What are good tests to propose different SEO agencies when you're trying to vet them?

[NBJ_SM]

We are trying to narrow down our SEO agency list and I was told to propose 5 different tests. I'm not sure where to start. I also want these tests to help me understand what these companies can do for mine.

[DarinPirkey]

One thing that is important is to see how they track their activities/success.  I'm finding more and more SEO agencies are not very versed in Analtyics, goal tracking and balancing busy work vs productive work.

A lot of the questions I ask are based on where you currently are in your website project?

Do they have a process for tracking the amount of work going into the project on a monthly basis? How will the two of you define success?  What is their content process?  What is their overall philosophy on link building? How do you analyze the data and report it to us?  How often will we meet to go over the data?

What case studies or references can they present?  Have they done work in your specific field before?  Do they have other clients you may be competing with?

What is their onboarding process like?  How long does it take to really ramp up the project?  How many hours per month or how many resources will be allocated to our project from the agency?  How are turnaround times for questions that we have along the way?  Who will be our account manager? How much time do you need from our internal team to help with your efforts?

Is there a contract? If so, what is the opt out policy if we feel the work isn't being done? How long is the contract?  Does the contract itemize what is being done on a monthly basis?

I personally don't know of a test but these are questions I would ask.  I would want to make sure the team handling my website is VERY versed in analytics and tracking.  I think this is very overlooked by many companies whom hire agencies.

I haven't watched the video in a while but I know Rand did a whiteboard Friday on this a few years back. Link attached to the Moz video.

how-to-choose-seo-company-whiteboard-friday

[effectdigital]

This is an extremely good, detailed answer

[DarinPirkey]

Thanks.

[NBJ_SM]

Hi Darin,

Thank you so much for your thoughtful response! That was very beneficial! I will definitely be including these questions in my next steps. Appreciate the help!

[DarinPirkey]

Any time.  Feel free to comment on this post if you have any further questions and I'll be happy to help.

[NBJ_SM]

Hi Darin,

Do you know of a way I can test SEO agencies when it comes to their technical acumen? My boss wants to vet companies against each other, but I'm at a loss when it comes to proposing SEO "tests."

[DarinPirkey]

I think that someone on your team should have a good understanding of Analytics.  If SEO and tracking is important to you then you should have someone internally that can vet the process the agency is using.  But if you don't, then I would ask a few additional questions. to the one's above.

"Now that you have an understanding of what we do as a company, what are some of the tracking goals you feel we need to be measuring going forward?"

"Besides Google Analytics, what other tools do you use to help track progress and metrics?"

"Do you have a Google Analytics certification and when was the last time it was updated?"

"Do you offer custom dashboards so we can look at an overview in "real time" vs just when we meet?"

"How often are metrics updated?"

"Can you show us an example of some custom reports or Analytics setup you've done recently?"

Things like this.  What's really going to be the determining factor is how comfortable you are and how much you actually trust the person giving the info.  The good and bad thing about analytics is that it's straight forward.  There is no "secret sauce" per se. So you may very well get the same sort of answers from each of the agencies.  I have a phrase I tell people all the time, "Always go with the guy you feel you can trust and whom you feel will do everything in their power to get it right if something goes wrong."

You'll also want to find out if they "interpret data". Having tracking setup is one thing, but being able to give you recommendations on what sort of content to write or what to expect from the data is key.  I would ask questions that pry some of that out of them.

"What sort of recommendations have you made in the past based on the data you've found inside of Analytics?"

"Describe a time when you had bad news for the company you worked with and how did you help them overcome it?"

Hope that helps.

[effectdigital]

Another great answer, asking about Google Data Studio knowledge is also beneficial

[NBJ_SM]

Thank you!!! These questions are golden! I agree. It's important to see if they have a good understanding of how to measure and track our goals. We ultimately want to make sure that our investment in an SEO agency has a good ROI. Thanks again! I appreciate all of the help!