Are you too nice…to your clients?

Posted on September 27, 2010 by Marta Turek

-       Do you find yourself saying yes to every client request?
-       Has your project fallen out of scope?
-       Is your client in the driver’s seat of the project?
-       Have you outlined project limitations, or is everything fair game?
-       Does your client understand what they paid for?
-       Are you treated like a full time employee charged with extra work at no extra cost?

As the project manager, it is your role to successfully deliver on the project, set client expectations as well as define the limitations of project scope. Most clients will strive to push beyond the scope of the project, making it your job to draw the line in the sand. Here are some tactics to mitigate scope creep in SEM projects.

1. Education = Understanding
SEM work is time intensive, it takes hours to do a thorough keyword analysis, concerted effort to write quality & unique ad copy and even longer to do the analysis that helps you formulate the right tactics for project success. Make it clear to the client what the work involves – in PPC, success is a moving target, so even if week on week you are not delivering tangible deliverables the client needs to understand the type of work you are in fact doing. Ensure communication flow is continually open to put project priorities into perspective.

2. Spell it Out
Spend time with the client at the start of the project defining objectives, describing deliverables and the final outcome. For absolute clarity indicate what is within scope and what is out of scope – get the client to sign off on this. Clients often rush the project start date in order to see ‘real work’ being done. Do not proceed with any deliverables until the client has signed off on the strategy road map that spells out the work that will be done.

3. Balancing Act
If a client is striving to push the scope of the project and makes a request that will impact profitability and project hours, it is important to put this into perspective. Indicate that the request itself makes sense, but it raises potential risks that may be costly, both in time and money. Paint a picture of cause and effect: If you implement x, it will impact the quality of y because the time that had been dedicated to y will now have to be shifted to x.

4. Good Business is Mutually Beneficial
Even though you may try to be flexible and accommodating to meet your client’s needs, you cannot just continue to be ‘nice’ because the client will learn that they can exploit this. No matter how many systems you have in place, it is the verbal and interpersonal relationship that needs to be managed. It lies in the ability to raise a criticism while maintaining your commitment to the project and relationship. If you have reached the limit in your ability to invest in the relationship, at your cost – make your case clear to the client.

If you are delivering good work, in a client centric manner you should not be afraid to present the case for a mutually beneficial relationship. The client needs to understand that you too, are trying to run a business and only if both parties profit, will the relationship continue to make business sense.

7 Ways to Build an Integrated Search Marketing Team – Part II

Posted on March 2, 2010 by Marta Turek

Part I introduced the notion that SEM teams do not always speak the same language and in fact sometimes operate in silos more than they work as a team. In Part II we focus on 4 more ways in which a search marketing team can become more unified. There are no hard rules to achieve this – in the end it is people working with other people, which means that due consideration is required. The most basic principle is communication.

4. Ensure Minimum Performance Expectations are Clear – fact is, when you’ve been working for an organisation for some time it’s easy to forget that the steps required in performing a deliverable are not as obvious to new team members as they are to you! It is important the team members are aware of what is expected of them so that they are well positioned to deliver. Providing them with tidbits of information rather than clearly painting the full picture may result in unnecessary time wastage, possible confusion and clients receiving service below the expected bar.

5. Never Assume: Communicate – the saying goes, assumption is the mother of all #&*#$! It is safe to say that if your SEM team is not communicating, a number of opportunities are being missed, work is not being delegated properly and inefficiencies hinder team effectiveness. Don’t assume, confirm. If in doubt, confirm. Don’t ‘think‘ - know. If ever you are unsure of something, be it pertaining to a client deliverable, a relationship with team members or your own work, ask the relevant parties for the required insight or clarification.

6. Communicate With Others as You Wish to be Communicated With – with the dawn of digital technology it appears that two things have been lost – the art of the full sentence and picking up the telephone. One liner answers to emails have their place in certain situations, but providing some clarity and detail around client deliverables may certainly help all team members to get fully on board a given task. The same goes for giving task instructions – the quality of those instructions is often a measure of the number of follow up questions. Rather than getting annoyed at a fellow team member for asking too many questions, use it as a quality benchmark against your instructions. Are you asking someone to perform miracles by holding key facts to yourself – thus wasting their time while they scramble for solutions and answers?

