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In the past couple of years, there has been a significant increase in the number of so-called SEO companies that claim to give you the tools and results you need to in order to grow your business online. Unfortunately, many are unqualified and call themselves online marketing experts from spending a couple of hours reading a few books on SEO and social media.
You deserve the best for your business. We’ve created an checklist to help you find the best online marketing firm for you. When you are talking to a prospective internet marketing firm, please keep this sheet in front of you, ask the questions below, and check “Yes” or “No” depending on the answers they give you.
Download a copy of the Internet Marketing Checklist by clicking here
1. Is the internet marketing consultant managing 5 clients or less?
In general, the more time an internet marketing consultant spends on a client, the better the results. Unfortunately, many consultants are overloaded with 20 or more clients at a time in order to keep profit margins up, leaving less creative time for you and leaving your business to inexperienced employees.
2. Does the internet marketing firm dedicate a substantial amount of time to research and development?
The internet is a rapidly changing environment where many opportunities can come and go in a blink of an eye. The top internet marketers research, adapt, prepare and set themselves up for success. Think many internet marketing firms do this for you? Wrong. Many use old, outdated processes that put you at risk of getting run over by your competitors.
3. Will the internet marketing firm create a customized campaign for your business?
No two online websites/businesses are the same, even within the same industry. A custom campaign would be one that shapes and pulls the ideal resources to make your online business a success. Many online marketing firms have a “one-size-fits-all” approach where a set of processes or tasks that apply to everyone will work for you. That means if you have a law firm website, they will use techniques that work for promoting real estate websites, but not necessarily for your website.
4. Does the internet marketing consultant have 3+ years of experience in the industry?
For those who claim they are “SEO Masters” or “Social Media Gurus”, be wary. There are a lot of people who think they are automatically online marketing experts because they marketed their low-priority blogs that no one cares about. Experience helps when it comes to knowing what to do next, discovering new ideas to help your online business grow, and getting things done.
5. Does the internet marketing firm charge more than $1,000/month?
So many business owners we’ve talked to always mention getting emails and seeing ads on Google offering guaranteed front-page rankings for a $99 flat fee. These simply don’t work and many are scams. Many successful internet marketing services are cost and labor intensive, requiring many hours and resources to make an online business work. Although the price does not necessarily reflect the quality of work, $1,000 per month is usually what is needed to cover the bare minimum in services for a successful online marketing campaign.
6. Will the internet marketing firm provide a detailed action plan or proposal?
Many internet marketing companies like to take your money first and then figure out what to do with your campaign. A website may not be ideal for internet marketing services and those business owners should not need to find that out after months of wasted time and spending thousands of dollars. A detailed action plan helps you get a better idea of what they’re going to do to make your business more successful.
7. Does the internet marketing company have staff dedicated to optimizing web conversions?
In general, optimizing web conversions is the art of testing and changing several elements on your website (e.g. an image, a block of text) to see if the outcome would be different with the test case (i.e. more leads, sales). You can drive a million people to your website and end up with no one buying a thing. So many internet marketing firms focus on traffic, praying those visitors will give you more sales, but so few have the experience and resources to optimize those web conversions.
8. Will the internet marketing firm charge you extra for additional resources within the scope of your campaign?
These are the hidden fees of the internet marketing world and it should be a crime. Many firms like to suggest all these great ideas of improving your website, such as redesigning parts of your website or using software, but they’re likely to charge you a pretty penny for it or shoo you away with a referring 3rd party partner, leaving you to manage the work yourself.
9. Will the internet marketing company give you more time to focus on other important things?
Whether it’s more time to focus on growing your business in other areas or spending additional time with your family and friends, your internet marketing firm should you be freeing you from the burden of growing your online business. You’re minimally involved and don’t have to babysit your internet marketing firm. Simple as that.
10. Is the internet marketing consultant available 24 hours a day, 7 hours a week?
Many firms like to have your consultant available only during standard working hours, 9 am – 5 pm, Monday through Friday. After that, if you have any questions or concerns, you’re on your own, or you are talking to a “support specialist” located halfway around the world and has no clue what you’re talking about.
If the internet marketing company you are talking to answers “NO” to at least 1 of the questions, then they may not meet the high quality standards in order to successfully grow your business online. Call Motoza now at 1-855-9-MOTOZA and learn how we can help your business succeed!
