What should any business consider when choosing a new SEO agency?

Choosing a new agency is one of the biggest decisions a business can make. You might think, well, they’re overstating and exaggerating that just a tad!

But we are not, the reason is simple, most customers come to a business via Google. Whether your flogging a tennis racquet or legal services, well most people turn to Google for a solution.

Whether the solution comes via organic results, Google AI mode, Adwords, Google Business or a new “Google Ai Mode” answer, its Google that will have the say over which businesses get chosen.

The business might sometimes be less than a 5-minute drive away from the house, but unless the customer knows you were selling, say, luxury Jacuzzis and your ranked top of Google, well its like your business doesn’t even exist!

So, sure word of mouth is important, but ranking top of Google- well its hard to put a price on that!

 

A good SEO business is therefore worth its weight in gold.

Helping to spot technical issues, write engaging content, plus build so many links (backlinks), you are instantly seen and recognised as one of the most high-ranking companies on Google.

Therefore, the point we’re trying to put across, in a rather long-winded way, is: your choice of agency can sometimes mean the difference between the business growing and expanding or it running out of money and going bust!

That’s literally how important it is to select the right agency.

 

By right agency we mean in a nutshell:

• Follows Google’s Webmaster Guidelines
• Has the experience to fully understand Google’s algorithm
• A team that you can work with over the long run, that don’t baffle you with marketing jargon
• Holds there hands up if something goes wrong
• Charges a fair price, for good work that allows you to keep re-investing over the long term

 

Do we really need an SEO agency?

This is the first question to get out of the way: Do you really need an SEO agency?

The truth of the matter is, some businesses are so niche, so refined in terms of what they offer, that a rather basic website might mean they gain enquiries from the four corners of the U.K.

Yet, that’s rare, that’s massively rare these days.

Think something truly specialised, such as “Tesla car repair services in one city”- well a really well designed website might be all that business needs. Because, in that one city, there might only be handful companies offering that service, so therefore to get on page one of

Google in that city, that’s almost a piece of cake if you know what your doing.

However, most businesses face stiff competition

Ultimately, most businesses still face competition; they operate in established business sectors where their competitors are only taking the bread from between their teeth.

Meaning, yes, most of the time, a really good SEO agency is needed- that’s why private dentists, lawyers and say construction businesses, all need the best of the best minds to mean they are ranked higher on Google.

 

This means hard and constant work improving the following:

• The backlink profile
• Writing new and relevant content marketing
• Sorting our technical SEO issues as they arise, such as a loss in links

 

Staying ahead of the competition

Shoppers trust what Google or an LLM tells them.

That’s with good reason, Google’s YMYL updates, The Hummingbird updates, The Google EEAT updates and The Google Helpful Content updates- these have all come together to produce good solid results and answers for shoppers in the SERP’s.

And that’s just some of the more recent major Google updates.

Talk to any good SEO expert, at any respected SEO agency, they will tell you Google rolls out hundreds of less important Google algorithm updates.

Which means one thing, if your not paying an agency that’s paying attention, you could get left behind in the dust!
Shoppers therefore trust Google

If a person wants bright, white and shiny teeth, and they ask “what’s the best cosmetic dentist near me”- well, often shoppers trust the results right at the top of Google.

And it’s often not a miracle that the dental practice got there; often, it’s because they have partnered with an agency like ours. Often, hundreds of hours are spent building links, writing super helpful content marketing, and designing the site so that it becomes a sales machine in its own right.

 

Expertise (part of Google EEAT)

You need expertise of the products or services your promoting to implement winning SEO campaigns in 2026 and beyond.

So, you need an agency that has search engine optimisation expertise and commercial awareness.

You need a business that can get a good grasp of your business model. And this is not as straightforward as you might think; it involves keyword research using tools such as Ahrefs, but that’s just one part of the equation.

You need someone from a marketing agency to get to grips with the most profitable business lines quickly, identify which ones can be brought up Google’s organic rankings faster than others, and then devise a marketing plan.

It’s all well and good to go for the most profitable business lines; however, if the competition is fierce, this could take many, many months, if not years. Its therefore a balancing act of bringing in more sales, but not targeting a keyword that’s so hard, it could take too long to show winning results.

