As an SEO SaaS Agency, the industry is forever changing. There’s a real need for marketing within any business and the same goes for those offering software as a service. However, you may be limited when it comes to your resources or there may be other areas of the company that require more attention.
Without a proper marketing strategy in place, all the hard work that you put into your service or product is going to waste. The challenge is using a marketing strategy that’s up to date and relevant to the demands of the world today.
So what is the solution? Well, an SEO SaaS agency of course. By having an agency that’s a niche to your industry, they’re more likely to drive traffic that’s targeted to what you’re providing and what they need. In this article, we’ll detail five things to consider when choosing an agency and why it might be better to outsource rather than hire internally.
Why choose a SaaS agency over in-house staff?
So why choose an agency to outsource over hiring another team member internally? When it comes to hiring staff, you have responsibilities that go beyond simply providing them with a monthly paycheck. There are also various legal obligations, along with annual leave and other benefits.
There’s always the chance that you end up hiring someone who is good at marketing. Even so, with a SaaS agency, it’s specialized knowledge and skills that may prove more advantageous. They’ll be more up to speed when it comes to the SaaS industry and all its trends. As with an agency, you only have to pay for the work they do. There are no extra commitments or responsibilities needed.
So what should you be considering when it comes to choosing your SEO SaaS agency?
1. Look at the agency’s reputation and experience
An agency’s reputation and experience is a good indicator when making your choice. A SaaS SEO agency that’s reputable should be well-known within the industry and, as such, will likely provide services for many recognizable companies that you will have seen before.
When searching for an agency, look at who is talking about them online and what they have to say regarding their work. Testimonials on the agency’s site will also give you a feel for how well they’ve performed for previous clients. Longer, well-thought-out testimonials are a good sign that they’re worth the investment.
There are also some other places to look when it comes to finding evidence of their work or reputation. These include reviews on authoritative sites, previous companies that they’ve worked with, and case studies. Digging into an agency’s past is important, regardless of how new or established they may be.
Don’t necessarily believe that the most established or long-running agencies are going to be the best suited for your needs as a business.
Their online presence should speak for itself and if it speaks negatively, then it’s worth looking elsewhere. Better that than to be stung and lose out on money that could have been a worthwhile investment elsewhere.
2. Think about your goals as a company
Goals are an important part of growing a company. They help keep your business going in a forward direction, rather than staying stagnant or falling behind the competition.
It’s been found in studies that those who write down their goals are more likely to achieve them faster than those who don’t. There’s something inspiring and motivational about having goals whether they be short-term or long-term ones.
But what does this have to do with choosing an agency? Well, it’s important that your goals align with what they can offer and have in mind for you. Knowing your own goals and objectives will make it easier to agree on a partnership with an agency that can provide that pathway you need.
This is particularly important because, ideally, you want an agency that can grow and adapt to your requirements as a business. It ensures less time is wasted having to replace and outsource another one further down the line. List a number of goals that are necessary to further success and mention these in discussion with the agencies themselves.
3. What are the services you require?
With any agency, the type of services they offer is going to vary. Some may only provide content writing and link building, whereas others will have a range of services related to SEO that are more appealing.
The right agency will depend on what you are after for your business. Perhaps you’re focused on website design and having a site that’s responsive in its functionality. There may be more of a need for content marketing and driving more traffic to a certain webpage or the site in general.
Whatever you need, it’s worth considering this when it comes to choosing an agency. Here are some services that you might require from an agency.
Website Design
An attractive web design can do wonders for your business, particularly as humans are visual creatures by nature. You could have a great product or service but your website’s design could be letting you down severely.
Even with the best SEO and marketing that’s driving traffic to your site, the design of your website could be where potential leads are falling at that final hurdle.
Content Marketing
Content is king and it’s digested by millions of internet users every day. However, the content itself needs to be high-quality and relevant to your target audience. If it isn’t, then all that money you invest in marketing might end up providing an ROI that’s very small in comparison.
Good content marketing across all your platforms will end up complementing a quality product wonderfully. It’s also necessary to pinpoint what platforms your potential leads are on and how content marketing can help find that.
Google Ads
An agency with a good understanding of what ads to create in order to perform well on Google’s search pages can be very helpful.
With Google ads and paid advertisements in general, they are an essential part of marketing your business.
SEO
Of course, SEO is one that you’ll be after as it’s a critical element to boosting your online presence. It also goes hand in hand with a lot of the other marketing that’s done for your business, particularly with content.
Having a long-term strategy for SEO can do wonders for your company. 60% of marketers have said that inbound marketing like SEO is their highest quality source of leads.
4. The budget you have available
What’s your budget for marketing? This answer will be different from one business to the next depending on what’s available.
Agencies that have proven results are likely going to charge more than those that may only be starting out as a business. Every agency might operate a little differently too, so you may find that one agency has varying charges depending on what services are included and not included with the package offered.
You want to be investing with an agency that can provide results. Your goals tie back into this because if you’re not willing to pay enough, you may not get the outcome you wanted.
At the same time though, you don’t want to be paying more than what you can afford. Causing your business any financial stress is not worth it given the risk of still not achieving the results you set out to get.
It’s important to be aware that results also take time, so you may want to opt for something that’s more affordable over time.
5. Look for personalized experiences
Some agencies may offer you a blanket package that is offered to all businesses that use their services. Whilst this might be useful to some, it might not be quite as tailored to your business specifically.
Software as a service can vary in terms of the product or service offered. With that being said, a more refined approach might be better than a one-size-fits-all package. Look out for an agency that has basic services but when it comes to the final fee, it’s dependent on what you require.
Having an agency that offers a consultation before providing you with the package itself is likely going to be more productive. There’s also something very pleasing when it comes to the customer experience when it’s personalized to you specifically. As SaaS is often customer-centric, it’s useful to find an agency that really hones in on the individual business and the services they need.
Choose your SEO SaaS agency wisely
Picking an SEO SaaS agency is a decision that you should take some time to mull over. There’s a thought process that’s needed in order to select the right one for your business. Do your research to understand which ones are the better options and ensure they align with your needs.
Don’t forget to factor in costs as well as their approach to you as a client. In a complex industry, the right agency can do a lot for your business and its future in the market.