5 Signs Your SEO Agency Has Stagnated
When you run an SEO company, you should be able to see a considerable increase in your business ROI. If not, you are at high risk of falling behind while your competitors steal all your opportunities.
So, when you are suspicious about the growth of your SEO agency, you should start looking for signs to find out if your agency is actually stagnating.
Is SEO Dead?
Many people ask, “is SEO dead?”. The answer is a big NO. In fact, SEO actively keeps evolving with time.
Search engine giants like Google keep updating their search algorithms in order to help users find relevant answers to their search queries and have a smooth online experience.
For example, there was a time when just building voluminous backlinks helped webmasters to rank their websites higher on Google.
However, after the launch of its Penguin algorithm update in 2012, Google started eyeing not just the quantity but also the quality of backlinks. This led to the de-ranking of websites that used black hat link-building practices to rank higher.
So, SEO is constantly changing and agencies that don’t adapt to the change and stick to outdated SEO practices end up losing clients and stay stagnated.
5 Signs Your SEO Agency Has Stagnated
Let’s get to the main point right away. How do you know your SEO agency is not growing? Start looking for the below signs.
Agency Process Remains the Same
SEO is a dynamic space. So, if your agency keeps following the same old SEO practices, in the long run, you may not be able to drive positive results for your clients. In the worst-case scenario, you may not just end up without new clients but also lose the existing ones. That’s why you should educate yourself and your resources about the latest SEO trends through regular meetings and professional training sessions.
The lack of work ethic is another sign of an outdated work process. Let’s say your SEO agency fails to meet the committed turnaround time. That means you will not be able to provide your clients with the deliverables on time. If that’s the case, they are likely to choose your competitors over you.
Besides, today’s clients expect maximum transparency about the progress of their projects. So, if you don’t keep them posted about the developments of the SEO campaigns, you are already losing them.
Not Offering Comprehensive Website Audits
SEO audit is something that many companies don’t offer their clients. This might seem like a small setback, but the impact is going to be massive.
How?
When you optimize a client website for search engines, you should find out the issues with the existing website in the first place.
But then, you miss out on that when you skip performing a website audit.
Suppose your client wants you to build powerful backlinks to their website. Your job is not just to build backlinks but also to check if the referral traffic gets directed to relevant pages on the client’s site. If not, the traffic will translate into sales.
And the result?
There will be no great results for your client and no growth for your SEO agency.
Not Having New Strategies To Overcome Algorithm Updates
As said earlier, search engines come up with algorithm updates from time to time to improve user experience online.
That said, SEO agencies are supposed to switch to new strategies that align with the latest algorithm updates. That’s how they help their clients achieve desired SEO results.
On the contrary, if your SEO agency does not have innovative SEO strategies to pacify the impact of the algorithmic updates, your agency is stagnated.
That means there is no room for scaling up your SEO business.
Not Optimizing the Site for Mobile Devices
More than half of online searches today are done using mobile devices like smartphones, tablets and more.
So, if your business site is not mobile-optimized, you may not be visible to your prospects who perform a mobile search.
That way, you lose a lot of opportunities that shall otherwise come your way.
A decrease in the number of opportunities certainly holds back the growth of your SEO agency.
Not Providing A Comprehensive Monthly Report
Don’t you send bi-weekly or monthly reports to your clients? If yes, they are likely to suspect the genuineness of your SEO efforts.
As a result, your agency will fail to earn its confidence.
That may lead to negative online reviews, which, in turn, ruins your brand's online reputation.
Ultimately, no one wants to partner with an SEO agency with a bad reputation.
3 Things to Expect from a Good SEO Agency
To get back on track and attract new clients, your SEO agency has to focus on what people look for in a good SEO agency and acquire those qualities.
Here’s a look at the top 3 things that people expect from a good SEO agency.
Understand Goals and KPIs
Making sense of your client’s business goals and KPIs is the first step to achieving SEO success.
Get to know their target audience, products and services, SEO pain points and more. This will help you to come up with a customized SEO strategy that works for them.
Make it Effortless
Your clients hire your SEO agency mainly because they want a field expert to take care of their SEO needs. So, ensure your SEO process takes all the load off their shoulders and fetches good results.
However, as said earlier, you need to keep them informed about the progress of the SEO project. Monthly reports and periodic meetings should get the job done.
Set Realistic Goals
As an SEO agency, you know that SEO doesn’t happen in a day or two. So, don’t set unrealistic goals to impress your clients. It will not last long.
Instead, explain to your clients how SEO works and work towards showing them consistent progress.
Besides giving you the right time and space to optimize a website, using white hat SEO techniques will help you build trust.
Best Practices for Hiring an SEO Company
To transform into a good SEO company that people want to hire, it is essential to know what practices they follow to choose one and groom your company accordingly.
Here is what people do to identify and hire the best SEO agency.
Check the SEO services offered by the agency
Verify the agency’s history
Read case studies
Look for client testimonials
Find out how the agency measures results
Schedule a consultation call
Ask for a quote
Strengthening your SEO agency in these areas and refining your SEO process to meet the industry standards and satisfy your clients is the best way to position yourself as a trusted SEO agency.
Conclusion
SEO is an ever-evolving industry and agencies failing to keep up with its quick pace or following bad SEO practices are likely to fall behind in the business race and lose clients. So, SEO agencies that strive to achieve growth should switch to strategies that go with the latest search engine algorithm updates and upgrade their work processes to suit the needs of their clients.