Learn how to find your business's digital marketing agency. Explore factors, questions to ask, and tips for choosing wisely.
A digital marketing agency helps businesses increase their revenue by handling multiple aspects of the company. This includes, but isn’t limited to, social media pages, blog publishing and editing on the company’s website, and implementing SEO strategies to make the company’s pages rank higher in SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages).
Considering the importance of digital marketing for companies today, a host of digital marketing agencies are available for hire online. However, choosing one for the company’s requirements proves to be more challenging than expected. This can be due to budget constraints, inconsistent communication signals, and a lack of verified results to showcase the agency’s previous achievements.
So, we’re here to tell you all about digital marketing agencies, how to find one for your company’s needs, and what you need to consider when choosing one. Let’s begin by first taking a detailed look at what a digital marketing agency is and how it works.
What is a digital marketing agency?
Nowadays, companies are required to market themselves online to build their brand presence and awareness. While this can be done at a base level by the company’s employees, building a brand online requires specialized knowledge about social media and Google’s SERP algorithms. This is where digital marketing agencies come into the picture. They help companies boost their online marketing game by providing a range of services.
These services include the following:
Google Ad Management
The best way to reach a wider audience in various parts of the world is to run ads on Google’s web pages. This is done through Google’s Ad Manager, which acts as an all-in-one platform for the buying and selling of ads. Digital marketing agencies use Google Ads to run the company’s sanctioned ads in different geographical locations, especially where the target audience resides.
For example, a European company might want to expand its reach to Asian countries like India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. In this situation, it will hire a digital marketing agency to run ads on Google for those specific locations. Moreover, the higher the number of ad impressions, the greater the number of people in the targeted regions who have viewed the ad!
Content Marketing
Content marketing comes in various formats, including offline, online, and a combination of both. However, digital marketing agencies are experts in online content marketing. This usually entails creating high-quality content, such as blogs and videos, for your desired audience.
Content marketing also works closely with SEO (Search Engine Optimization) departments to ensure that the content ranks as high as possible for a relevant keyphrase. This increases the chances of the content being seen by the audience, being shared, and ultimately retaining the audience for further content updates. Moreover, if your content increases the traffic of your company’s website, it increases the company’s overall revenue as well.
Email Marketing
Another way to engage with your potential customers is email marketing. This involves sending emails advertising your company’s services to prospective customers. However, it’s easier said than done, as most consumers often regard these emails as spam.
A digital marketing agency will curate and customize the email sales funnel to match the expectations of your audience. If the email is catchy, it will result in people engaging with your service or product, either through a free trial or a direct buy. The idea is to increase the chances of the customer taking a call to action, and thereby increase your brand’s online presence.
Social Media Marketing
Social media is a massive aspect of any company. It is the number one way to increase your brand awareness, as viral posts can bring in multiple inbound leads and increase your company’s revenue. However, considering the sheer number of posts available online, marketing your brand while being relatable has become a veritable game of skill.
If you want to win at this game of skill and edge past the competition, your best chance is to hire a reputed digital marketing agency to handle your social media. Not only will the agency be able to run ads for specific platforms, like Facebook, it will be able to devise a strategy that will create genuine impact on the online platform.
Additionally, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok work differently in terms of social media. Experienced digital marketing agencies have a better understanding of these platforms’ algorithms, and will be able to use the platforms better for marketing your business.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
SEO is the underrated hero of digital marketing. While most people are quick to dismiss its benefits, good SEO fundamentals on your company’s blog, website, and social media handles will yield long-term results that will continue to rake in the big bucks.
SEO professionals optimize your website’s content based on trends, users’ search intent, and Google or social media algorithms. It can be on-page SEO, which is client-facing, or off-page and technical SEO, which work in the background to help you build online authority in your niche.
So, if you want to ensure high-quality traffic on your company website or blog, invest in reputed and knowledgeable SEO professionals or an SEO agency.
Website Development
For online sales, your audience will most likely be redirected to your company website from emails or ads. Due to this, you have to ensure that the website looks good, has a smooth user experience, less clutter or bloatware, and loads fast. So, this makes website development fall (slightly) under the realm of digital marketing, apart from just engineering or coding. This is why digital marketing agencies also offer website overhauls or website creations as a service.
Step-by-Step Guide to Finding the Right Digital Marketing Agency
Now that you know what a digital marketing agency is and what it offers, let’s see how you can find the right digital marketing agency for your requirements.
1. Consider Your Needs
Not every company requires a digital marketing agency for the same reason. A company could require better content on its blogs, while another might want to up its social media presence. There are multiple agencies that specialize in certain aspects of digital marketing, as digital marketing itself is an umbrella term for multiple online niches. So, understand what’s the need of the hour for your business, as this will help you identify agencies quicker.
2. Research Agencies
Once you’ve narrowed down your requirements, search for digital marketing agencies that are specialists for that particular needs. For example, you might want to optimize your blog’s SEO for better search visibility on Google. So, research agencies that have a proven track record in increasing website traffic through SEO optimization and implementation.
3. Finalize Marketing Budget
Not all digital marketing agencies are the same. Large-scale digital marketing agencies and specialist agencies with decent reputations often require massive budgets to work with. Whether you’re just hiring an agency for SEO or running ads, you’ll have to decide your ad budget and overall budget for the agency.