This is where commercial awareness comes into play, spotting weaknesses in your competitors’ marketing armour.

Where are they weak on say there evergreen content marketing?

How can it be exploited for your business’s gain?

How can we get those longer tail keywords ranking higher, driving more business your way in the shorter term, while we focus on the more profitable main keywords with much higher search volumes? (Use Google Search Console to check keyword search volumes).
SEO is all about planning and identifying opportunities to gain your clients more leads and sales.

 

Google EEAT

To rank high on Google, your chosen agency needs to understand Google EEAT.

And we mean truly understands this!

Therefore, they need to show Google’s algorithms that they have a good understanding of your business.

That’s the “experience” and “expertise” part in particular, when it comes to understanding your products and services that you retail.

Or it could come from them spending time visiting you and a willingness to learn about your business.

If they don’t have a jar of glue regarding what you do, and that’s as clear as day, the SEO will be as effective as constructing a chocolate tea-pot.

 

Keyword research

Keyword research is really important because even though you may have a really good, strong grasp of what the business offers, in terms of services or products, you won’t know off the top of your head “search volumes”.

Search volumes are just a rough indication of how many shoppers are entering that term per week or month.

If 1000 people are searching for gold handbags + brand and only 100 are searching red handbags + brand, then it’s best to start optimising gold handbags first.

 

Competitor research

A good SEO business won’t just use the same marketing strategy for every single client.

Nope

They will adjust and use different approaches depending on the competition they face.

Therefore, a good agency must identify the strengths and weaknesses of your website.

But they must be able to do this with the competition as well; for example, if your main group of competitors has a bunch of DA80+ backlinks, well, that means you need strong backlinks too if you want to rank higher.

 

Technical SEO and spotting issues

A bad mechanic can change a lot for new car parts, run up a huge labour bill, and still not solve the problem the car originally went in the garage for!

This is the same as a bad SEO consultant; they can keep doing the same work, thinking that if they keep running in their hamster wheel, the results will follow.

Sometimes they won’t! You may not be working on the areas that truly matter, to “move the needle”.

The reason is that we have worked on accounts where thousands have been spent on content marketing creation. The business was going close to bust before we took over, yet the written work had “no-index” instructions added.

This means the previous SEO company had added code that told Google not to index this work, so it would never appear in Google’s index.

Which means writing all those articles, costing thousands, was, well, a waste of time until the no-index instruction was sorted.

It’s these sorts of problems; it’s only when marketing experts, like Walsh & Partners with our considerable experience, look at the website that we can see the issues that some SEO tools cannot locate.

 

Content marketing that packs a punch!

Write your wishy-washy content marketing until you turn blue in the face; it doesn’t work.

Content thin work doesn’t work.

AI written content often doesn’t work

Duplicated work, most definitely doesn’t work

The only content marketing that works today is this:

– Content marketing that really helps a potential customer solve a problem or question they have
– Shows in the work that you really and truly know what you’re talking about
– Should be duplicated (causes cannibalisation issues)
– Can’t be written by AI (well, we wouldn’t advise it)
– Must have a high Google EEAT score
– Written in an engaging way (higher dwell times, lower bounce rates)
– High word count, sub 500 words doesn’t really cut it anymore

 

Understand Google’s algorithm.

Some marketing agencies are constantly looking for ways to fool Google’s algorithm.

To find cheats and methods to try and fool Google’s algorithm (this just doesn’t work)

And why do businesses attempt this?

If you’re an SEO expert, you will know Google has teams of engineers; they have rolled out spam-fighting updates one after the other. Google Penguin and Panda, are to name a few of the major Google spam fighting updates.

So, if you’re trying to find shortcuts, don’t bother.

Quality is the name of the game, well, if you want to succeed anyhow.

 

Clear reporting is a must from the agency.

Okay, so some SEO agencies do have a reputation for baffling their clients with science!

Just as a boxer distracts you with one hand, then hits you with the other (if your SEO company does that, replace them).

In all seriousness, sometimes a simple, straightforward SEO report should be music to your ears.

Don’t have a PDF SEO report sent over once a month, takes a few minutes to download, because it’s full of pointless graphs, data and marketing jargon.

