A Guide to Fostering a Productive Relationship with Your Small Business SEO Company

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Through our years of research we have determined that relationship building is one of the most important, if not the most important, factor in a successful SEO campaign. If you have already signed on with a small business SEO company you are happy with, there is still more you can do to foster a productive relationship with your agency. Even the best SEO companies for small business can improve their communications with clients, due to the simple fact that nothing stays the same during a campaign: The client may introduce new services, acquire other companies, add staff, and more. Each of these changes requires the agency and the client to be in perfect sync when it comes to communicating the value of these changes to customers.

Simply selecting a top small business SEO company and letting them handle all of the online marketing is a mistake. As a CEO you can help ensure the success of your campaign and access many more marketing opportunities when you work proactively with your SEO agency. Try these 4 tips that can really make a difference in your relationship with your agency:

1) Insist on regular meetings to address campaign progress: One of the points that you can directly influence is how often campaign progress calls happen. Perhaps you have to answer to a board of directors, or you have other specific scheduling requirements. Your agency needs to schedule your calls and deliver your reports at a time that’s right for you. Usually this occurs once per month. If you need the data every two weeks, mention that and require it as part of your contract.

This is one way you can be proactive and get the most from your marketing investment. Many decisions will be made as a result of your campaign’s progress. It’s important to get the data in your hands when you need it.

2) Nurture email and phone communications: A good marketing agency should take the lead in this area, but don’t wait for them to do it. Pick up the phone, send emails, be involved in your campaign. Let your agency know that your staff is available to help, too. Point out the various skills your staff brings to the table to help with the campaign.

3) What more can we be doing now to help this campaign succeed? This is an important question that should be asked more than once during the course of your campaign. Every week and month milestones will be a part of your campaign’s progress. Keep track of those and mention to your agency some ways you can help meet those milestones.

4) Demand actionable reports: Some CEOs turn all the reporting over to their marketing agency. This is all right, provided you take on some responsibility for understanding the reports that are provided to you. Your agency should spend time with you to acquaint you with the reports, which should include data that reflects your agreed upon metrics. If your company introduces new products and services, you of course will want to track campaign activities that promote them. Ask your agency to evolve its reporting so you can see how your new initiatives are impacting your business as a whole. Proactive CEOs will have an understanding of their analytics so they can know the right questions to ask their agency about the facets of their campaign.

It literally pays to be proactive with your small business SEO company. Ready for more ways to get great results from your agency? Read our Amazon #1 selling e-book, it’s free.