Whether you’ve already invested in the
services offered by a digital marketing
agency or you’re
thinking about hiring one, the decision on the one you hire is not one to take
lightly. There are many digital marketing agencies, SEO firms, and social media
advertising professionals claiming to be experts. But many of these companies
are merely making claims without the evidence (or experience) to back it up.
You
can’t always believe what you here. These are marketing gurus after all, so
they know how to sell a product, even if that product is themselves. It’s up to
you to do the necessary research in order to make a decision on the right
marketing professional for the job. You can get started by reading these 3
warning signs on when not to hire a
digital marketing agency and move on to another option.
The
Agency Insists on Owning Your Data
This
is a major red flag, but unfortunately, some company leaders don’t find it to
be fishy behavior. When an agency says that a partnership with them means
handing over the rights to your company data and logins, it’s time to move on.
The agency might follow this request by saying that owning the info will just
make the entire marketing process easier. But this could very well be a trick,
a trick that you should never fall for.
Instead
of things being “easier” for the agency, holding the rights to your data could
mean you end up stuck in a contract that you no longer wish to be a part of.
Even if things don’t go as planned with the agency, you’ll be stuck in a
contract merely because they hold all the rights to your company data. Of
course, this doesn’t always happen, but it’s still a possibility and something
to be aware of.
The
Agency Guarantees #1 Results
Sure,
hearing that an agency will get you that #1 spot on Google or help you to
outrank your competition in other ways is great. But this statement should not
be trusted. A company can never guarantee the #1 search engine results. No
matter the agency’s experience and SEO and their success with other clients,
this is an impossible thing to guarantee.
Part
of this is because the practices of SEO are constantly changing. Whatever is
working well with SEO today might not be what works in 3 months, or even 1
month. Another reason that this guarantee is futile is that you have no idea
what your competitors have up their sleeves when it comes to SEO and digital
marketing.
The Agency Provides No Up-to-Date Case Studies
During the consultation, it’s always a good idea to ask for case studies and testimonials from the agency’s previous clients. Almost all agencies will agree to this, and if they don’t you should move on. But if they provide case studies that are extremely outdated, say, from a few years ago, these are useless. Digital marketing has changed drastically within the past few years, even in the past few months. Recent case studies are a must.