There’s a certain message that this blog has repeatedly conveyed about search engine optimization, but it also relates to what a client should expect from a web marketing agency in general. In fact, it’s advice for life in general. If someone promises you an immediate, outsized return on your investment, you’d better look very closely at what they’re really offering.
Where SEO is concerned, chances are that such a person is offering you tricky, “black hat” techniques whose short term effects will be quickly reversed. Depending on what goals your web marketing agency has in mind, similarly unscrupulous methods might allow them to boast a sudden surge in traffic. But there’s no value in this if it isn’t sustainable over the long term.
In fact, a key principle you should keep in mind when building a relationship with a web marketing agency is this: Campaigns should start small but steadily show more and more returns over time. Presumably, this principle describes the right approach to all sorts of investments, whether of money or time. Chasing after a sudden windfall is nothing more than gambling, while wise investments depend upon you finding something that will grow and develop over the long term.
With the right web marketing agency, you can work together on building that sort of investment. And with that in mind, up-front promises are less important than a clearly articulated plan for how to set appropriate marketing goals, assess whether those goals are being attained, and make adjustments whenever the client’s outcomes fall short. Starting with that plan, a good web marketing agency should be able to make SEO, web content, social media, and all the other tools of the trade work together so that your investment in web marketing continues to show returns for as long as your site is live.
