Digital Agency SEO

Digital Agency SEO

This blog is long overdue. I try to avoid venting my frustration on my website, but there comes a time when some things need saying. The tipping point for writing this has come after taking over the provision of services where digital agency SEO services have been shockingly poor for clients.

Before I get into the crux of things, I should make it clear that there are some very good, reputable and trustworthy digital agencies in the UK. They’ll deliver a reliable and professional SEO service that will meet the expectations of the client. This blog isn’t about those types of digital agencies.

Trust and integrity

Unfortunately, the SEO work performed by two digital agencies that I’ve taken over from has been nothing short of disgraceful. I’ve headlined this section with the graphic showing the word trust because of how both agencies have lacked it in abundance.

In one instance, there was no sign of any SEO services being delivered on the client website. That is despite the client paying for SEO services for over a year. The agency had no issue in taking the clients money and not doing a minute of SEO work.

Instead, their focus had been on trying to convince the client to invest in a new site. Their quotation for the cost of developing the new site was extortionate. Their only consideration appears to have been to extract as much money as possible from the client.

The other website I took over the SEO service on wasn’t too dissimilar. Again, the client had paid for SEO services for 12 months. There was evidence of some SEO work on the site, but it was incredibly basic, scattered and had no consistency. Furthermore, it ignored almost every SEO principle and best practise.

Ultimately, in both cases, the client hadn’t been receiving anything remotely like the SEO service they’d paid for, if anything at all.

SEO consultant self interest?

There’s an obvious response to my comments – as an SEO consultant you might think I’m making this up and I’m bound to criticise digital agency SEO work?

I try to be as transparent and honest as possible in my blog. Therefore, that needs to include passing comment on anything I see that has a background of poor ethics and practices, be it in business or specific to SEO.

Nobody is perfect. I’ve stated there are good digital agencies out there. It is also rare that I criticise those that work in the SEO sector, but there is an alarming trend developing in respect of agencies that simply don’t know the modern mechanics of SEO and best practices. That is amplified by an increased willingness to take money from a client and not deliver the work.

I don’t write this with any hint of self-interest and have, in fact, actively avoided publishing my thoughts until I realised just how common these practices seem to have become.

Extent of digital agency SEO issues

The scale of the SEO issues on both sites would be enough to have any SEO consultant putting their head in their hands. I couldn’t help feel anything but sympathy for the clients.

There’s a difference in taking over a site where more advanced SEO is required as opposed to discovering that a digital agency has ignored all the basics of SEO. That is compounded when you realise the agency has performed no work at all.

Any professional SEO person uses a range of SEO systems and tools. If a digital agency used any of these, the glaring issues, errors and warnings would light their screens up like a Christmas tree. It became swiftly evident that the agencies in question can’t have invested in any professional systems. Alternatively, if they have the SEO systems, they’d not been using them.

However, not all tools need to paid for. For example, Google PageSpeed and Google Search Console will highlight issues on a website, albeit requiring technical knowledge to understand many of the more complex items.

Foundation Level SEO

Across the two sites, I discovered a mountain of the most basic and foundation level SEO principles hadn’t been applied. Both digital agencies had developed the websites for the clients. I’m convinced they paid no attention whatsoever to SEO from the outset and made minimal effort thereon.

Meta Titles and Meta Descriptions

Meta Titles and Descriptions were missing, too long, too short or completely irrelevant to the topic at hand. In most cases, the agencies had used the free version of Yoast SEO and left it to apply the default parameters of the site name followed by the page name. One was a Woocommerce based site (on WordPress), the other a WordPress informational site.

Header tags

Header tags were missing, in the wrong order, or completely unfit for purpose. The lack of any H1 tags but presence of H2 and H3 tags on one site was astonishing. However, the words used in the tags bore no relevance to the target keywords and phrases the client wanted.

ALT tags

ALT tags on images were almost non-existent on one site and very little used on the other. Image filenames and descriptions were the usual “IMG0782.jpg” style. Furthermore, as the aforementioned filename shows, there was no use of .webp or .avif file formats. Finally, the file size of some of the images was equally appalling (huge, affecting page load time).

Think of an SEO element

I could write page after page of content on this subject. If you work in the field of SEO, or know anything about it, think of something you consider to be basic in SEO and I’ll guarantee you it was missing from both sites.

Digital agency SEO and business transparency

One of the reasons I have been so concerned about the digital agencies is the billing of services without delivery. If you’re not going to provide a service, don’t rip a client off by invoicing them. Be honest and tell them the reason you can’t or won’t do the SEO work.

In my experience, there is usually a stand-out reason for digital agencies not providing SEO services – the lack of skills and knowledge. The sheer volume of Google Core Updates, the complexity of SEO and the time and attention it needs (in both constant learning and delivering the service) has made it an incredibly difficult field to work in at times.

I don’t provide creative or generic advertising services. Nor do I run PPC campaigns for clients (I can offer advice, but I won’t set up or manage campaigns). That’s because I don’t believe I have the skills or knowledge to do so, at least not in a way that would provide value for money (and I’m useless with Photoshop and Illustrator, with my skills limited to Canva at the best of times!).

Check your digital agency SEO skills

When a company has developed a website, I’m noticing a trend towards them claiming they can provide SEO for it. Consequently, I’d urge every business to check the following:

• Do they have experienced SEO staff, dedicated to it?
• What is their track record on SEO with clients?
• Get bi-monthly or monthly metrics about their progress.
• Make sure the metrics show you the data you want.
• Ask them what SEO tools and systems they use.
• If they don’t set up and give you access to Google Search Console at the very least, it’s a red flag you should pay attention to.

I’m aware that many businesses don’t have the knowledge to ask the right questions. Unfortunately, it is that handicap that I see digital agencies taking advantage of.

It is a difficult time for many businesses. However, that doesn’t necessitate the lack of business ethics and some of tactics I’ve witnessed.

Feedback

If you’ve witnessed similar to the above, or think you’ve been victim to a digital agency SEO practices (or lack of), feel free to leave a comment.

Bear in mind that there are a lot of good digital agencies as I’ve already mentioned. What’s more, there are plenty of very good SEO consultants. It should also be said that SEO consultants might be guilty of some of the above practices – not all of them are angels.

Like all sectors, there is good and bad. The SEO sector has a terrible reputation. It has become one of the most complained about professions there is. It saddens me and I’m well aware that many business owners go looking for SEO services with a huge amount of nervousness and scepticism.

In summary, ask the right questions, be as prepared as you can be, and don’t be afraid to challenge metrics, work performed and progress. You’re paying for their SEO service and they should deliver it.