7. Basic Accreditation – ensure that the search marketing team is proficient in the basic fundamentals by providing training in industry recognised certifications offered by the search engines. Even though this type of certification is not always as ‘leading edge’ as other external training programs, these certifications offer a solid core in the ‘basics’ – information that the entire team should know. Sometimes, it is valuable to return to the core for a quick refresher, even for those SEM team members who have years of experience because basics can be forgotten too. Not only will this assist in setting the basic benchmark for both minimum required skills and knowledge for the entire team, but it may help streamline processes. Experienced SEM practitioners develop their own style of management – ever been frustrated working on a project in which three different team members apply different settings, management decisions and bidding rules to a PPC campaign? Returning to the basics may assist in cleaning up these types of scenarios.

7 Ways to Build an Integrated Search Marketing Team – Part I

Posted on February 23, 2010 by Marta Turek

The search marketing industry itself is still very young, with ‘veterans’ having 10 – 15 years of experience the timeline of the SEM world closely mimics that of search engine creation, growth and expansion. Up to a few years ago, two years of experience in the SEM industry was regarded as significant while in 2010, the rough industry standard for ‘experienced’ is 3-5 years.

Many SEM specialists learned the ropes in their first position, perhaps in a start up their repertoire grew as the business expanded or they have a programming background and taught themselves SEO. Whether they took some online courses or developed their knowledge through extensive reading, SEM is no derivatives trading, that is to say, until a couple of years ago there were no university courses that taught SEM skills nor how to think as an SEM specialist. What this means is that the skills, level of expertise and SEM background is very fragmented and varied. This translates directly to SEM teams working together, whether in independent organisations or within SEM agencies, do they operate cohesively or in silos?

Speaking the Same Language

How do you ensure that your SEM team is speaking the same language? The saying goes, ‘the only constant in this industry is change’ so as an employer how do you ensure that your SEM team moves ahead of the tide, has the skill set that puts them at the top of the bell-curve and ensure that any new team members are effectively integrated?

There is no steadfast methodology in place and the solution will vary from organisation to organisation, but below we’ll explore 7 ways to proactively ensure that SEM teams work together in an integrated manner:

1. Offer a Robust Internal Training Program – ensure that new recruits are versed in all the important components of SEM. In the training process the new team member should start to develop a sense of performance expectations – the minimum benchmark by which client deliverables are measured. By omitting to do so right from the start of the candidate’s tenure may create dissonance and result in a discovery process during which unnecessary time is wasted. Don’t make recruits guess what is expected of them.

2. Share Internal Knowledge & Skills – grow as a team, rather than just individually. Given the accumulation of skills & knowledge in the SEM industry is so fragmented, this will result in a team with rich pockets of expertise, from varying disciplines. To put this into perspective, it is not like a legal team who will have had similar training & education. For an SEM team, that is so diversified, this can either be a great strength or an almost insurmountable challenge if the team does not share knowledge and work together. Actively sharing knowledge will not only build intellectual property but also create a strong team, capable of handling bigger projects, more demanding clients and greater responsibilities.

3. External Training to Develop Expertise – you’ve heard it before, you’ll hear it again – the SEM industry is in a state of permanent flux. Information is readily available, industry professionals share sound advice on blogs, webinars, books and whitepapers. This has allowed clients to become increasingly knowledgeable and for this reason it is critical that SEM specialists are always a few steps ahead of clients. If the client’s expertise grows and they no longer feel that the specialist / agency is offering real remarkable value, they may start to consider to take their online operation in house. It is important to continually push the boundaries of your knowledge and industry required skills.

Does Your Search Marketing Team Set the Gold Standard?

Posted on February 16, 2010 by Marta Turek

As a search marketing agency develops its positioning in the market, whether it is to serve a particular business niche; work with small to medium sized businesses or as a market leader, developing enterprise level solutions for multinationals; it is important to set and maintain a service benchmark by which the agency can be measured.

