How to Choose a Digital Marketing Company

May 11, 2015

Growing your online presence is key to building your business and gaining more leads. Realizing this is the first step to success in online marketing. The next step is choosing the right digital marketing company to help you.

Even small, local businesses can benefit from hiring a digital marketing company. In fact, 50% of searches on mobile devices are done to find local results (with the majority of those searches ending in a purchase).

This is an extremely important decision. Choosing wrong could have devastating effects on your business. How? Some digital marketing companies are all talk, make bogus claims, and can even get your site removed from search engines (if they use shady marketing tactics).

Feeling overwhelmed? Don’t worry! I’ve outlined the five things you need to look for when choosing a digital marketing company…

1. How do they measure results?

Being able to measure success is an important factor in proving a direct correlation between the work of the digital marketing company and growth of your business. Any reputable company will specifically outline “Key Performance Indicators” (also called KPIs) in their proposal. Make sure to look for these KPIs in the monthly reports and look for upward trends.

2. You often get what you pay for.

When it comes to searching for a digital marketing company, you don’t want to be penny wise and pound foolish. Often times small companies will make grand claims that they can get you on the front page of search engines for as little as a few hundred dollars a month. That is impossible. Digital marketing takes time and energy to implement correctly. If it were as easy as spending a few hundred dollars, don’t you think everyone would be doing it?

Pricing can vary drastically depending on the type of strategy and scope of the project so be sure to ask at least a few different companies what their fees would be to implement a digital strategy for your business.

3. Ask about their current clients.

Digital marketing agencies come in various different shapes and sizes. Many of them have industries in which they specialize. It can be very beneficial for you to find an agency that has experience working in the same industry as yours, or even the same vertical.

4. Ask for proof of results.

Reputable agencies love bragging about their successes, either on their blog or case studies pages. Whether the agency has results on their website or not, always be sure to ask these questions…

• What were the specific results?
• How long did it take to achieve them?
• How many conversions did the campaign generate?
• Can you speak with their client?

If it was an SEO campaign, ask for the specific keywords they ranked for. If it was an email marketing campaign, ask for how much traffic they generated. These are specific questions that will separate a great agency from a bad one.

5. How long will it take until results are achieved?

Digital marketing is a marathon, not a sprint. You want to make sure that whatever agency you go with has a long-term plan to help you grow. You also want to make sure that you are investing in a long-term growth plan. Many “churn and burn” agencies prey on businesses who are looking for instant results. The truth is, digital marketing success doesn’t happen overnight. When searching for the best agency to handle your marketing needs, be sure to ask about specific timelines for hitting certain KPIs. This will allow you to understand how long it takes until you hit your goals.

6. What is their SEO philosophy?

Search Engine Optimization is becoming more of a necessity as the digital space keeps growing. Since SEO is a broad subset of the digital marketing world, it can be defined many ways. Some SEOs believe solely in building links. Others believe ranking a website comes down to good keyword research. You will want to look for an agency that takes a well-rounded approach to SEO and only builds high quality, relevant links to your website.

7. How long have they been in business?

Since digital marketing is a relatively new industry, new marketing agencies are popping up every day. Do some homework on their history by searching for them on sites like BBB.org and/or their local Chamber of Commerce site to see when they were founded. Look for an agency that has been in around for at least three years. This will show you that they have been successful enough to stay in business.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dan Scalco is the CEO of Digitalux: Digital Marketing Company & SEO Agency. He specializes in Search Engine Optimization and Conversion Optimization. When he’s not working to bring in more leads for his clients, he enjoys playing with his dog Max and riding his old motorcycle around town.