SEO Service Checklist: What to Look for in an Agency

SEO Checklist

So, you’ve decided to hire an SEO agency to boost your website’s visibility and traffic. Great move. But how do you know which agency is right for you and your business? There are many options, and not all SEO firms are created equal. You want an agency that will get results, not just take your money and make empty promises.

Before signing on the dotted line, ensure the agency you’re considering can check all the essential boxes. It would be best to have a search engine optimisation Ahmedabad partner that understands your industry, has a proven track record of success, uses ethical techniques, communicates well, and can work within your budget.

This article has enlightened if they can meet these essential criteria; keep looking!

Keyword Research and Analysis

Choosing an SEO agency is a big decision. You want to ensure they know what they’re doing and will get you accurate results. Here are the key things to look for:

SEO Service Checklist: What to Look for in an AgencyKeyword research and analysis should be a top priority. They should analyse your site and competitors to find the best keywords and phrases to target. These are the search terms your potential customers are using. An agency that rushes into link building or content creation without proper research is missing a crucial first step.

They should have a proven strategy for building high-quality backlinks. Backlinks from authoritative sites are crucial to ranking higher in search engines. Ask about their link-building techniques and how they evaluate link quality. Are they focusing on relevant, trusted areas in your industry? Or just bulk-buying spammy links? Quality over quantity is vital.

On-page optimisation means having a well-optimized website architecture, content, and elements. Page titles, headings, alt-image attributes, and page content should all be optimised around your target keywords. Ask how they improve page load speed and if they keep your site mobile-friendly. Fast, mobile sites are a must.

Reporting and analytics provide transparency into their efforts and your results. Ask what kind of monthly reports they provide to demonstrate the impact of their work. Look for details on keyword rankings, website traffic, referral sources, and conversion rates. The more data, the better.

If done right, SEO can transform your online visibility and traffic. But it requires time, expertise, and the right partner. Use this checklist to find an agency to get results and boost your search engine rankings.

On-Page Optimization

Once you’ve found a promising search engine optimisation Ahmedabad agency, it’s time to evaluate their on-page optimisation skills. This refers to optimising your website content to rank higher in search engines. Ask the agency about their approach to:

Keyword research

They should determine the best keywords and phrases for your business to target based on search volume and competition. Make sure they consider synonyms and related long-tail keywords.

Page titles and meta descriptions

The titles and descriptions for each page should be compelling and include your target keywords. These show up in search results, so they need to capture attention.

Content creation

The agency should focus on creating informative, engaging content that uses your target keywords naturally. Blog posts, videos, and FAQ pages are great for SEO.

Internal linking

Links between pages on your site help search engines crawl your content and determine the topic of each page. The agency should build a well-connected internal link structure.

Optimised page structure

Having a clear page hierarchy with logical URLs, including keywords, using headings, and keeping content concise and scannable all help optimise your on-page SEO.

Image optimisation

Adding alt text, titles, and captions to images on your site gives search engines more context about the content and helps your pages rank for related search terms. The agency should make sure all your pictures are correctly optimised.

An SEO agency that pays close attention to these on-page factors will help ensure your website content is structured to rank as highly as possible in search engines. You’ll be closer to achieving your SEO goals with a well-optimized site combined with their off-page efforts.

Link Building Strategies

Link building is one of the essential SEO strategies, as the number and quality of links pointing to your website directly impact your search rankings. Look for an agency that focuses on earning high-quality, relevant links from authoritative websites in your industry.

Diversified Link Building

The agency should utilise a diversified link-building approach, including:

  • Guest blogging: Publishing blog posts on other industry websites with links to your site. This helps build brand awareness and earns high-value links.
  • Broken link building: Finding broken links on other sites and offering an alternative resource to link to, like your website content.
  • Resource link building: Creating resources like tools, calculators, worksheets or infographics that other websites may want to link to.
  • Influencer outreach: Connecting with industry influencers and providing them with resources or content they may link to or promote to their followers.

Manual Outreach

Stay away from agencies that rely primarily on automated link-building software. High-quality link building requires manual outreach to web admins and content creators. The agency should be able to explain its personalised outreach process for:

  • Identifying high-authority sites in your industry
  • Crafting customised outreach emails explaining the mutual benefit of a link
  • Negotiating link placements and anchor text
  • Ensuring links are diverse, with varying anchor text and page locations on each site.