Within the search marketing team, a gold standard should be set as the benchmark at the highest level towards which every member on the team continually strives. When delivering client solutions, it is key that this gold standard drives the quality of the work presented to the client. What is more important is that every single member of the team delivers this identified level of service quality. Certainly, there will always be a level of hierarchy in skill sets, in which some members will have greater depth & breadth of experience; stronger analytical skills or quite simply they’ve been in the game for a long time.
This should, however, not affect the gold standard, because each team member should be armed with the resources, assistance and training in order to deliver at the expected benchmark.

It’s a Two-Way Street

How does an agency ensure that the quality of work delivered to clients meets its benchmark of excellence? The most obvious answer lies in recruitment – the agency must be able to correctly identify the types of people that meet the agency philosophy and possess the right skill set in order to deliver the goods.

However, beyond the recruitment process, once a candidate has been hired – the new team member needs to be integrated into the team so as to deliver solutions that can proudly bear the agency stamp. This is not to say that the individual should be so deeply pulled into the ‘status quo’ so as to stifle critical thought or be unable to offer a fresh perspective on how things are done, but without some level of integration – it is the individual’s stamp being left on the work and on client impressions, rather than the agency stamp. This can become a problem if there are certain individuals within the agency who are performing at a higher level than their counterparts. It may reflect negatively on the agency – if an individual is held above the agency itself and clients may poorly evaluate the agency if they notice a marked difference in service quality between team members.

Pulling in the Same Direction

By nurturing the skills and required core competences of the entire team, this not only serves to create a stronger team but it also raises the benchmark, so that the gold standard is always being challenged and driven higher. If the team shares ideas, strategies, core strengths and together, challenges the way that things are done this will not only improve the quality of deliverables sent to the client but ensure that everyone is clear on what the expectations are.

No agency will raise its gold standard by operating in silos – without spreading the wealth of knowledge, intellectual property and collective training. Without clear and effective communication, one team member’s interpretation of a service may be completely different from that of another member’s. If both interpretations are equally excellent – this is a positive result, but imagine the wasted synergy if these ideas are never shared and combined to create an even more powerful final result. Conversely, the results can be devastating if poor quality work is sent to a client because of a weak interpretation of the requirements.

In a service driven environment such as search marketing, not only is it fundamental for an agency to invest in its people, but it is equally important to ensure that the teams who work together share the same vision and have an understanding of excellence that drives up the average, rather than averaging out to a mediocre service delivery standard.

SEM Agency Website Errors

Posted on July 20, 2009 by Marta Turek

SEM Website Errors Perhaps businesses underestimate the effect that copywriting errors have on the credibility of their websites. Perhaps it is only a handful of people who are negatively affected and perturbed by these grammatical mishaps, but certainly, I for one can confidently say that these egregious blunders paint a lasting image of a business’ attention to the finer details.

When reviewing companies in the search engine marketing field, the attention to detail on the company website, or lack thereof is a subtle indicator of how efficiently and accurately the smallest details are executed. After all, pay-per-click advertising is a service that requires an incredibly high level of attention to the finest details, one incorrect bid or check in the wrong box, and there goes some of that valuable money that the hired company is supposed to be managing.

You may argue that in the greater scheme of things there are more important things to do than go through the website copywriting with a fine tooth comb, but I would argue to the contrary.

For years, job applicants have been hammered for grammatical and spelling errors on their applications. If judgement can be passed on an individual from a résumé document, then why should a company website not carry the same clout? It is after all, a company’s summary of its assets and services – a compelling online summary of what the company can offer you and why the fit would be mutually beneficial.

Below I will summarise some of the website copywriting errors that cleanly wipe off a few points on a company’s score sheet when they glaringly appear on the company site.

#1. AdWords NOT Adwords
When an SEM agency offers ‘Adwords’ management services, it is troubling to consider that said company cannot even take the time to correctly identify the trademark of the service that they are offering clients.

