Because you need an SEO Agency; 4 MINDBLOWING Tips on How Not to Get Screwed

I know the Digital Marketing landscape can seem a little Bernie Madoff-ish sometimes, but don’t let two or three hundred thousand bad apples spoil the bunch.

As is the case with car mechanics and clergy, even the best SEO agencies essentially ask that you take their word for it, hand over the money and hope for the best. That’s perfectly fine when they do their jobs, but when they don’t your Altima’s engine seizes, your soul is damned and somehow, despite their promises, $100 doesn’t get you on the first page of Google.

Here’s the thing, though – according to my Outlook calendar it’s 2014, and in 2014 every single person on the planet (give or take a few mil) has access to the internet. Not only that, but roughly 16 gazillion dollars (give or take a few mil) pass through the internet directly or indirectly every single day. It’s gotten to the point where Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs has been updated and Self Actualization’s been replaced with “Wi-Fi”.

Given this hard statistical data, your company simply can’t afford not to employ digital marketing services. I obviously have no idea what industry you’re in (yet), but I can guarantee that competitors of yours are already optimized, and they’re taking what could be and should be YOUR money.
SO, how does one find and partner with an SEO agency that’ll give you a substantial return on your investment rather than a string of lies and empty promises like my talent agent?

Seriously, though, how am I not famous?

1st – Figure Out What You Want
• Whether you want leads increased by a certain percentage or you have revenue goals in mind, decide how YOU’RE going to measure success. It’ll be a lot harder for your agency to tell you that everything’s going great when it’s not if you define what “great” means in the first place. The specific tactics used to achieve the goals might vary, but make sure getting into the end zone is at the center of your correspondence.

Second – Figure Out How Much You Want to Pay
• Some aforementioned SEO companies promise that they’ll get you on the first page of Goolge for $100, and some SEO companies won’t take you on for less than $50,000 a month. According to my math, that’s ridiculous. As usual, the sweet-spot is somewhere in the un-sexy middle, so decide how much you’re willing to spend along with what you expect to get back. AND, please, dear God, be realistic. If you’re a multimillion dollar company and you expect that an internet marketing budget of $500 a month is going to move the needle, I’ll smoke what you’re smoking.

Thirdly – Do Your Homework
• Homework sucks, but losing money sucks way harder. This is the not-so-fun part, but you should spend some time shopping around, taking a look at a few sites, consider going local and vet your ass off. Get a few free consultations (and we’ll do that because we want to impress you) and make sure that you’re impressed. Don’t just Google “Boston SEO agency” and settle on the first page because Google LOVES old domains and agencies on the first page are likely to be overpriced.

And D – Make Us Work For It
• I hate boilerplate proposals and you should, too. I also hate when companies don’t have trust marks on their website and when they don’t post client logos, and you might want to consider hating that as well. Make sure you talk to us, and make us answer questions. Get case studies and ask for references. The more you put into this the more you’re probably going to get out of it. And just so you know, when I say “more” I mean “more money”. Hooray money.
Follow these 4 easy and hilarious tips and you’ll improve both your page rank AND you bottom line. Subscribe to our blog and you’ll become more informed, more entertained and way more interesting.

God speed.
Love,
“America’s Sweetheart” Eric Ryan