It is fortunate to consider we’re living in a world where you can find a search engine marketing consultant just about anywhere. In fact, it is advantageous if you consider how some big-name agencies prioritize high-budget projects and leave you with unsatisfying results.
It pays to know if your prospective consultant or agency is worth working with. True enough, they have all the time and resources to work on your campaign with a limited budget. However, if they fail to achieve the results you need, then they’re as much a waste of time and money as any consultancy that shuns your projects.
Make sure to avoid agencies or consultants with the following traits listed below.
No Good Client Reviews
You’ll want to see positive reviews on your prospective candidate. True enough, if you fail to see any positive reviews, then consider it a red flag not to work with them.
Search engine marketing consultants thrive on results-based work. Therefore, they need to deliver client-expected results. If they fail to do so, then it means they’re bad business.
However, you may want to consider hiring companies without any positive or negative reviews. While these companies are fresh, it is possible they’ve experimented with self-funded and initiated projects to achieve their intended results.
They Can’t Give You a Good Case Study
You want to see results. Therefore, you’ll want your agency to have achieved excellent results for any past client. If they cannot provide a complete case study — even ones from their self-funded or initiated projects and experiments — then it’s highly-likely they cannot give you the results you need.
Case studies do not only show data-backed evidence backing up their work achievements. Additionally, it indicates how much the search engine marketing consultant is truly willing to learn more and become passionate about search engine marketing.
Can’t Answer Your Knowledge-Probing Questions Properly
If you feel as if your prospective search engine marketing consultant is dodging the real answer to your queries, then consider this a red flag. As a business owner, you can have done research on search engine marketing and want to clarify a few things you read.
Therefore, answering unclear topics using the help (and possible free consultation) of your prospect consultancy helps show you their knowledge level regarding the service they intend to provide to you. Failure to do so definitely makes them unworthy to work with you.
An Unconvincing Free Consultation Result
One of the most crucial questions agencies need to answer is how well or poor your website and onging campaign is going through. While there is no right or wrong answer, an informative and value-adding consultation answer makes or breaks their deal with you.
If they tell you that your website is doing poorly without any data or investigative information to support their claim, then they’re not worth working it.
Agencies do not simply say a website does poorly without any additional information. They will impart a certain bit of knowledge and present to you a small part of their solution. In fact, the full solution is available to you only if you agree to work with them (and this is considered fair.)
Nothing Value Adding from Blogs and Newsletters
Most of the time, you’ll find these companies’ blogs full of value-adding information. Many agencies will have blogs giving you a full introductory course on search engine marketing, digital marketing, social media, and more.
However, if they only have basic knowledge in their blog, then it can only mean it is their only particular knowledge level. Find another prospect to work with.
Wrapping Up
It’s easy to fall into the “bargain deals” trap of some SEO agencies. However, even if you’re just paying a small fee, it becomes a bad investment if you repeat the same mistakes in choosing an agency over time.
By identifying these red flags, you can avoid any poor-performing SEO agency and get an agency that has a decent price and guarantees excellent results for any of your campaigns.