Correct spelling: AdWords – capital ‘A’ and capital ‘W’

#2. It’s 2009! Even closer to 2010 than 2008!
If you have STILL not changed your copyright stamp to ‘copyright 2009’ in mid-July, you may as well leave it until 2010 and perhaps be timely next year.

If it hasn’t been a priority to date, it’s unlikely to become one now.

#3. The ‘Effect’ of Misusing ‘Affect’
Confusion between effect and affect occurs frequently. In reality, both these words have a function as a verb and a noun, but rather than adding confusion into the mix, let’s focus on their commonly used English meanings.

Affect is commonly used as a verb. A synonym would be ‘to influence’
i.e.: The relevance of keywords selected in an SEO project will affect traffic and conversions
Effect is commonly used as a noun. A synonym would be ‘outcome’
i.e.: The relevance of keywords selected in an SEO project will have an effect on traffic and conversions

#4. The Apostrophe
There appears to be a widespread ignorance of the correct use of the apostrophe. The greatest misuse of the apostrophe arises when the distinction between a ‘contraction’ and a ‘possessive pronoun’ is not made, particularly in the use of its and it’s.

To clarify
The possessive pronoun: its
It replaces the noun and expresses a relationship of belonging

So, instead of saying: The company offers the company’s SEO services
We can say: The company offers its SEO services

The possessive pronoun (its) is commonly confused with the contraction of ‘it is’ which looks like (it’s)

There is a clear difference in meaning between it is (the contraction) and that which belongs to it (the possessive pronoun)

So, when you incorrectly write: The company offers it’s services
Understand that you are writing: The company offers it is services

If more people understood the grammar behind this contraction and the possessive pronoun, the error would be made less frequently, because the mistake would become glaringly obvious.

#5. That Blog Needs an Update
It is disconcerting when SEM agencies and more so, social media experts host a blog but have not posted a new entry since, say February 2009. A thought, if you are updating your blog quarterly, perhaps it’s time to opt for a newsletter.

An infrequently updated blog tells clients that you may not take these resource intensive and repetitive tasks too seriously. The question may then arise, are any other time-consuming tasks in the search campaign being overlooked, such as monthly link building or ongoing monthly pay-per-click management?

SEO Staff Turnover Rate Harms Clients

Posted on July 16, 2009 by Marta Turek

‘How high is your SEO staff turnover rate?’ – It may not be something that everyone would think to ask a potential SEO firm, but perhaps it should be one of the first questions posed when commissioning SEO services.

If a company has a high turnover rate, this has serious implications for both the client as well as the team that remains and constantly has to absorb employees leaving and new members coming on board.

SEO Team Dropping Like Flies?
The SEO industry is in a unique position in this worldwide recession. In many parts of the world, SEO services are in very high demand, competition is rife and SEO businesses continue to spring up. (Perhaps not at the rate of mushrooms like in the social media industry, but growth remains).

This means that if staff is not happy in their current company, leaving, may still be an option, unlike in many other industries in which people are clinging to their jobs. In SEO the hours are long, the work can be thankless and self-appointed directors, hungry for growth in their personal enterprise can be relentless and unforgiving.

So in an industry in which employees still have options, one could say there is a close correlation between job satisfaction and the decision to leave. It could almost be described as an inversely proportional relationship, in that the lower one’s job satisfaction, the higher the propensity to leave.

Constantly losing employees and gaining new team members is a very high cost activity because the business constantly needs to recruit and then cover the learning, lower productivity and risk costs of the new employees. There is simply no way that a new employee can match the productivity of the existing team and in turn, the new member weighs down on the team because they must teach the new player the ropes.

A Domino Effect
Even though in-house, losing team members has a profound effect on workload and team morale, from a value perspective it is the client who feels the strain of this loss most keenly. If an account manager or first point of contact is leaving the company, this creates a great deal of work and frustration for the client.

With a new account manager a relationship needs to be developed, the project rediscussed in detail and more focus & energy reallocated to something that may have been running smoothly for months.

All those things that just ‘clicked’ and worked with the previous account manager are in the past. In many ways it is like starting from square one with the agency, and for some clients it may be drastic enough to change SEO companies – particularly if things had not been going that well!

