In the dynamic setting of promotion and marketing, SEO has become a crucial element of any determined business, whether small, medium, or big.
A research conducted by Hays in Singapore shows that digital marketing is the number one preferred skill by both B2B and B2C companies in Singapore. So, various global businesses are coming to Singapore, and the competition is unceasingly increasing.
Since most businesses outsource their SEO tasks to an SEO agency in Singapore, it is evident that most of them are not satisfied with their SEO agencies.
Contracting the right SEO company in Singapore and managing it effectively is a skill that most businesses don’t know.
That is why they result in getting trapped in marketing tricks and paying up marketing budgets only to get a lot of dissatisfaction and miserable results.
Whether you have some disappointing experiences or is your first time hiring an SEO consultancy agency in Singapore, this guide is what you need to follow to ensure that you hire the right SEO firm in Singapore that will be in line with your business goals, lead to excellent outcomes, offer all-encompassing reports, and assist your company to grow.
The following are the steps you require to remember when hiring an SEO firm in Singapore.
Step #1: Establish Your Goals and Anticipations
Before you get into seeking the right SEO company, it is crucial that you clearly think, identify, and establish the expectations and goals of the SEO campaign that you want to hire an SEO agency for.
Consider answering these questions to yourself or your staff:
- Who would you like to do the campaign for your services and products? (be as specific as you can)
- What will be the characters of your most ideal clients?
- What is the biggest problem of the customers that your service or product solves?
- What do you want the marketing to achieve (blog readership, branding, sales, traffic, leads, or something else)?
If possible, you should make an estimate of the sales, traffic, or leads you expect to get per month while keeping your bandwidth and budget realistic.
Think through and carefully determine the answer to the questions above as what you learn in this step is what will write the future of your marketing, branding, and business.
Since client identification that has no details is not effective, make sure that none of the answers you get in this step are too general.
Instead, make the answers as specific as possible.
Step #2: Decide Your Budget
In the case of marketing, even though you have millions of a budget, it will never be enough. Most companies, however, have the misconception that they should only decide their budget after they have consulted with an SEO agency in Singapore depending on what their offerings and packages are.
In actual fact, in SEO, you receive what you pay for.
That indicates that if you want to get too much and you have a very low budget, all that is going to happen is disappointment and endless searching for the right SEO agency.
But it is also true that some SEO companies have very despicable pricing that is not often affordable regardless of the promises, track record, our portfolio they manifest.
In such situations, you can end up getting a low-quality cheap SEO agency that makes promises that are too wonderful to be real. So, you should have your budget range before hiring an SEO firm.
That will help you to understand the services that are realistically possible within your budget. While that gives both the service provider and the client some peace of mind, I have noticed that the discussion, in such a case, happens more about the actual business of the customer than simply the price.
First, learn whether there are some things you can accomplish in-house and the items that you surely need to contract out.
For instance, if you have a content creator who cheaply provides you with high-quality content that is search engine optimized, you can let him or her continue, and it will reduce your budget since you will not require to pay costly copywriters in that case.
Step #3: Write an Extensive Document Specifying Your Requirements
SEO companies that seriously care about what they do and deliver excellent results are usually selective of who they want to do business with.
Unless you are using a desperate and hungry SEO firm in Singapore that will be ready to take your money regardless of the situation, you cannot get the right SEO consultancy if you don’t write the right requirement specification document.
In actual fact, the attributes of your requirement specification document show agencies how severe and interested you are in your business.
For example, individuals who compose shallow specifications that are difficult to comprehend show a direct sign that they are not serious with their company, and that is how the SEO agencies perceive them.
As a matter of fact, the type of requirement specification document you will write is directly related to the type of SEO firm that you will land into in the end.
Ensure that you include these essential aspects in your requirement specification document:
- A precise description of your company, including its primary services and products
- Your business website
- The geographical location(s) where your company operates
- Who do you expect to become your ideal customers?
- Who are your major competitors that offer almost the same products or services as your business and have a good ranking on the Search Engines?
- Why do you need the campaign (blog readership, branding, sales, traffic, leads, or anything else)? You can include more than one if appropriate.
- What budget range are you ready to finance?
- Do you have a specific number that you can say you anticipated, for instance, 2,000 visitors per month, 100 leads each month, etc.
- Outline if any SEO task on your site has been conducted before and what was its outcome
Step #4: Get the Right Individuals by Asking Appropriate Questions
Literally, there is no scarcity of SEO companies in Singapore, but you will need to choose the right SEO firm that will get your business ranked better and faster. That, however, is not an easy task.
