How to Choose The Right Digital Marketing Agency for Your Company

Sam Jacobs
Paid Search Director

5 min read

16th June 2023

• What is a digital marketing agency?

• Why Use a digital marketing agency?

• Benefits of an agency vs in-house team

• How to find the most suitable digital marketing agency

• What marketing agencies do

• What services should you look for in a digital marketing agency?

• How much does hiring an agency cost?

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, choosing the right digital marketing agency for your company can be a game changer. However, with the vast options that we have available, finding the perfect fit can get overwhelming.

In this article, we’ll provide you with insights and practical tips on selecting a digital marketing agency that aligns with your business goals and helps you maximize your online presence.

What is a digital marketing agency?

A digital marketing agency is a business that provides digital marketing services such as search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing (SMM), email marketing, and website design and development.

Digital marketing agencies optimise your website and execute your digital marketing strategy for your company. Overall, it has the main goal of boosting your online presence to your target audience.

Why use a digital marketing agency?

Procuring the services of a digital marketing agency allows your business to focus on its core competencies while leaving your online marketing to professionals.

This ensures efficiency, as the agency takes care of the planning and implementation of your marketing strategy. Doing so helps you save time and resources in the long run and maximize your ROI.

What are the benefits of an agency vs an in-house team?

Deciding between hiring an in-house digital marketing team or outsourcing to an agency can be a big decision. Here are some of the main benefits of hiring a digital marketing agency vs in-house:

Expertise: Agencies are usually composed of a team of specialists each with their areas of expertise. They’re constantly staying up-to-date with the latest trends and techniques in the industry.
Cost-Effective: In many cases, hiring an agency can be more cost-effective than maintaining an in-house team. Agencies typically offer a range of pricing plans and packages. This allows you to select the services you need without having to pay full-time salaries, benefits, and training costs associated with an in-house team.
Scalability: You can easily scale your marketing efforts up or down with an agency. During busy seasons, you can ramp up marketing efforts, and during slower times, you can reduce your spending.
Time Savings: An agency can free up a lot of time for you and your team, allowing you to focus more on your core business operations. The agency handles the strategy, execution, and analysis, and you get to review the results.
Fresh Perspective: An agency can bring a fresh, outside perspective to your marketing efforts. They can identify opportunities and trends that someone too close to the product or service might miss.

7 tips to find the most suitable digital marketing agency

When you’re looking for a digital marketing agency, it’s important to find one that suits your type of business.

1. Do your own research

Since there are a large number of digital marketing agencies available, you must conduct adequate research to find one that would be a good fit for your business needs.

2. Ask for referrals

Ask people you know in business for recommendations for a digital marketing agency that they have worked with in the past. When other business people recommend an agency, it’s a good sign that you can trust them and that they can deliver great results.

3. Contact local agencies

There are probably a few digital marketing agencies in your area that could work well for your business. Contact them, but keep in mind that not all agencies offer the same services. If you need a specialist, a small local agency might not have the resources to meet your needs.

4. Define your goals

It’s important to concretize what you wish to accomplish for your business. If you want to start a new brand, go with a creative agency. If you want more people to visit your website, you’ll need the help of a digital specialist.

5. Avoid those who say they can ‘do it all’

Every agency has its own areas of expertise, and you should choose an agency based on your business needs. Avoid agencies that say they can do it all or that they are “full service.” This probably means that they will try to sell you a package or service where they deliver mediocre results. As a business owner, you’d want nothing but the best for your company!

6. Ask about the agency’s reporting process

Visibility on the results of the agency’s work is key to understanding if your investment is yielding the desired results. You might want to ask things like:

How do you measure success?
What key performance indicators (KPIs) will you use to track performance?
How often will you be reporting on performance?

7. Ask to see their latest projects and results

If the agency has previous experience working with clients or businesses that are comparable to your own, then they should have relevant case studies that they can present to you as examples of successful campaigns.

Services marketing agencies provide

Here are some key services that a digital marketing agency can provide to help you boost your online presence and revenue.

Pay-Per-Click Ads (PPC)

Suitable for any type of business, online advertising allows you to target your advertisements to the types of customers you want and exclude those you don’t.

When you advertise online with Google Ads, you can use a variety of targeting options to reach potential customers when they are actively searching for your products or services.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

SEO enables you to be the solution to potential customers’ questions. In addition to increasing your visibility and traffic, SEO helps you establish yourself as an authority in your field. The association between authority and brand trust ultimately results in brand loyalty.

Social Media Marketing

If you wish to attract customers, get direct feedback, and create brand loyalty, social media marketing helps you expand your market, both locally and internationally. It also builds customer networks and advertises to bring in more money.

Video Advertising

Video marketing contributes to lead generation and positively impacts sales. Due to its highly engaging format, the video performs exceptionally well on multiple platforms, including YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram reels.

Branding and Design

Good branding allows you to give your company a personality. This makes your brand more approachable and relatable to customers than a strictly business-oriented one. You can also foster repeat business with brand familiarity.

Website Development

Web design and development can be an asset in the process of generating long-term customer relationships for your business. You will not be able to generate the kind of long-term relationships with your customers that you desire if your company does not have a good website.

Email Marketing

Through email marketing, you can maintain a consistent connection with customers and website visitors. Customers who have purchased from you before can be informed about new promotions or products and services that you offer.

What services should you look for in a digital marketing agency?

How you choose the services you want from a digital marketing agency depends primarily on your goals and objectives. Try to find an agency that specialises in what you want to accomplish.

For example, if you’re looking for a new brand and logo, find a creative agency that specializes in branding. On the other hand, look for an agency that specialises in SEO, CRO, or PPC if you want to increase website traffic or online sales.

How much does hiring an agency cost?

The cost of hiring a digital marketing agency can vary widely, depending on a number of factors. These factors include the scope of the project, the size of your business, the complexity of your needs, the agency’s experience and expertise, and the type of services required.

In general, digital marketing agencies provide clients with a variety of pricing models to choose from, including hourly rates, monthly retainers, and project-based fees.

Larger and more established agencies may have higher price points, often ranging from a few thousand pounds to tens of thousands of pounds per month, whereas smaller agencies or freelancers may charge lower rates, starting at a few hundred pounds per month.

For instance, GrowRoom‘s fees start with a minimum monthly retainer for PPC of £950 per month and a minimum monthly retainer for SEO of £2,040.

Conclusion

Selecting the ideal digital marketing agency is like entering into a partnership that has the potential to take your company to entirely new heights. You will be able to confidently embark on a journey toward online growth and success if you choose a reliable agency that is in alignment with your goals, specializes in the services that you are interested in, and has a proven track record of success.

Take the time to do some research, make sure you ask all of the pertinent questions, and then make a decision based on that information. Your digital marketing agency will prove to be an invaluable ally in propelling your business forward, enhancing your online presence, and achieving the results you have set out to accomplish.