How to Choose an SEO Agency: 11 Key Factors to Consider
Table of Contents
- How to Choose an SEO Agency?
- 1. What Are Your SEO Goals?
- 2. What Do You Sell?
- 3. How Do You Convert?
- 4. What Makes You Stand Out among Competitors?
- 5. What is Your Budget for Hiring an SEO Company?
- 6. Where to Look for SEO Agencies?
- 7. Check Out Past Work & Portfolio of SEO Companies
- 8. What SEO Strategy Will They Use to Rank Your Website?
- 9. Request for Proposal & Connect with Your Goal
- 10. Get a Trial Period for SEO Work
- 11. Ensure They Have Technical SEO Knowledge
- Bottomline
- Hire #1 WordPress Development Agency in Australia
What is the next step after your website is launched? To market it!
The obvious next step is to focus on ranking it to start generating leads that convert into online business.
In a single word: SEO (Search Engine Optimisation).
While it may seem straightforward, it’s actually more complex than it looks. You’ll either need to invest time in learning SEO yourself or hire an SEO agency to manage it for you.
Choosing to handle SEO on your own can be challenging, especially if you’re new to digital marketing and need time to get familiar with SEO best practices. Hiring a professional SEO agency is usually the faster, more effective route.
The big question then is: which SEO services should you choose? With so many options out there, finding a reliable SEO partner that won’t drain your marketing budget is critical.
At WP Creative, we’ve spent over 12 years helping Australian businesses find the right website development and digital marketing agencies to grow their businesses effectively. In this article, we’ll share our best tips for choosing an SEO service provider that fits your needs and can deliver real results.
How to Choose an SEO Agency?
Here are a few questions you need to ask yourself before you start searching for SEO companies that can help you improve your search engine rankings organically.
1. What Are Your SEO Goals?
Before diving into choosing a reputable agency for your business, start by defining clear goals for your website search optimisation.
Ask yourself: Do I want to grow my website’s presence, increase organic traffic, rank for specific keywords, or drive orders for my business?
Knowing your main SEO objective will make it much easier to find the right SEO agency that aligns with your needs. A strong focus on your goals can help you communicate better with the SEO services provider, guiding them to execute SEO strategies that will have a real impact.
2. What Do You Sell?
Understanding what you’re selling is key because different types of offerings require unique SEO approaches.
For instance, a SaaS company is promoting a subscription-based product, while an e-commerce site is focused on tangible products.
If you’re in a local market, you’re likely selling a service, like a dental practice or home repair. Each of these has different SEO needs—SaaS businesses might prioritize SEO for software-related keywords, while local businesses benefit from location-specific or local SEO.
Clarifying what you offer helps identify a good SEO firm that specializes in the strategies that fit your industry and audience.
3. How Do You Convert?
Understanding your conversion cycle will help you set realistic goals and choose an SEO company with the right expertise.
If you’re running an e-commerce site, for example, your sales cycle might be quick, requiring a fast, high-volume approach to SEO. For this you will have to interview most SEO companies to see your business fit.
Local service-based businesses may have a 7-10 day window to close deals, while enterprise clients might need 90-180 days, involving multiple teams and longer processes.
Knowing your conversion timeline helps align the SEO provider approach with your business rhythm, setting a foundation for better long-term results. You can also look for specific SEO services for each segment like on-page, and technical SEO, and go with freelancers or SEO consultants instead of SEO firms.
4. What Makes You Stand Out among Competitors?
One essential question is: What makes your business stand out? Identifying what’s unique about your approach, product, or service—your unique selling point (USP)—is key.
This will be the core of your organic marketing, helping you attract customers in a competitive market. Knowing and communicating this uniqueness will also help you find an SEO agency that can highlight these strengths effectively.
5. What is Your Budget for Hiring an SEO Company?
When setting a budget for hiring the best SEO company, it’s crucial to have a clear figure in mind before you start your search.
For instance, if your maximum monthly budget is $5,000, aim to find agencies within a lower range, like $2,500–$3,000. This leaves room for unexpected expenses, such as website redesigns, SEO tools, plugins, or any additional site improvements. Potential SEO companies offer different discounts from time to time that you can also see to bring them within your budget.