4. Assess Expertise and Specialization
Once you’ve finalized your budget and found specialist agencies to consider, it’s time to verify their expertise. The easiest ways to do this are to check for growth in their social media presence, and website traffic, and contact previous customers of the agencies for their testimonies. If all three indicators are positive, you can move on to the next step.
5. Check for Credentials and Certifications
Digital marketing agencies have specialists among their ranks, based on different requirements. Once you’ve shortlisted an agency and checked their specialization, you can also verify extra credentials and certifications that they have which may help your particular case.
For example, a digital marketing agency founder or executive might have certifications in programmatic SEO. If you want to employ programmatic SEO to increase your website traffic, this person could be a decent bet!
6. Communication and Transparency
Lastly, ensure that the agency’s communication style and prices are straightforward, professional, and transparent. Not only will this help you foster a fruitful professional relationship with clear expectations, but will also save you from hidden charges which may impact your budget in the long run.
Questions to Ask a Digital Marketing Agency
So, once you’ve narrowed down a digital marketing agency that could be worth hiring, it’s time to ask them a few questions to understand them better. These questions will help you understand if the agency aligns with your company culture, values, and budget. Let’s take a look at these questions below.
1. What services do they specialize in?
This is the first question to ask as it will help you confirm your research, straight from the metaphorical horse’s mouth! You’ll also be able to get an insight into other domains that they might expand to, which can help you in other scenarios of your business.
2. Can they provide case studies and examples of past work?
Most of the time, whatever is advertised online in terms of testimonials and case studies are either outdated or fake. It’s better to ask this question to the agency and see if they can provide case studies that showcase their skills and results in a particular domain. Not only will it corroborate online testimonials, but will also increase confidence and value.
3. How do they measure success and ROI?
You don’t want to spend millions on a digital marketing agency and wait for it to yield results. Asking questions on measuring success and ROI will help you decide if you see eye-to-eye in terms of success. Moreover, if they can provide facts and figures, this will help you keep clear expectations based on the overall online growth strategy.
4. What is their pricing structure?
Digital marketing agencies often provide multiple packages based on budget and offerings. The largest plans could include extra offerings which you don’t need at the time, while the smaller packages may provide less value and benefits than what you’re looking for.
The pricing structure question will help you understand the different packages, their benefits, and the overall budget that’s required. This will provide you with a clear understanding of how much the services will cost you based on your requirements.
Additional Tips to Avoid When Hiring
There are a few red flags to consider when hiring a digital marketing agency. Let’s take a look at them below.
- Unrealistic expectations in terms of traffic, sales, or overall revenue are clear red flags. For example, if the agency guarantees to increase your website traffic by 1 million page views in 6 months. More often than not, this is difficult to achieve due to a multitude of dynamic factors, such as content quality and Google Core updates.
- Miscommunication is another aspect to watch out for when hiring. One or two mistakes when communicating are fine and considered to be a part of human nature. However, if they are constantly miscommunicating before even being hired, it indicates that you’ll definitely face issues with the agency in the long run.
- Lack of transparency will lead to hidden charges and unethical practices. Digital marketing agencies should provide you with clear pricing structures, performance metrics, and distinct working methods to help you manage expectations. Otherwise, you could be a victim of extra charges and online malpractice.
- Inflexible strategies often indicate a dead end for most online brands. Google and social media platforms are constantly updating their algorithms to provide user-centric content and suppress AI-generated, unhelpful content. If the marketing agency uses outdated methods or is unwilling to change its strategy, you can be sure that its strategies won’t be helping you grow your brand or business.
- Lack of industry knowledge is another massive issue that many businesses face with digital marketing agencies. The agency must show proof of work with other brands in your industry, thereby exhibiting a working knowledge and understanding of your industry’s requirements. Hiring an agency that has little to no idea or lacks proof of work in your industry is bound to be a bad fit for your business.
Conclusion
Digital marketing agencies are extremely helpful in growing your online presence and reach. Having access to a wider audience can greatly increase your company revenue if you have access to the right agency. Not all marketing agencies are built the same, and with so many agencies available for hire, you should know how to sieve through the online noise to find the agency that fits your needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Is hiring a digital marketing company worth it?
Yes, hiring a digital marketing company is worth it, if you find the agency that suits your requirements. Not all marketing agencies will have knowledge of your industry or fit your budget, so you have to research to find one that fits the bill. Once you do, the digital marketing agency will be able to boost your brand presence online and increase your revenue.
2. When should I hire a digital marketing agency?
You should hire a digital marketing agency if you want to scale your business. Early-stage startups, brands, and businesses usually take time to refine their product or find their ideal audience. Once these have been resolved, you start to scale, and scaling requires you to build an online presence on social media and Google. This is when you can hire a digital marketing agency.
Apart from that, you can hire a digital marketing agency based on your specific requirements, such as website content, email campaigns, etc.
3. What should I look for in a digital marketing agency?
A digital marketing agency should fit your budget, have industry knowledge, provide a clear and transparent pricing structure, and provide relevant client testimonials and proof of work. Moreover, they should be professional and timely in communicating with you.
4. How should I hire digital marketing companies?
Check for client testimonials, proof of work, credentials, certifications, and pricing structures when hiring digital marketing companies. You should also ask relevant questions during the initial stages to assess their expertise and understanding of your industry.
5. Who are the best digital marketing companies?
Porter Novelli, Cuker Agency, Leo Burnett, Carat, and Twitter ArtHouse are some of the best digital marketing companies in the world.