Link Quality Monitoring

The agency should also commit to ongoing link audits and monitoring to:

  • Check for any broken or redirected links and request replacements
  • Identify and disavow poor-quality links that could hurt your rankings
  • Evaluate the overall link profile for optimal anchor text, authority and topic diversity
  • Make recommendations to continue improving your link-building results over time

Look for an SEO agency dedicated to building a natural, high-quality link profile through a hands-on, diversified approach to link building and outreach. With regular monitoring and maintenance, an excellent link-building strategy can deliver long-term SEO success.

Content Creation and Promotion

A good SEO agency will help build your online presence through content creation and promotion. They should provide:

Blog Posts

Regular blog posts, around 500 to 800 words, on topics relevant to your business and targeted keywords. Well-written and optimised posts will attract organic traffic and help establish your expertise. Look for an agency that can post at least one new blog per week.

Guest Posts

In addition to posts on your blog, a good agency will pitch and write commands to appear on other industry blogs and websites. This expands your reach and links back to your site. To start, they should aim for at least 2-3 guest posts per month.

Social Media

An active social media presence is vital. The agency should post regularly on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, sharing your blog content, news, and promotions and engaging with followers. They should also help build your profiles and follower numbers over time through social campaigns.

Backlinks

Backlinks to your site from other authoritative sites are among the most critical factors in search ranking. The agency should actively build quality backlinks through outreach to industry websites and blogs. They should start with 10 to 15 new links per month from diverse authoritative domains.

Optimisation

All content should be optimised for search engines like Google. This means using keywords in titles, URLs, headlines, and body content. The writing itself should sound natural to readers, however. The optimisation should also include page speed improvements, mobile-friendliness, alt-image text, and more.

A good search engine optimisation Ahmedabad agency will become an extension of your online marketing team. Look for a balanced, experienced agency able to provide ongoing content creation and promotion to boost your search traffic and rankings over the long term. The results may take 3 to 6 months to become apparent, so choose an agency willing to commit to at least a 6-12 month contract.

Monthly Reporting and Adjustments

Any SEO agency worth it is salt will provide regular reporting and updates on the work they’re doing for you. Look for an agency that commits to monthly reporting and check-ins to review key metrics, adjust campaigns, and ensure your SEO strategy is on the right track.

Monthly Reporting

A good SEO agency will provide a detailed monthly report on your account. This should include updates on the following:

  • Keyword rankings for your target keywords and key phrases
  • Organic traffic and conversions from search
  • Backlink profile and any new links earned that month
  • On-page optimisations made to the content
  • Off-page activities like guest blogging, link building, etc.
  • Key wins and highlights from the past month
  • Areas for improvement and next steps for the coming month

These reports allow you to stay current on the progress and ensure your SEO investment is paying off. Ask the agency about the level of detail and metrics provided in their standard monthly reports.

Strategy Adjustments

In addition to reporting, monthly meetings with your SEO agency are essential to review what’s working and what’s not and make changes to your campaign. Some things you may discuss include:

  • Optimizing your keyword targeting based on rankings and traffic
  • Improving content creation and promotion based on engagement metrics
  • Scaling back or ramping up certain link-building or outreach activities
  • Testing new optimisation techniques or expanding into other search channels like local SEO or voice search

Minor tweaks and ongoing optimisation are crucial to success in SEO. Look for an agency willing to work closely with you monthly to adjust strategies based on real-time data and results. SEO is ongoing, so consistent communication and collaboration with your agency is essential.

With regular detailed reporting, optimisation meetings, and a willingness to make changes to improve results, the right SEO agency can ensure a successful long-term partnership and strategy. Ensure any agency you consider prioritises consistent monthly communication and adjusting campaigns based on metrics and insights.

Turning Off!

So now you know what to look for when hiring a search engine optimisation Ahmedabad agency. The most important things are experience, expertise, and proven results. And, Digital45 is the one that can fulfil this criterion. We are the right SEO partner who can elevate your online presence and drive real growth. Our SEO specialists will understand your needs and treat your business with the care and respect it deserves. Your future success depends on the digital marketing decisions you make today. Choose wisely!