Working with an agency within this adjusted SEO budget gives you financial flexibility and ensures you’re not stretched thin.
It also helps streamline your search by allowing you to filter agencies that fit within your budget range. This way, you can avoid agencies that exceed your budget and find one that aligns with your financial and strategic needs right from the start.
By communicating your budget upfront, top SEO companies can also provide more tailored website SEO solutions, making the process more efficient and saving time on both ends.
By defining your goals, offerings, sales cycle, and distinct qualities, you’ll be in a strong position to choose a reliable SEO company that aligns well with your business needs and can amplify what makes you valuable to customers.
6. Where to Look for SEO Agencies?
When selecting a good SEO agency, there are a few key areas to examine to ensure you’re choosing one that can deliver genuine results. Here’s what to look for:
- Organic Search Performance
Start by checking if the SEO company ranks well on organic search results rather than relying solely on paid ads or PPC campaigns or other digital marketing efforts. Don’t choose an SEO company that isn’t able to rank itself organically, that’s a red flag, as it may not be able to achieve sustainable, organic growth for your business either. Tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs can give you an idea of an agency’s organic search engine rankings and keyword performance. Potential SEO agencies that perform well in their own organic SEO and local SEO are more likely to deliver similar search results for you. - Reputation on Review Platforms
Look for the best SEO partner with high ratings on online review platforms like G2, GoodFirms, Clutch, or DesignRush. These online review websites have SEO metrics that offer insight into an SEO firm’s reputation, reliability, and industry expertise. Ideally, you want to choose a search engine optimisation firm with experience in your specific industry—for instance, a SaaS-focused SEO company if you’re in the SaaS market or a local SEO agency for a local or on-ground service provider. This alignment helps ensure the agency understands the unique needs and challenges of your sector. - Referrals and Word of Mouth
Ask peers, colleagues, or business contacts for recommendations. If someone you trust has had a positive experience with an SEO company, that’s a strong endorsement. A recommendation from someone with direct experience saves you time and reduces the risk of choosing an underperforming agency.
Take time to research some of the best SEO companies thoroughly before committing. Look for proven organic results, relevant industry expertise, and credible testimonials to choose an SEO company that’s a strong match for your business needs.
7. Check Out Past Work & Portfolio of SEO Companies
When hiring a good SEO company, evaluating their past work is crucial for ensuring they have relevant experience in your industry and a proven record of results. Start by looking at five or more projects similar to your own—whether that means they’re in the same industry or focus on similar products.
Make sure these previous SEO projects achieved strong rankings in the top 10 positions for at least a dozen keywords. This shows that the agency has a track record of delivering results that could potentially be replicated for your business.
Also, assess the agency’s portfolio for a well-rounded mix of SEO practices. This should include on-page and off-page optimisation, technical SEO campaigns, and problem-solving for SEO errors.
Technical skills are especially important, as many SEO issues stem from technical problems that, if unresolved, can prevent or hurt your site’s ranking.
Look for evidence that the agency has successfully identified and fixed these issues in past projects. This background will indicate they have the expertise needed to keep your website running optimally for online search engines.
By thoroughly checking their history, you can make a more informed choice that will likely save you time and boost your confidence in the agency’s capabilities.
8. What SEO Strategy Will They Use to Rank Your Website?
When you’re evaluating SEO firms, you need to get a clear understanding of how they plan to rank your website and what SEO consultation they offer. While it’s normal for SEO vendors to keep some details private, you should still get a sense of their overall approach and make sure it’s aligned with the right practices for your business and SEO goals.
Ask the SEO experts you plan to hire about their SEO tactics—whether they’re using white hat, gray hat, or black hat SEO practices for their SEO efforts.
White hat SEO is about strictly following Google’s guidelines, like building quality content and organic links, which is the safest path for long-term success. Grey or black hat SEO tactics, on the other hand, may involve risky shortcuts that could lead to penalties, such as shady link-building or keyword overstuffing. Good SEO companies usually only follow the best practices described by search engines.
