Believe it or not, this post was written (typed on a keyboard) long before the pandemic.
Old: Shoebox offices and inner-office memos
New: Virtual offices and Go-To Meetings
Gone are the days when scoring a cubicle by the window meant you’d “arrived” and employee dress-code was dictated by a stiff in a suit. Today’s most effective business are working smarter and more mobile. Agencies as a whole seem to be stuck at the point where great ideas deviate from conventional office space and that’s where they’re getting it wrong. SEO is ever-changing and the best SEO companies are, too.
Old: Satisfy your boss and let him answer to the client
New: Work for your client first, answer questions later
Imagine a world where every decision didn’t have to filter through 15 channels before it got the go-ahead and pleasing the client was the end goal. That’s reality outside the doors of an agency. Although they’ve got the best of intentions some consultants worry too much about what the boys in the boardroom will say – where’s the passion, the drive, the confidence? We think it’s important to hire creative, competent people from the get go so you can trust their decision making skills to be what’s right for the client and the overall strategy. Now isn’t that a novel idea?
Old: Delegate the nitty-gritty to an intern or underling
New: Get involved in the tiniest detail of every campaign to ensure success
SEO is full of small stuff – links, analytics, URLs – but that doesn’t mean they’re insignificant. We believe every piece of the puzzle adds up to something bigger which is why we like to lay the building blocks ourselves…then sand them, paint them and put them on the right shelf. Sometimes agencies delegate the little things a bit too much, so much so that things can easily slip through the cracks unnoticed until it’s too late. So ask yourself…who’s working on my little details?
Old: Client is hands-off, agency makes all the decisions
New: Client and SEO team work hand in hand on creating goals
We don’t subscribe to the idea that you just turn your site over to us and we’ll SEO the life out of it. That’s just not the way it works. We think it’s much more important for the web strategist and the client to work on priorities together, communicating and remaining transparent throughout the entire process. There are more than a few agencies out there willing to stick your company into the same mold they use for everyone else then show you the end results. In the world of professional consulting, SEO is a continuous process and there is no “end.” Are you picking up what we’re putting down?
Old: Results are intangible and hard to measure
New: Producing measurable results over time through analytics
How many times have you heard your agency talk about “building your brand” and use phrases like “brand equity?” While there’s certainly a lot to be said for constructing a positive brand identity for any customer, today’s SEO is about quantifiable results and decisions that translate into sales. If your agency doesn’t have a lot to offer you in the way of numbers, they probably don’t have them themselves… and that’s a bad sign. Any great SEO campaign functions off good data and data can be measured.
Tired of dealing with an agency straight out of the Mad Men era? Consider the ROI you get from an SEO Consultancy. Isn’t it time to change how business works?
