What is an SEO agency?
An SEO agency is a company that specializes in optimizing the natural referencing of its clients’ websites, ultimately leading to increased traffic and sales on the internet. It is a structure composed of experts in natural referencing such as SEO consultants or project managers in natural referencing. An SEO agency can be 100% specialized in natural referencing or offer other services such as web development and creation (web agencies) or the management of other digital marketing levers (web marketing agencies).
What services are offered by an SEO agency?
The main services offered by an SEO agency are mainly audit, advice, and support services: technical audits, semantic audits, tree structure audits, web writing, etc.
Technical audit and support
Search engines expect to find certain technical elements on websites to understand and properly index them in their databases. The SEO agency experts in charge of technical SEO audits ensure that the site is perfectly designed and contains the necessary elements. Problematic points will be highlighted and explained in the audit document, and a list of specific and easily actionable recommendations will be proposed for the development and writing teams to correct them.
Following the technical audit, the technical SEO expert from the agency accompanies the developers in implementing the recommendations and ensures that they remain in place.
Semantic audit
Understanding one’s market is essential to hope for a well-referenced website. Who are your customers? What queries do they make on search engines at different stages of their buying journey? What are the main keywords related to your activity? How many times are they searched every month (search volume)? What are your competitors’ keywords? What are the secondary expressions related to the main ones? How to use them in the site’s content?
The semantic audit aims to answer these questions. It provides a list of themed expressions (keywords) to use within the different site pages. The proposed keywords cover the entire market and activity of the company.
Tree structure constructionÂ
A good site structure is essential for referencing. That is why reflection on the tree structure is essential. The SEO consultant’s view of the site’s tree structure is complementary to that of the client since it takes into account the data from the semantic audit and market data. Based on the clusters of keywords formed, the expert proposes the pages expected by both future visitors and search engines.
Web content writingÂ
Writing for the web is not improvised. Web writing techniques differ greatly from usual journalistic practices. Web writing is a real specialization essential for optimized referencing. The SEO agency’s writers ensure the coherence of content with the semantic study and their proper consideration by search engines.
NetlinkingÂ
Search engines assess the relevance of sites, among other things, through the backlinks that exist toward them (the famous incoming links). The more reliable the source of the link is in the eyes of search engines, the more positively the destination site of the link will be judged as well. The net linking work, therefore, consists of seeking and obtaining quality links to clients’ sites so that they gain popularity in the eyes of search engines and position themselves better in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Why entrust your SEO to an agency?
Working with an agency ensures that the job is entrusted to experts. Its team masters all the techniques and tricks of natural referencing thanks to the complementarity of its expertise: SEO consultant, web writer, technical expert, developer, UX designer, etc.
For optimal referencing, it is necessary to have many SEO tools and to master their sometimes complex use. Some are free (Google Analytics, Google Search Console, PageSpeed Insights, etc.) while others are paid and sometimes require a significant budget (SemRush, Majestic SEO, Yooda, etc.). In any case, they all require significant learning time, which is not always profitable for a company that would decide to internalize its referencing.
Entrusting your SEO to an agency also ensures that the latest search engine developments will be taken into account in the strategy. Algorithm updates are frequent and it is necessary to adapt quickly. Google communicates little about the content of its updates. Therefore, strategic monitoring is necessary to detect and adapt to developments to always meet search engine requirements and remain perfectly positioned in the first results of Google search pages.
When should you call upon them?
At the time of website creation
This is the best time to establish your SEO strategy.
If the site to be referenced is not yet created, it is ideal to start outlining your SEO strategy even before the first developments. Thus, there is a free hand to integrate all the essential elements for good referencing. From the construction of the tree structure to the design of page templates, SEO should be considered as early as possible!
In parallel with a website redesign
Does your site need a facelift? A redesign is always a risky operation for SEO. Whatever the reason for this, it is important not to put aside the hard-earned referencing. A complete SEO audit will be carried out to determine what needs to be preserved and what needs to be improved for the next version of the site. A meticulous plan of redirections must be put in place by the SEO expert to disturb the search engines as little as possible when they discover the new version of the site.
During a traffic declineÂ
Have you noticed that your site no longer performs as well as before? Your traffic is stagnant or declining? Perhaps your referencing is no longer as effective. Has the market evolved? Have new, more powerful competitors appeared? Has a technical error appeared on the site? The causes can be multiple. It’s time to contact an SEO agency to assess the situation and obtain recommendations to correct the problem.
If your website is not performing well in search engines
Your site has been online for several weeks or even months, but the results are still not there. This is the right time to call upon an SEO agency that will help you identify the blocking points. Together, you can review the referencing strategy or build it if it was not thought of at the time of site creation.
Based on the agency’s recommendations, more or less significant modifications will need to be made to the site to improve its performance.
Common characteristics of competent SEO agencies
Before choosing an SEO agency, it’s important to gather your team to discuss your content and marketing goals. From there, you can choose a partner who will help you achieve what you have planned.
When starting the partner search process, keep an eye out for the following characteristics. They are signs of a competent SEO agency.
A personalized strategy
SEO is not just about improving rankings. It’s also about generating relevant and qualified traffic. Ranking well is good, but creating content that attracts visitors and converts prospects into customers is better.
A good agency will talk to you to understand your target audience, your services, and your goals. They will use this knowledge to develop a unique strategy, as there is no universal solution or magic formula when it comes to SEO.
White hat methods
It’s essential to verify that your future partner uses white hat techniques.
There are SEO tactics that can yield faster results by manipulating the system in ways that go against search engine guidelines or by trying to manipulate Google’s ranking algorithm. While this may lead to quick progress, the consequences for businesses that choose these types of methods can be significant.
These so-called “black hat” tactics can result in penalties, including the complete removal of the website from Google search results. NEVER use these techniques on your company’s main website.
White hat SEO, on the other hand, respects Google’s guidelines. Don’t be afraid to confront a potential partner if their methods seem suspicious or unethical!
Actions speak louder than words
A competent SEO agency will keep its promises and do its best to meet expectations, while a highly competent SEO agency will provide evidence that its campaigns and methods work. They will share data, case studies, recommendations, and projects completed for other clients with you.
These high-performing agencies are not afraid to share information about their past work or the strategies they employ. They will also engage in deeper discussions on complex and related topics. In my opinion, SEO is just one acquisition channel among others, and a good agency should have an overview of digital channels.
Appropriate analysis tools
Effective strategies can be implemented without purchasing expensive software. An agency should at least train its staff and clients in the use of the Google suite: Analytics, Ads, and Search Console. Not only should they be able to configure Google Analytics, but they should also know how to use reporting, extract necessary and relevant data, and explain it to you in an intelligible way.
Prioritize conversion
An SEO agency should be aware that while traffic and rankings are extremely important, it’s the end customers who bring in money for the company. Conversions drive your business, and an effective SEO partner will choose an ROI strategy that leads to the acquisition of real customers.
Conclusion
When choosing an SEO agency, it is very important to start by explaining your business goals. To do this, you need to know your priorities and understand how SEO can help you achieve them. Pay attention to the reviews, examples of work, reviews, and promotion methods of the SEO agency you are considering for cooperation. Carefully follow all the points described in this article and you will be able to find the perfect partner for you!
