Your boss gave you a task to find a digital marketing company to provide various online marketing services for your company.
So you went to Google and did a search for “SEM Singapore“, “SEO Singapore” and “Digital Marketing Singapore”, and managed to find a list of potential companies from the first few pages of the search results. Then you start contacting the companies, normally with the one at the top first since it seems reasonable that the company should know what they are doing if they are able to rank well for themselves.
To your surprise, almost every digital marketing company can promise you that they are able to get your company’s website to the first page of Google organic search results page and can maximise your ROI if they manage your Google Adwords campaign. The question is how do you figure out which digital marketing company to engage?
First, let us clear up some misconceptions about digital marketing companies. If you find yourself thinking any of the following, you have to question your assumptions.
Misconceptions About Digital Marketing Companies
“This digital marketing company has a nice website, they must know what they are doing.”
A fancy-looking website does not mean they are good in digital marketing. However, if you are looking to engage a digital marketing company to take care of your web design as well, then yes, you should consider how good their website is. But if you are only looking for a particular online marketing like SEO or SEM, some of the best companies do not have the best designed websites.
“This company has hundreds of employees and have many big clients, they must know what they are doing.”
Big companies mean that they are good at something, but it might not have anything to do with SEO or SEM. They might be big because they have the right connections and partnerships, a skill that may not be relevant in getting you the best SEO or SEM success. Bigger is not always better. Sometimes, the right digital marketing company for you might be a single guy working from his home, or it might be the international company with over 500 employees. In any case, do not write either one off automatically.
“This company ranks #1 for searches related to digital marketing in my geographic area, they must know what they are doing.”
Yes, the company that ranks at the top did a decent job on SEO but they are not “more” outstanding than 20 other companies that are targeting the same keywords. The reason is that no one owns Google, so they might not get ranked at the top position (especially if they are using white hat techniques as it can take a long period of time for their competitive niche industry). As such, even the company that ranks number one can’t guarantee that they will be able to place your website on the first spot of the search results for your industry keywords.
You will have to look beyond the superficial to engage the right digital marketing company. Here’s what you should do.
4 Tips To Find The Right Digital Marketing Company
Decide What Do You Need Exactly
Do you need reputation management, ongoing SEO maintenance, PPC (pay-per-click) management, content marketing, social media marketing or other services? If you are not sure what kind of online marketing you need, start by finding out the end goal. It can be to grow your online sales by 50% over the next 6 months, get 300 more subscribers to your mailing list, or generate 80% more leads through your website. By having specific goals in mind will be able to measure the results of the marketing campaigns done by the digital marketing company. Make this goal the center of your communication with them.
Get Free Consultations From Multiple Companies
I believe this is a no-brainer. You will need to at least meet a few companies to understand more about how they can help you achieve your digital marketing goals. Most digital marketing companies, at least in Singapore, will gladly offer a free consultation so that they can understand your full requirements and provide you with valuable feedbacks, in order to impress you and win your business. So, unless you are short of time, always request for a meeting with a few companies to have a basis for comparison.
Get Case Studies And Background Of The Company
As with most services, you will definitely need some past clients’ work from the digital marketing companies to prove that they do know their stuffs well. It is usually a good indicator that they will be able to help you achieve similar results. You will also want to hear them tell you stories about their background and experiences. By knowing their humble beginning and how they handle their setbacks, it might change your opinion altogether. Listening to stories is a way to better see the reality behind the company.
The Takeaway
Choosing a digital marketing company is never easy and you will want to stick to that same company in the long run. So remember to ask the right questions and listen carefully. The qualified ones are those who are remarkably open and knowledgeable, so avoid those who aren’t willing to reveal any details to you.
If you find this article useful, be sure to share this article with your friends and colleagues too so everyone can make an informed decision when it comes to choosing a digital marketing company.