Big Shoes to Fill
Sometimes when people leave a company, they also leave big shoes to fill. The first point of contact on any project is the key link between the in-house team and the client.

It is very easy for the director or business development manager to make all kinds of promises to the client, but it is the operational team, who handle the daily ins and outs of the project that will differentiate one agency from another.

The truth is, people expect to be swept off their feet by the business development manager. Through a combination of rapport, client business understanding and a solid business proposal, clients quickly sift through the list to come down to their top picks. The real clincher and indicator of agency professionalism is how the project takes off once the SEO company has taken the client’s money.

You cannot have a solid agency with a well-orchestrated team if it has a staff turnover rate akin to the hospitality industry. It is simply not possible to meet client objectives when those objectives become increasingly diluted via a constant knowledge transferral to new account managers. The client objectives start to sound like a bad game of ‘broken telephone’.

Furthermore, newly appointed account managers may be less experienced and possess a poorer business acumen to correctly interpret your company’s vision and goals. If this is the case or the handover process was not properly implemented, this may create knowledge gaps that will ultimately affect the quality and implementation of the project.

If you are thinking of working with an SEO agency, ask them about their staff turnover rate before considering their services. This may save you hours of frustration and unnecessarily dancing on thin ice as you constantly have to explain company objectives and project goals to new account managers who may just not get it; and fall through the cracks!

Questions to Ask Potential SEM Agencies

Posted on April 25, 2009 by Marta Turek

Ask Targeted Questions When selecting an SEM agency to commission, it is important to ask the right questions in the RFP (Request For Proposal) stage. With targeted questions, you should quickly be able to identify the agencies that know what they are talking about from the fly-by-nighters, trying to make a quick buck online.

A Few Pointers
#1. Budget - Keep in mind that the budget allocated to your SEM project will slightly alter the types of questions you would ask an SEM provider, as budget will drive the scope of the project.

#2. Speaking with the right people - You may need to speak with a couple of people in the agency, namely the pre-sales business consultant as well as the account manager who will be dealing with the day-to-day technical aspects of your account.

#3. Pre-sales experience - If your pre-sales consultant is unclear of processes, this may indicate that there are none. If you are made promises that sound unrealistic, this may evince that you are being ‘sold’ on the concept and you may be in for a reality check once you’ve signed the dotted line. In the business of SEO, only the search engines can make guarantees. Do not be sucked into ‘#1 positioning guarantees’.

#4. Targeted, not overdone - Do not swamp the SEM agency with 40 detailed questions sent via e-mail or request that they be covered in the proposal. If you implement such a ‘Nazi’ approach to finding an SEM provider, you may well scare away some of the best companies and fall into the ‘too hard‘ category. As much as finding company fit is important to you, the SEM agency is also looking for the right types of clients for their portfolio.

#5. Asking the right questions – So, ask questions, but do not ask every question that you find on the Internet! Be reasonable; put forward the questions that really matter to your business. Do not ask technical questions unless you are qualified to understand and evaluate the credibility of the answer.

General Business Questions
These questions will give you insight into the how the particular agency works, what drives the firm and learn more about intricate internal structures.

1. Who will manage my account on a daily basis?
2. How much contact / feedback can I expect from my account manager?
3. On average, how many clients does one account manager handle?
4. What fraction of clients fall into my business vertical?
5. Is there a conflict of interest in meeting my business goals and those of other clients in my vertical?
6. What type of reporting can I expect? Is this weekly / fortnightly /monthly?
7. Are there any other fees of which I should be aware that are not included in the contract?
8. How many full-time employees work at the agency? What are their roles?
9. Do you do all the work in-house or do you outsource?
10. Are you able to provide the URLs of your outsourcing partners?
11. What is your client turnover rate?
12. Request case studies and references (but be wary, most firms can find at least 2-3 clients that are happy with their services)
13. What separates your company from the competition?
14. What is the key philosophy that drives your corporate culture?

