Why you shouldn't always trust search marketing agencies

During my time working in SEO I've come across a lot of search agencies, and while most of them seem to offer "honest" services, here are a few tips to follow when choosing one. After all, you wouldn't want to waste your hard earned cash on services with no return on investment, especially if you're a new or small business.

Promise of a number 1 position in google

Even though it'd be great if someone could guarantee you a number 1 position in search engines, do not believe anybody who would make such a claim. High rankings are achieved through hard work, a lot of tweaking and patience. Due to the nature of search engine algorithms, it is impossible for an agency to guarantee a defined position. So to put it simply, steer clear of unrealistic promises.

The old Google Places trick

Google Places is a tool that allows you to register your business with Google so that it displays in search results for location specific searches (see example for dentists here). So for example if somebody does a search for dentist + postcode, businesses registered with Google Places will display above the natural listings in the SERP, right at the top of the screen.
While this is a really useful feature for searchers, it is also used by some agencies to sell seo services to companies with limited understanding of search engines. The agency will promise buyers a top position within days in google without mentioning the fact that this result will only appear for an extremely specific geolocated search.
It is worth noting that like most Google products, Places is absolutely free and registering your business can be done in a matter of minutes (Google Places)

Top results via paid search

This is another trick used by unscrupulous agencies wanting to make a quick buck. The principle is very simple: Promise a business that they can get a top ranking in Google within a week for a certain amount of money. What the agency will do in that case is bid some money on a very specific keyword in the Google adwords programme and make the customer believe that they've achieved a top ranking with no effort whatsoever. This trick relies on the customer lack of knowledge of search engines, but you'd be surprised by the number of businesses falling for it. Once convinced that they can achieve better positions for more keywords, unsuspecting businesses will keep giving the agency money, but their organic SEO will never improve.

How to choose a good agency?

• Do your research and ask for references
• If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Use your common sense
• Ask the right questions and don't be afraid to ask for detailed information
• Have a set of clear and realistic objectives for your business

 I posted a quick checklist of criteria for choosing a search marketing agency back in 2009, and what was valid then is still valid now.

If you've come across suspicious agencies in the past, feel free to share your experience here.

Conversion rate optimisation...or how to help your website achieve its full potential (and more)

In my day to day activities as an online marketer / seo I work across a range of activities, but one of the most interesting thing I worked on recently has to be conversion rate optimisation.

What is conversion rate optimisation?

To put it simply, it is the strategy put in place to help your website perform better in terms of leads, sales and conversions. This can be a simple change of layout in a form, a change in copy (eg a different button on a key conversion page) or an extremely complex multi variate test (MVT). All the these elements and ongoing tests can dramatically improve the output of an ecommerce website or how many people convert into purchasers for example.

Why use conversion rate optimisation?

No matter how well your website is performing, never assume that you can't improve your conversion numbers. As with everything else in life, there's always room for improvement, and a good conversion rate optimisation strategy will help you test your website on an ongoing basis to make sure you get the results you should.

Where to start?

• Step 1 - get your analytics right
  If you don't have accurate data from your website, make sure to identify key metrics for your business. This will give you a point of comparison when implementing tests and changes.
• Step 2 - identify the key conversion pages on your website
  This could be your homepage, a lead submission page, your sales funnel pages.
  
• Step 3 - set up an initial test
  Once you've got data and key pages, make a decision on which page you're going to test first. For beginners, I'd recommend setting up a basic A/B test where 2 different versions of a page are shown to users. The version with the highest conversion will be the one that you should use.
• Step 4 - Measure results and adjust
  When your tests are completed, compare results with your key metrics (decided in step 1) and change your website accordingly.
  
• Step 5 - set up advanced tests
  Once you are familiar with basic tests, consider doing some more advanced tests - multi variate tests. This consists in displaying different elements of a page to users and measuring which combination of elements work the best (different fonts, colours, copy, calls to action, buttons)
• Step 5 - carry out regular tests
  Plan regular tests and improve your website on a regular basis

What tools do I need?

There are a lot of tools that can be used for conversion optimisation, and a lot of agencies offer a range of services for business looking to improve their conversions. What you use will depend on how much money you want to spend:

• You have budgets to spend
  

If you have a decent budget, I'd recommend going with an agency as they will have the knowledge and expertise required to help you make quick wins as well as long term gains. Check out ConversionWorks for practical examples. If you have deep pockets, consider the big players such as Maxymiser (£45k+ per year) who will do all the grunt work for you, including page design.

• You don't have budgets
  

If you have a limited budget (or no budget at all), then I'd recommend using Google Website Optimizer, a free optimisation tool that will allow you to run tests easily as long as you are able to add a few line of codes to your website. Used in combination with Google Analytics, you should be able to start testing and measuring results quickly and cheaply.
There are obviously a lot of other tools available, but these are good starting points.

I have been in touch with quite a few agencies regarding Conversion optimisation, and after seeing a few case studies, it is obvious that there are huge benefits to be made by companies willing to test. So if you think your website is already perfect, think again!

Feel free to share your conversion rate experiences or ask me questions, I'm always happy to help.