How to Choose the Right Digital Marketing Agency for Your Business

It happens with many online businesses. They create an excellent website. But, even after so many weeks of making it live, they don’t get traffic. The reason is simple: no one knows they exist. 

There are around 200 million ACTIVE websites in the world. [Source: Forbes] 

Standing out in this massive sea of websites looks almost impossible. That’s where a reliable digital marketing company appears as the right partner. They know the right techniques and tools to help you become a renowned online brand. 

Now comes another important question: How do you find a digital marketing agency?

We know the process isn’t easy. That’s why we’ve created this guide. The tips in this guide will help you shortlist the best digital marketing agency for your online activities. As a bonus, we’ve also shared five essential questions to ask the team.

Let’s begin. 

1. Be clear about your goals 

Every business has its own set of marketing goals. Some seek hot leads, whereas others want to become a renowned brand. When you’re clear about your goals, you can easily communicate them with the digital marketing agency. A pro move is to write a goal statement on a doc file. It doesn’t have to be a single line. You can create multiple bullet points, too. Rather than a vague statement, it is better to have a clear, measurable goal or a set of goals. Let’s understand with an example. 

Vague statement: Our goal is to increase the reach of our social media pages. 

Measurable goal: Our objective is to increase a specific number of Instagram followers within the designated upcoming months.

After you’ve created a measurable goal, the next step is to map out the existing marketing initiatives. With this step, you can expect better and faster results from the digital marketing agency. They will inform you what needs improvement or if those initiatives are worth continuing. 

2. Ask for case studies

Case studies are documents in which a company shares how its solution has helped one of its clients. These well-structured documents save a lot of your time and hassle. It is the best tool for researching the agencies you plan to hire. And every reliable agency has plenty of time. If a vendor doesn’t have proper case studies, consider it a red flag. 

Try to get the case studies of past clients who were in a business similar to yours. These documents tell you what the agency is best at. Go through the case studies of multiple agencies to see which one of them offers effective solutions. 

3. Ask about their services in detail

What if you want SEO services, but they only offer website design services? Or maybe they only have expertise in social media campaigns? It is crucial to check the services they offer. Begin by looking at their website. A digital marketing company typically offers these services:

• Search engine optimization
• Pay-per-click (PPC)
• Social media marketing
• Website design & development
• Mobile app development
• Local SEO
• Content Marketing
• Online reputation marketing 

Every service has its unique features and benefits. Read more about these services in detail from their website. If the information is limited, you can send them an email or give them a call. 

4. Check their credibility

Start by asking about their experience. Avoid a digital marketing agency whose founder has just entered the digital world. A reliable firm’s founder has been in the business for at least a decade. Their team also comes with decent experience in the industry. 

Next, check their reviews. Doing so is simple. In the Google search, type the agency name followed by “reviews.” You will get tons of feedback from their past or existing clients. Notice the frequency of negative reviews. One or two negative ones are fine. If too many people are talking about their bad services or the behavior of their staff, it’s best to look for other options. 

Make sure the company has a proper office otherwise, you can’t trust a company that has a website but not an office. Every member of such an agency works from home. It gets challenging to verify their credibility and track them in case of disputes. 

Insider tip: Get the contact information of their existing or past clients. The best digital marketing Company won’t mind sharing at least their email ID. Connect with those clients and ask if they were satisfied with the services of the agency you’re considering. 

5. Hire a full-service team 

Globally many online marketers showcase themselves as an agency but are a one-man show. They handle designing, web development, content writing, and other aspects of digital marketing on their own. They’re usually generalists and not specialists in a particular domain. You can imagine the quality they will deliver if they’re multiple projects simultaneously. 

That’s why you need an entire team of specialists. Choose a team that comprises designers, 

content writers, search engine experts, social media experts, and marketing managers. 

6. Check if they’re adaptable

Google and other search engine giants keep updating their algorithms. The websites have to modify their SEO efforts accordingly. Similarly, social media marketing trends also keep evolving. The same is true for website design. The best digital marketing company keeps adapting to the changing tech and marketing trends. 