What Others Say
When developing your questions, it is worthwhile reviewing a number of resources to garner ideas and ensure that all aspects of potential concerns are covered. Below are a few links to additional articles that provide a range of insights into the types of questions to ask:

1. From Search Engine Land:
The SEM RFP: Questions you must ask
2. On Search Engine Watch:
SEM Vendor Shortlist
3. From the Search Engine Watch Forum:
Outsourcing SEM FAQs –Be prepared to answer
4. On 3Tailer:
20 Questions to ask your potential SEM Firm

This concludes a 5-part article series that covers in detail the research and decision process to undertake when choosing an SEM agency. To read all the articles in order, start at SEM Agency Selection Process which will guide you through the series.

Moving Beyond the SERPs in Your Search

Posted on April 19, 2009 by Marta Turek

As an alternative to using the search engines, there are a number of independent resources that provide valuable insight into SEM agencies and where they fit into the market. When attempting to ascertain the credibility of a particular agency or searching for a firm that holds a certain market position, the following points assist in developing a benchmark against which to measure providers.

#1. SEMPO or SEMPO Canada Membership
SEMPO is a global non-profit organization serving the search engine marketing industry and marketing professionals engaged in it.

Its purpose is ‘to provide a foundation for industry growth through building stronger relationships, fostering awareness, providing education, promoting the industry, generating research, and creating a better understanding of search and its role in marketing.’

SEMPO membership signifies cohesion between the SEM agency and the mission that SEMPO aims to achieve. One could summarise it as the agency understanding the bigger picture in online marketing and wishing to be a part of it in some way.

However, it is important to bear in mind that SEMPO membership is not the hallmark of agency credibility, nor does non-membership discount the agency’s service offering.

#2. TopSEOs – Independent Authority on Search Vendors
For an independent assessment of SEM agencies, TopSEOs evaluates and identifies companies that provide services and products in the Internet marketing industry.

Independent evaluation criteria are used for each form of online marketing to rank agencies. Only those firms that pass the evaluation procedure are listed in the official TopSEOs rankings.

A willingness to be independently evaluated is certainly a credibility booster, however, note that even TopSEOs Randomly Searching has various levels of membership and thus, not every single firm listed on the website has in fact been evaluated.

Only those firms whose membership is above the free Basic level, namely Silver, Official or Ultimate, are eligible to be ranked according to the independent evaluation criteria.

The firms with a free Basic level membership are able to set up a free directory listing on the TopSEOs website. So do not confuse a ranking by TopSEOs with a free directory listing.

However, for those agencies that are listed, even in the free directory, it is useful to review their profiles as it is here that you will learn some interesting company information, such as:
•    Year Founded
•    Number of Full-Time Employees
•    Revenue
•    Core Practice Areas + Secondary Areas
•    Language Capabilities

#3. LinkedIn – Company Search Feature
LinkedIn has a very useful Company Search feature that allows you to review any firm that has composed such a company listing.

This feature is a gem in the company review process and you can use it to search for agencies on your shortlist. LinkedIn facilitates the development of a more complete, internal picture of a company.

What you will find here, you almost certainly cannot find anywhere else:
- An employee breakdown including top management with individual public profiles
- Company size, headquarters location + details of other office locations
- Curious demographic information such as age / gender ratio / tertiary education history of employees / common job titles

#4. Google ‘em
The Founders – Once you have ascertained who the driving force behind the brand is, do a little bit of historical research. Google the founder / CEO to develop a better understanding of those that run the business, taking note whether there are positive press releases linked to the name, articles, blog posts or speaking engagements at industry conferences. You are also looking for any bad publicity; client qualms on complaint sites or even grandiose claims of ‘an evangelist’ having helped hundreds of businesses find their riches online.

The business name – Similarly it makes sense to conduct a few searches under the business name and see what you find. If there is a multitude of negative client review and complaints websites appearing on the first page of the SERPs, this is certainly reflective of both a poor customer experience and a lack of brand management by the firm.

Once you have exhausted the above resources you will have a much clearer understanding of each business in your shortlist and the results of your research may further cut your list. You are now ready to begin contacting potential providers in your search for an SEM agency.