When you begin looking for the right SEO agency in Singapore, you will come across several agencies that claim themselves as the best, and you may likely get overwhelmed.
The course of hiring the right SEO consultancy should take place in two rounds.
Round 1 – Sieving and Pre-selection
State all the basic but crucial details about your business expectations and goals and observe how each agency responds. Are they asking more specific questions or do they just respond “yes” instantly to all your questions?
The individuals who usually reply yes without understanding and asking more about your campaign are most likely only seeking to take away your revenues and most probably not mainly interested in the success of your business.
Observe the rate of response carefully.
Do they take several hours before responding every time? Are they prompt in answering your questions or do they take long before responding?
There is no better way to determine the type of work that an agency can do than observing the previous work samples to see the outcomes they have accomplished. Spend some time reviewing some websites of their previous customers and notice how they have been outsold.
If they were marketed in a manner that you would want your website to get marketed, that is a great indication.
Round 2 – Speak to Real Persons
Genuine work can only get conducted by a real individual.
After filtering and shortlisting SEO companies in Singapore that correspond with your expectations in round 1, now it is time to start conversations with real people to understand their strategy, sincerity, and proficiency.
Understand their packages and pricing as well as all the assurances they are making.
Avoid companies that make promises that sound too good to be true. Assess if the offer you are getting aligns with your budget estimate, business goals, and expectations.
Also, relate to the people who are responsible for communication and determine their knowledge of what you are seeking.
Step #5: Negotiating and Finalizing
If you conducted the prior check as mentioned above, you would come to a stage where you require to wrap up the terms of the contract to get started.
If you have not yet decided on the final price, you can politely inquire if the SEO agency offers any discounts.
However, don’t make discounts the only priority when deciding the best SEO firm in Singapore.
Step #6: Maintaining the Relationship and Accomplishing the Expected Outcomes
After finalizing the contract and getting started with your campaign, keep in mind that it is not the end of your role.
Contracting an SEO firm in Singapore is the same as hiring a worker. You will require to engage actively with the company, exchange information, and maintain a healthy relationship if you want to get the expected outcomes.
Sign a non-disclosure agreement before you begin sharing confidential and sensitive information about your services and products with your SEO agency.
That will assist you to comfortably sharing the details that are beneficial to the success of your campaign.
Pass on all the necessary details to your SEO company, including the exact key performance indexes, the past performance on these figures, the previous efforts made, the expectation of the senior management, the past successes and challenges, and the different channels that you currently utilise for acquisition.
You can also share information about your profit as it can be beneficial as well.
Connect with the agency representatives at least twice a week.
It is natural for SEO agency representatives to feel more connected with a customer they are in frequent communication with, especially if they are working with multiple customers.
It does not have to take long, but at least 30 minutes per week will be enough to maintain things on track, along with the regular periodical calls.
What to Look for When Hiring an SEO Agency in Singapore
You will need to have some knowledge about how to choose the right digital marketing company for you to make informed choices when deciding on a firm. You will get that one agency that will give you the best ROI for your marketing budget. So, go ahead and choose!
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Check out their website
Always ensure that you check if the digital marketing company has a functional website. An Instagram or Facebook page does not satisfy and will not be sufficient. If their site seems neglected and outdated, consider getting another agency.
If an SEO agency cannot manage its online presence, how do you expect them to manage yours?
An excellent firm will have a current portfolio that features customer lists and client testimonials. These will assist you in determining whether the agency specializes in your domain or not since all agencies are not similar.
Some deal with big businesses, while others help small businesses.
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Your SEO agency needs to stay updated
Keep in mind that search engine algorithms undergo frequent changes. New SEO tactics keep on getting developed, which changes the landscape for online marketers.
Understanding what is happening is not just about keeping updated on hot topics and new trends. It is also about keeping track of the cultural and social changes on each digital marketing platform.
Adapting to the updates early is very beneficial, and your company should be there to provide information on making the right move at the right moment.
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The right agency has a relatively broad set of skills
Here are some of the skills you need to consider when hiring an SEO agency:
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- Online marketing analytics
- Digital public relations
- Social media marketing
- SEO
- Copywriting
- Visuals
- Branding
- Web hosting
- Web design
You might not require all of them, but for your marketing efforts to become well-rounded, the agency should have a diverse blend of digital marketing experts working as a team.
We have just skimmed over the elements to consider when hiring an SEO agency in Singapore. Never forget to do a careful examination, both online and offline, to learn more about the various agencies available at your disposal.
Also, ask for recommendations from experts or signup for a digital marketing course to understand more about the concepts of online marketing.
