FAQs
- What types of customers have you worked with?
Social Media Management Search Engine Optimization Animated Explainer Videos Website Design and Development Logo Creation Content Creation Blog Creation and Management
- What advice would you give a customer looking to hire a provider in your area of work?
Buying digital marketing services can be tricky in the best of circumstances, given how new and complicated the industry is. To make matters worse, guarantees are prohibited (to various degrees) by Google, Facebook, and Twitter. So how does a small business owner know a good digital marketing proposal from a bad one? 1. Dont Purchase on Price Alone Picking the lowest bid for anything is only logical if the deliverables are exactly the same. In SEM, this is rarely the case. A small business owner may be comparing a standalone SEO proposal with an integrated online presence pitch that includes SEO, PPC, social media, and local map optimization. Even among SEO proposals the targeted keyword space is monumental, as marketing costs vary widely based on levels of competition and potential economic value. The purchaser needs to have at least some understanding of what they are getting. And unlike many other industries, buyers cant rely on a money-back guarantee for protection. 2. Make Sure Deliverables are Clearly Articulated The strong SEM proposal will clearly outline the deliverables and timeline. While this may sound simplistic, many proposals are vague about what work is actually done. Furthermore, are the work activities appropriate for the small business? Many owners will say they dont know and rely on their vendor to tell them. This can be dangerous. Know what is being proposed and buy what the small business really needs. Dont expect miracles. 3. Pick the Most Informative Proposal A well-crafted proposal will not only be professional and aesthetically appealing, but will also be informative. Look for a firm that took the time to do some research on your domain name and company. Dont respond to emails sent to Dear Sir. A good proposal will articulate a bit about your business and the competitors you are up against. It should include key statistics about your domain, keywords, and social media. This level of research in a proposal is a good indication of the attention to detail that will come post-sales. 4. Select a Team That Manages Expectations Carefully This is counter-intuitive and many small business owners fall prey to hype. But the strongest team is often the one working very hard to manage expectations down. Years of business experience highlights that under-promising and over-delivering is usually the key to long-term success. Look for these solid, honest, and reliable teams, avoiding those selling magic SEM pixie dust. Steer clear from firms making guarantees. Aside from violating Googles directive on guarantees, these firms usually have fine print or dont plan to be around long enough for you to enforce the terms. 5. Be Prepared to Learn Most small business budgets dont afford the luxury of extensive consulting time. Also, consultant billing rates are usually much higher than marketing services labor. To get the biggest bang for the buck, be prepared to learn about search engine marketing enough to manage the vendor well and funnel the full budget into the work. While a good vendor will help educate you, you dont need to become an SEM expert and really cant as a part-time initiative. If you aren't prepared to learn enough to speak the same language as your team, then perhaps you aren't ready to purchase SEM services. Conclusions Digital marketing is an evolving industry with few standards and confusing terminology. Small business owners often feel under-qualified to evaluate vendors. To make matters worse, Google, Facebook and Twitter all prohibit guarantees to varying degrees. To avoid making a costly mistake when hiring an SEM vendor, small business needs to arm themselves with enough knowledge to be competent as a vendor manager, and then select the right proposal and a reliable team.