BUT in order to do so successfully, you should be armed with an arsenal of questions to ask each agency. This will be covered in the next post.

Evaluating The Websites of Potential SEM Providers

Posted on April 13, 2009 by Marta Turek

Search Engine Marketing agencies offer a substantial number of articles and White Papers, which in great deal cover the many strategies and tactics to implement in order to reduce ‘bounce rate’; make your website ‘stickier’, and ensure your site meets the SEO checklist. Before selecting an SEM agency, check out their website and evaluate whether the agency meets the website criteria that have been identified for online success.

What follows are some of the errors and key points to look out for on agency websites. Some of these errors indicate poor execution or carelessness, thus, if they are occurring on the agency’s online property, the likelihood of such mistakes being transferred to your site cannot be excluded.

#1. Homepage information overload & navigational confusion
You land on the homepage and there is so much information, you do not know where to start or what to read! The page scrolls down ceaselessly and much of the text appears to be redundantly repetitive.

If this is your first impression of the homepage, it may be one of the tactics that the SEM agency is employing to achieve strong search engine rankings. By loading the page with text and keywords, the relevancy of the homepage increases, but only to the search engines, and not to the targeted audience – YOU!

#2. No clear call-to-action on homepage
If you hesitate on the homepage and do not know where to continue on the site, this demonstrates that the Fishing for Answers company has not thought through its navigational strategy. There should be a clear call-to-action that directs the user to the next level of valuable information in their search.

If an agency does not understand the link between website usability and search engine optimization it may be time to move along. Strong search engine rankings are only one aspect to securing a sale or website conversion. An agency that cannot funnel sales through its own website, may struggle to assist you in solving conversion or bounce rate related issues on your own site.

#3. Outdated blog entries
If the last blog entry dates back to December 2008, the agency may not be adept at prioritising repetitive and ongoing tasks that may sometimes go unnoticed. Whether this is because of poor resource allocation or a lack of attention to detail, neither bodes well for your business.

#4. Lack of Social Media presence
If you have not yet heard of the Twitter rave, do take a peak at what everyone is talking about. If the agency website has no mention of a blog, Facebook, social bookmarking websites such as del.icio.us and StumbleUpon or most recently, Twitter, this may be a sign that the agency has little interest in following the most recent online trends. This ironically, is expedient to online success.

This does not mean that the agency needs to offer Social Media services, as this is a niche segment that not every agency may wish to pursue, however an indication of knowledge of some of the latest social media trends is a requisite to online credibility in 2009.

#5. Spelling mistakes & syntax errors
It is unprofessional, careless and egregious. If mistakes proliferate, consider how successfully this agency would prepare copy for your own business website.

#6. A website built completely in Flash
Though it may not appear erroneous for a professional SEM agency to have a predominantly Flash based website, the search engine robots cannot ‘read’ these types of sites. This means that the web pages cannot be fully indexed and strong search engine rankings will not be achieved. In addition, this is a manifest indication that the SEM agency does not understand the first thing about search engine optimization.

#7. Browser incompatibility
If a website has broken links with text and pages that do not align, this may demonstrate that the website has not been tested across different browsers such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Chrome and Opera. SEM agencies should not be guilty of this type of oversight.

#8. Broken links or broken form functionality
You may click on links that lead to 404 errors and pages that no longer exist. Whether they are old press releases or links to former clients who have now gone out of business, is this a harmless error or a presage to similar mismanagement on your site?

#9. Keyword stuffing & over usage
If you notice the redundant repetition of words in sentences that follow each other, this may be a demonstration of keyword stuffing for the purpose of increasing keyword rankings on the search engines, such as:

“We are a full service search engine optimization and internet marketing company. SEO services include affordable search engine optimization and internet marketing.”

The concern is how your web copy will look once the SEM agency has optimized your website. It is important to maintain a balance between optimizing for the search engines and optimizing for searchers who are expected to convert in some way on the site.

