What you should look for in a digital marketing agency

Finding the right digital agency to make your marketing dreams come true is a process that can be rewarding and exciting. Think about it, this is your chance to elevate the results of your marketing campaigns with a team that you really click with.

But how do you know when you’re onto a good connection with a team? What do you need to look for when making your decision and what are the benefits of working with a top-tier digital marketing agency?

• What is a digital marketing agency?
• Benefits of working with a digital agency
• What to consider when choosing a digital agency 
• Getting to know the digital agency
• Review the pricing structure

What is a digital marketing agency?

Let’s define what a digital marketing agency can offer you.

Digital marketing agencies are teams of marketing professionals with expertise across various aspects of the digital marketing industry. Some agencies specialise in one or two areas and others across the whole spectrum:

• SEO
• PPC
• Social media marketing
• Content marketing
• Influencer marketing 
• Email marketing
• Website design and development
• Analytics

 

They’re there to drive sales and help you achieve your marketing goals like increasing your customer base, promoting your brand to new demographics, improving your visibility online, and generating leads. But ultimately to drive sales.

Benefits of working with a digital agency

1. Years worth of shared expertise and experience

You benefit from the shared expertise of decades of experience across the team working for you. There’s no single marketer who can match that. A digital marketing agency looks to find the very best in their field to represent them, so you’re potentially partnering with experts who have proven their worth with numerous clients across multiple industries.

2. Niche agencies

If you only want to look at SEO, you have the option to partner with a specialist SEO agency and therefore work with a team focussed entirely on that discipline, who you know will be at the cutting edge of their industry. 

3. Full-service agencies

But if you’re after results that you know can only be achieved through, say SEO and PPC, and a cheeky rebrand of your website, you can go to a full-service agency. The advantage of that is they’ll be well versed in working together and have systems and processes set up for that, to get you results.

4. Up to date with trends

Any agency team worth their salt will pride themselves on staying up to date in the digital marketing industry - it’s expected of them and they’re absorbed in that world with multiple clients. All that learning is at your fingertips. Invaluable as current digital marketing practices are constantly evolving. If you want buzzwords like AI, or platforms that you’ve read about but not explored yet to be demystified, they’ll have your back.

5. In depth data analysis

Another benefit of any digital agency is analytics. Marketers are constantly analysing the data from your campaigns, while you’re busy running your business. Having a trained set of eyes to glance through your data feed regularly can save you time and money, as they flag new areas for development and nip any weak spots in the bud. They’ll also be used to working with data from multiple clients and you’ll benefit from the learning that comes out of that (we don’t want to say learning from other people’s mistakes but you know what we mean!)

What to consider when choosing a digital agency 

Here’s a quick list of things to keep in mind when you’re searching:

1. Reviews & recommendations

Don’t just look at their top reviews. Dig a little deeper and consider who is reviewing them. Are their clients matching your level of success, brand recognition and scale? Are there key points that are being brought up in multiple reviews? The details here make all the difference.

2. Portfolio of work 

Consider if the agency is up to date with the latest tech and industry developments and can showcase this in their portfolio. It’s useful to find clients of a similar size and scale to your business, with goals that are aligned to yours to see what results the agency was able to produce for a client like you.

3. Compatibility with existing systems

Google Ads is constantly evolving, with updates across the platform monthly. The same can be said for the entirety of the digital marketing space. So you need a team that is adaptable with the systems you currently have in place, with the scope to scale up and adapt to anything new on the horizon.

Getting to know the digital agency

Agency life varies greatly from company to company. Some are young and vibrant, others have strong legacies based on decades of proven results through tried and tested models. Many are a mix of the two.

Here are a few things to consider, going beyond a basic website search:

• The team - Can you work with them? This sounds simple enough, but if their energy doesn’t match yours, if you think they can’t quite see things from your perspective, you may run into issues further down the line. 

• Their approach - They should get to know your business thoroughly. When you come to meet with the team for the first time, while you’re still in the deciding phase, be sure they can demonstrate an interest and knowledge of your business and how you work best.

• Ethos and values - Do they match yours? Go with your gut on this one. It makes all the difference, and it’s nice to know the team is coming at every new challenge from the same perspective.

• Big or small - Ensure they have the capacity to meet your needs. You don’t always need a huge team, in fact getting to really know a few individuals who are heavily involved in crafting your marketing campaigns can bring results at speed, with no middle management in the way. But as you scale, it’s worth feeling safe in the knowledge that the team can scale with you.

 

Review the pricing structure

When you’ve got the key points mentioned above all covered, it’s time to drill down into the small print. Consider the pricing structure of the company. Do they work off of retainer fees, project-based pricing, or performance-based models? Determine which is best for your requirements and which ones give you the best opportunity to reach those marketing goals in the long term.

It’s about what’s best for you, and what they are familiar with working with. Be sure to check how it aligns with your budget, and expected return on investment. At the end of the day, you’re looking for results at a price that is affordable and sustainable.

Summary of choosing a digital marketing agency

In short, choosing a digital marketing agency is often more about considering the specifics of your requirements and targets first, than simply focusing on the agency options themselves. Once you’ve got a good sense of what you’re looking for, it’s all about finding the best agency to deliver those results.

We hope this guide has given you a solid starting point as you search for the best agency for your goals.

If you’re reading this and wondering what we’d be like to work with, we love nothing more than to talk - so get in touch, and let’s chat about how we might be able to help.

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