You want to be confident they’re not using any shortcuts that would harm your site’s reputation or get it flagged.
It’s also crucial to discuss how they handle penalties if they happen. Find out if they have connections with reputable guest posting platforms, PR networks, or industry-relevant sites for quality link building, as good backlinks can make a big difference for SEO. Ask if they’ll be able to secure links that are genuinely useful for your industry and audience.
Being clear on these points from the beginning will help you choose an agency that aligns with your goals and sets you up for steady, reliable growth.
9. Request for Proposal & Connect with Your Goal
Once you’ve shortlisted a few different SEO agencies for your business, the next thing you need to do is ask for an SEO proposal. This proposal should lay out exactly what they plan to do for the first three months, their SEO costs and pricing, and the SEO success metrics they will monitor.
In most cases, most SEO agencies work on a quarterly payment basis, so you’ll likely need to pay upfront for the entire quarter—this is pretty standard in the industry.
But here’s the thing—ask them to break down everything they’ll be doing for you in detail. Don’t settle for vague promises. The more detailed the proposal, the better. This is important because it helps you evaluate whether the agency is truly a good fit for your business.
And don’t forget to tie everything back to your main goals. If they’re planning to add 10 blog posts, increase your backlinks, or rank 10 more keywords, ask them how all of that ties into your bigger goal, like generating leads or driving traffic.
Every action they take should be connected to a clear outcome that aligns with what you’re trying to achieve. If they can’t explain that clearly, then it’s a sign you might need to keep looking.
10. Get a Trial Period for SEO Work
While most SEO agencies require a 12-month contract and upfront payment before starting work, it’s important to request a cooling-off period of at least one month.
During this month, you’ll pay for their services, but the goal is to assess whether they are the right SEO company for your business. You’ll have the chance to evaluate their keyword research and ranking processes and see if the work they’re doing is actually helping improve your performance.
Keep in mind, SEO is a long-term game, and search engine results pages usually take one to two quarters to materialise, so you may not see significant changes in just one month even after choosing the right SEO company.
However, the trial period is valuable for understanding their approach, how they communicate, and whether they are a good partner for your business goals. It will also weed out cheap SEO agencies that are only in for the money.
Not all reputable SEO agencies will agree to a trial because they often prefer a full commitment with upfront payments. However, if an agency is unwilling to offer a trial, that’s a red flag.
It suggests they might not be flexible or cooperative in the long term. You want to work with agencies that are confident in their abilities for keyword research and ranking and willing to demonstrate their approach before locking you into a long-term contract. This trial period will help you determine whether they are setting realistic targets and if they can actually help you achieve your business goals.
11. Ensure They Have Technical SEO Knowledge
While most agencies will highlight their past projects and portfolios, it’s important to dig deeper to ensure they truly have the technical expertise they claim. Certifications are a key indicator of their knowledge and capability.
Look for certifications from reputable organizations like Google, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Coursera, or HubSpot.
These certifications demonstrate that their team has undergone formal training and possesses the necessary technical skills to execute effective SEO strategies.
Certifications from these recognized platforms are a strong signal that the agency has the technical expertise needed to handle your project. They ensure that the team stays up-to-date with the latest SEO trends, algorithms, and best practices in digital marketing and SEO.
Bottomline
We hope this article has given you a clear understanding of how to hire the right SEO agency for your business. Choosing the right agency is crucial, as it not only impacts your SEO performance but also your long-term growth and ROI.
Based on our 12 years of experience, we’ve shared the essential steps and considerations that have helped us select SEO agencies for our own business.
From defining your goals to assessing their experience, asking the right questions, and testing their capabilities with a trial period, we’ve outlined the key factors to consider.
By focusing on agencies that have a proven track record, the right certifications, and a SEO strategy that aligns with your business objectives, you’ll be able to partner with an agency that will drive real, measurable value for your business in the long run.
Hire #1 WordPress Development Agency in Australia
Looking to get your website designed according to the best SEO practices in Australia? Get help from WP Creatives and design a stunning website that not only ranks faster but also offer a great user experience.
