How do you choose a Search Engine Optimization Agency for your company?
We had a great discussion last week on choosing a search engine optimization agency for companies and we laid out a guideline document as to how this can be done. Coming up with a typical RFP for search was one of our key objectives, I think we did a good job with that 
.
So, here goes..
Key Selection Criteria
- The agency is high on integrity and transparent. The commitment of the agency towards not using Black Hat SEO techniques is a critical selection criteria.
- The agency can demonstrate a structured approach to keyword analysis to identify and select relevant keywords and groups of related keywords for our markets and are able to identify the potential vo-lume of visitors for each keyword.
- The agency uses industry best practice. It has the right technical skills and can provide examples of previous success for clients in SEO.
- The agency will openly describe the strategies and techniques they will use to approach SEO and why they believe they are better in their capabilities than rivals.
- The agency has a performance-based approach to SEO with the reporting to readily show the volume and quality of traffic generated through this activity.
- The agency has experience working with in-house development teams, knowledge sharing and best practices for out sourcing.
Evaluation Matrix
| Sl.No. | Evaluation Criteria | Key Points which will be evaluated for? | Weightage | Scale |
| 1 | Business and Online marketing Team Expertise of the company |
|
5% | 0-5 |
| 2 | Experience of the company with SEO Projects |
|
20% | 0-5 |
| 3 | Process Compliance or Outsourcing Model |
|
10% | 0-5 |
| 4 | Referrals |
|
10% | 0-5 |
| 5 | Communication Model and Proximity with the Company |
|
5% | 0-5 |
| 6 | Integration with Other Online Marketing activities |
|
5% | 0-5 |
| 7 | Innovation |
|
5% | 0-5 |
| 8 | Professionalism |
|
5% | 0-5 |
| 9 | Service Agreement |
|
10% | 0-5 |
| 10 | Cost |
|
25% | 0-5 |
| Total | 100% | 0-5 |
Note:
- Score for each criteria will be on the basis of the judgment of the Evaluation team
- General pattern for the score will be: 0- Not Applicable or Not Submitted, 1 – Very Poor, 2 – Poor, 3 – Average, 4- Good and 5- Excellent
- Scenario in which the agency scores are the same, an executive decision will be made on the basis of quality of referrals and SEO case studies submitted
I know its looks good and covers all the things required, but then when will the marketing departments understand that SEO is not an IT activity but a pure marketing activity and that they need to actually consider the points mentioned for choosing the right vendor. But they will all learn may be not now but definitely in the future after some falls
