of experience and not be the SEO company for you. Improving your search engine rank takes a number of talents, and chief amongst them is understanding your market. That’s why many SEO companies have a specialty when it comes to industries. One may be the best at helping, say, law firms get ranked. However, if a restaurant hired them, their results could lack considerably.

On top of that, you obviously want to make sure they’ve had successful campaigns in the past. Don’t simply take their word for it either. Call up the client they served and get their opinion. You definitely want to know how long it took them to secure that success. But it’s also worth asking what it was like working with them. Given how important SEO services are and how much they can cost, the last thing you want is a company that you’ll constantly be fighting with.

Services

Another good way to get rid of some of the one-hit-wonders out there is to ask potential companies about the services they provide. Specifically, you want to confirm the main three. These are:
• On-Page Optimization, like HTML tags, keywords, meta descriptions, etc.
• Off-Page Optimization, like backlinks, directory listings, etc.
• Technical Optimization, like website design, etc.

You may be surprised to find how many companies only handle one or two of these. Again, this is because a lot of these so-called “companies” just learned one to get in the business. Without having all three working in tandem, your SEO will suffer, plain and simple.

Marketing Chops

Somewhere along the way, SEO became divided from traditional marketing strategies. The two are certainly different, however, they overlap considerably too. This means your chosen company should be able to provide you with content that outlines the benefit of your product or services to readers. If you just get a handful of paragraphs with a few keywords included, this really won’t do much for you. Remember, having a user find your website is great. Turning them into a customer is ideal.

A Good Fit with the Rest of Your Company

If your company consists of just you and your laptop, you still want to make sure that you can get along with any SEO companies that are up for the job. As we mentioned before, getting ranked can sometimes feel like you’re in a foxhole with your SEO team and those are cramped quarters during the best of times.

Finding the right fit is even more important for larger companies though. Chances are your SEO company will be interacting with your IT department, customer service, your sales team and more. If they can’t all play well together, you’re not going to get what you need from your SEO.

Excellent Communication

Lastly, you may assume that a company specializing in marketing tactics would be great at communicating, but this is an assumption that often proves wrong. A lot of times you’ll find that many SEO companies fall short here. This is unacceptable. Try to get a sense for their communication style when you interview them to ensure they will update you regularly and respond to communications in a timely manner.

While an SEO company can take your business to the next level, it can also stop your progress cold in its tracks. Consider the above to ensure the SEO company you pick is more benefit than burden.

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Source:- http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Pick-From-All-the-SEO-Companies-Out-There&id=8730149