Hiring the right search engine marketing agency to promote your business online can make the difference between success and failure - not to mention, dramatically improve your bottom line. So how do you choose the right SEM firm?
First, you need a basic understanding of search engine marketing , so you understand what you are buying. The most common service provided by full service search firms include: keyword research, search engine optimization, search engine submission, copywriting, link building, pay per click marketing and paid inclusion.
Second, you need to ask the right questions to separate the professionals from the amateurs. There are many, many search firms out there, but very few of them provide all the services you need to succeed.
On the 'natural' or free side of SEM is search engine optimization (SEO). The two most important things you need to do to improve your website's natural rankings are 1) copywriting and 2) link building. Most firms don't do either.
On the paid side of search engine marketing, you need to insure that the agency you choose provides four key services: 1) setup PPC programs in Google, Yahoo and MSN, 2) provide a web traffic measurement tool to measure your precise return on investment (such as ClickTracks or Webside Story), 3) setup A/B testing of PPC ads and landing pages to identify the most effective campaigns, and 4) provide account managers that are Google AdWords Certified and a Yahoo Ambassadors.
Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Check Your Link Popluarity
Before you pay a lot of money to optimize your web site, you need to insure that your site has decent link popularity. Without links from other sites to your site, search enigne optimization will be useless and no amount of page titles and meta tags will help your site get ranked in the top search engines - especially Google.
Using the number of links shown by this tool, be sure to ask perspective search marketing agencies how many links they will add to your site. If they don't do link building, choose another firm.
I recommend: Check your link popularity using this
free tool to see how many other sites link to your site. The more links you have, the better chance you have of ranking naturally in Google and other search engines.
Has Your Site has been Indexed by Google?
One key factor in selecting an SEM firm and the price you will pay for services is the number of pages included in your website. To see how if your site has been indexed by the top three search engines - Google, Yahoo and MSN - type in "site:" and your domain name in the search box - site:www.yoururl.com. Google and the others will show you how many pages have been indexed.
I recommend: Go to
Google,
Yahoo and
MSN and type type in "site:" and your domain name in the search box - site:www.yoururl.com.
Test the Age of Your Domain Name
Another key factor in how your site will rank in the top search engines is the age of your domain. And the older it is, the better.
I recommend: Go to
Network Solutions, type in your domain name and see how old the URL is.
Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide
- When interviewing search firms, level the playing field by asking each agency the same questions. Some sample questions might include:
- Is search marketing your core business?
- How long have you done SEM?
- How many clients have you served?
- Name some Fortune 1000 accounts you have managed.
- Are all of your account managers Google AdWords Qualified Professionals?
- Are all of your account managers Certified Yahoo Ambassadors?
- Does your firm provide comprehensive link building services?
- Does your firm use “white hat”, ethical methods to achieve top search rankings?
- Does your firm help edit the content of my pages (excluding page titles & meta data)?
- Does your firm setup PPC accounts in Google, Yahoo, MSN?
- Does your firm setup PPC accounts in Tier 2 PPC search engines?
- Does your firm A/B test pay per click ads?
- Does your firm setup tracking URLs to measure the ROI of PPC?
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