Each one of their team members stays abreast of the new developments. When interviewing a potential vendor, ask about how they keep updating themselves. Do their team members regularly enroll in online courses? Do they keep track of Google’s new algorithms? Their answer will tell a lot about their adaptability. You can also ask about 2-3 new technologies and tools they’ve implemented in the last few months. 

7. Ensure they offer tailored solutions

Every company has a unique set of marketing requirements, depending on their budget, industry, and specific business needs. Don’t hire someone who offers a cookie-cutter solution to every client. 

Choose a service provider in Noida that tailors solutions to your requirements. They do so by thoroughly listening to your specific needs. They also test your website and social media to create a customized solution. 

8. Ask how they will share the reports

After you’ve chosen a digital marketing team in Noida, the next important step is to get the report. A well-made report contains all your digital marketing campaign’s KPIs (key performance indicators). These KPIs let you measure the improvement the agency has promised. 

Ask how often they share the report. The standard practice is to share the reports every month. You can even ask for weekly or bi-monthly reports to ensure you get the bang for every buck spent. During your discussion phase, ask them for sample reports. 

Study the report thoroughly and ask about the sections or terms that aren’t clear to you. Doing so comes with two advantages. First, you will know the reporting pattern the agency follows in the most transparent manner. Second, the way they clarify your doubts will give you a good idea of how they resolve their clients’ queries. 

9. Try to get the package deals

More often than not, the companies hire the agencies in Noida for only a single service. For example, they need professionals to work only on their social media pages. However, they end up paying more than they would have paid in package deals. Yes, most agencies offer package deals to their clients at a discounted price. You will not only pay less for the overall service but also get access to more resources for your digital marketing needs. 

Insider tip: When asking about their package deals, you can always negotiate the prices. Most digital marketing agencies agree to reduce the overall fee or offer an add-on without any additional charge. 

10. Avoid a company that relies only on AI content

Unless you’re living under a rock, you might know the term artificial intelligence (or simply AI). This revolutionary tech has impacted almost everyone who’s a creator or consumer of online content. Many agencies also rely on AI to enhance their services. But, relying entirely on AI tools isn’t good practice. 

In most cases, the SEO blogs and articles an AI engine produces are of average quality and often generic. Also, the statistics and factual information always need verification. There’s a huge possibility that AI tools will fix these issues in the future. But, as of now, using only AI-generated content for SEO purposes isn’t the right idea. 

That’s why you need to confirm the service provider you’re choosing doesn’t generate the articles, blogs, and other written content through this technology. If they use artificial intelligence just for research purposes or to generate article ideas, then it’s fine. Otherwise, choose a digital marketing company in Noida that still believes in crafting content manually. 

Insider tip: Ask for some sample content pieces. Check those samples using AI detection tools like Copyleaks or GPTZero. You will come to know if a human writer has written the content or if it was produced through a machine.

Questions to ask the agency

As promised, here’s the bonus section. Check all the essential questions you should ask the agency you’re considering. 

Question 1: Who will be my point of contact?

A reliable agency will have an account/client manager to handle your project. You can connect with them to get updates and to clarify your doubts. The same person is in touch with the marketing team to track the status of your project. 

Question 2: When will I start seeing the results?

When you have a clear timeline, you won’t get panicked if you don’t see the results after a few days. The agency, on the other hand, will know how soon you expect the results. The experienced web marketers from the NCR region will also explain in detail why a certain form of marketing will take more time than the other. 

Question 3: Will you send me the content before posting?

You should know what’s being posted by the agency on behalf of your brand. This includes social media images, videos, captions, blog posts, and other forms of content. A reliable agency is okay with you approving the content before it goes LIVE.

Question 4: What happens if my search engine rankings go down?

Search engine rankings are volatile. Due to a new algorithm by Google or any other reason, it can go down. Ask the team what they usually do in such cases. This is a crucial question if you’re seeking their search engine optimization services.

Question 5: What does the billing structure look like?

Some service providers request a certain amount in advance, whereas others have a full-advance payment policy. It’s always a wise idea to check their payment terms. 

Conclusion:

By following these tips and asking these questions, you’re sure to find the right partner for your online journey. 

For the best results, you can also connect with the team of E2Web Services. We’re happy to help with all your queries about your digital marketing needs as we are the top digital marketing agency in Noida. Plus we will also share a free quote related to your requirement.