Proceed Carefullly

I’d like to offer a spot of advice to agencies for the new year.

Ask questions.

Lots and lots of questions.

Search marketing is young and booming. So young in fact, it’s still sorting itself out. New partnerships spring up seemingly every week. Old relationships change. Sometimes they’re better, sometimes they’re just … different. Things change so much in fact, that what you see offered as a service on the website might be different from the service you sign up for.

That’s not to suggest the change is a bad thing. I think the overwhelming majority of companies out there, while trying to further their own businesses are doing so by providing more and better service to their customers. At least that’s the driving motivation and overall goal.

The hitch in all of this though, is that it’s entirely possible to get more than you bargain for in when you go to work with some of these companies/providers in the search world. More is usually a good thing. In fact (shameless plug warning!!), giving you more is something we pride ourselves on over in my other personality.

At times though, in an effort to help clients get the most out of a campaign or project, companies can inadvertantly cause more problems than they solve.

If there is a moral to the story it’s simply, buyer beware. Understand exactly what you are getting when you sign on the dotted line. Ask what sort of relationships the company has and what types they are working on. Make sure they explain themselves until you are satisfied. Then read your contracts and agreements before signing and ask more questions.