#10. Claiming top rankings for obscure search terms
Be wary of SEM providers who proudly display client search engine rankings for long tail type search queries that are not very competitive and do not receive high search volumes. Examples of this may be ‘Motor Home Rentals in Vancouver’ or ‘Buying Real Estate Investment Property in Canada’.

What you are searching for are top rankings for high traffic key phrases that are between one and two words long. If an SEM provider achieves 1st page client rankings for phrases such as ‘conferencing’ or ‘accommodation Whistler’, this is illustrative of quality results that are a worthy case study of agency capabilities.

For another perspective from SearchInsider on finding an SEM firm, take a look at Want to Hire an SEM Agency? Check Its Site First

Searching Under a Number of Search Queries

Posted on April 5, 2009 by Marta Turek

When researching SEM providers, upon developing your selection criteria, the search can commence on the search engines. This is where the SEM competitive struggle takes place. The key is to research systematically without being overwhelmed by the volume of results.

So, How Do You Search?
This requires some lateral thinking. Points to consider are as follows:

• Think about the types of keywords that are of strategic importance to an SEM agency in promoting themselves through the search engines. Consider keywords that are focused on marketing in the online space.

• Remember, if you are searching for a Canadian provider, look under ‘pages from Canada’, as these results will be more targeted to Canadian businesses. Critically evaluating the options

• Include local search terms in your search, as this will highlight the local listing results in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages). Many SEM providers will strive to have a strong presence in their local market.

• Search under keyword variations that broadly encompass the SEM field. They will provide a wide cross-section of businesses to consider in your search, including:

General Search Queries:
-    ‘Search Engine Marketing’
-    ‘Search Engine Optimization’
-    ‘SEO’
-    ‘Internet Marketing’
-    ‘Internet Marketing Services’
-    ‘Online Marketing Consultant’
-    ‘Online Marketing Services’

Businesses that feature in the top organic listings for the general search queries have a strong national presence as the results returned for the above phrases are an amalgamation of the key SEM players from each local market. These SEM agencies will arguably have a stronger national client portfolio by targeting their own search engine positioning to a national audience.

Local Search Queries:
-    ‘Vancouver Marketing’
-    ‘Vancouver Search Engine Marketing’
-    ‘Internet Marketing Vancouver’
-    ‘SEO Vancouver’
-    ‘Search Engine Optimization Vancouver’

Searching under local phrases in key markets, such as Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and so forth, will highlight the positioning of SEM agencies in their local markets.

The image below creates the framework for your search. It shows the first page of the search engine results pages (SERPs) for a local search query, such as ‘Vancouver Marketing’.

Clearly outlined are the three key areas on a SERP that provide valuable search results. Consider businesses in each of the defined areas individually.
Search Engine Results Page (SERP)

- The sponsored links are the paid search results. Businesses bid in an auction model to be listed in this area.
- The local listings show local businesses on Google Maps. Businesses are added by creating a listing in Google’s Local Business Center.
- The organic listings are the natural search results. Most businesses that appear at the top of the organic results are there owing to long-term and targeted search engine optimization.

• Limit your search to the first page of the SERPs. With 10 organic results, up to 10 results (A-J) of local listings and perhaps 5-8 paid search results, there can easily be up to 25 businesses to research on the first page alone.

Paying Attention
• When searching under the various search queries, take note of the business names that reappear on the first page of the results. This will start to paint a clearer picture of the serious players in the SEM market.

• Do not limit yourself to just the first few results at the top of the page, however do take note of the businesses that are listed above the fold.

• Bear in mind that not all businesses will target the same search terms for which to rank highly on the search engines. The SEM industry may arguably be the most competitive online, given the resources and expertise each business commits to maintaining its online presence.

• Your goal is to broaden your options by critically evaluating businesses that you find for a number of search queries.

Picking one of the top three ranking businesses for ‘search engine optimization’ may not be the most strategically optimal decision for your business.

Now that you know what to look for on the search engines, the next consideration is how to appraise each business website on which you click. A post on website evaluation criteria will follow shortly!

SEM Street Cred

An Objective Perspective

Category Archives: SEM Agency