No matter how big the business is, whether it you employ just one staff member or you employ an army of thousands of staff, here’s what you will want to know:

– Where the main keywords rank on Google for that month
– Number of organic visitors that month
– Dwell times
– Bounce rates
– Comparison of month-on-month for organic traffic levels
– A note on backlinks, so you know someone’s keeping an eye on this.

 

A Collaborative Process

All are singing from the same hymn sheet

Okay, this is absolutely key…

Go for a meeting, go for coffee, go for beers with the SEO agency.

Just make sure you meet in person you will be working with, because hiring a search engine optimisation business means you should be working hand in glove with the company.

They will often be firing off e-mails, WhatsApp messages, calls and online meetings numerous times a month.

If you really don’t like the marketing manager, you think they’re arrogant and just dodge answering the important questions, then run now.

Go therefore for beers before you sign contracts, or coffee or just for a nice walk, anything to gain an understanding of who you will be working with.

Again, this is not just another supplementary service your business needs; like hiring a new cleaning business, no instead it’s often pivotal to the company’s very survival!

Where you rank on Google ultimately dictates a company’s profitability- we can’t overstate that point enough.

Therefore, get a marketing team around you, you know you can work with; even if you’re not going to be best friends, get a sense of “can I work with this person or group of people over the next 6 months?”

 

Main point of contact

Sometimes having a main point of contact is a good thing; sometimes it’s not. Let us explain what we mean.

If you’re dealing with someone at the agency who’s actively involved with working on the account, they should know what’s happening with your SEO. Therefore, the odd call or e-mail with them can keep you in the loop.

However, if the main point of contact is a digital PA, a personal assistant that’s relaying messages as the “go-between”, well, that can get blooming annoying.

Things can get delayed, and you might be hearing “I will tell her to give you a call back”- when that call will be- well, that’s anyone’s guess!

So, make sure you’re dealing with a point of contact who is hands-on and knows how the account is performing.

If you’re dealing with a freelancer, well then, you don’t have to worry as they are taking care of everything.

However, some agencies don’t let you contact the marketing consultant directly and instead use a PA or administrator as the go-between.

 

The best of SEO tools

The best agencies use tools such as Majestic, Ahrefs, Screaming Frog and Moz Pro; there are hundreds of others.

However, the agency you choose must have a tool set up, because all businesses will need monthly reporting.

Find out more about why we think you should choose us at Walsh & Partners:

Are we a specialist SEO agency?

Yes, we most certainly are.

With over 10 years’ experience, we certainly know our stuff.

We actually have SEO consultants with over 14 years’ experience!

So, whether it’s a conversation about do-follow backlinks, or why we wouldn’t recommend letting the LLMs write your content marketing for you, we have the solutions for your business’s needs.

Whether it be construction or businesses in the legal sector, we have the expertise and SEO knowledge to help you succeed.

 

How long will it take to see results?

This is a key question that all businesses ask.

However, it’s important to note that if a business states a fixed timeframe on their website to help you gain first page ranking on Google for all clients, well, it’s too vague that advice, and doesn’t give you the full picture.

Here’s the crux of the situation: you can only overtake a business, say, move from position 6 on Google to position 5, when your business’s

SEO is deemed stronger.

So, it is therefore calculated based on how strong your direct competitors are in comparison to your business.

If they are a pushover, you will move up more quickly.

If they are also employing the best of the best in SEO talent, well, the jobs are much harder and results will be slower.

As they will also have teams busy building links, writing content marketing, basically working on the same stuff as you.

It therefore depends on how good the other SEO teams are. If they are a bit rubbish, well, you can leapfrog them.

However, if they have employed the largest and best SEO agencies in the U.K, well then things become much, much harder.

 

What makes your SEO agency different?

Our level of experience is, well, second to none.

We are also specialists, so we don’t offer a wide array of digital marketing services.

Instead, our team is laser-focused on offering winning SEO solutions.

We have achieved this by not cutting corners and by always adhering to Google’s Webmaster Guidelines.

 

Do you want to partner with one of the best?

We called our business Walsh & Partners for a simple reason: we want to partner with our clients.

This is not a fast process, plus we never promise overnight success.

However, with so much experience in this sector, we are just good at what we do.

We don’t want to be the cheapest, and we don’t want to be the fastest, as we know it’s best to deliver quality work over the long term.

What we want to be is the best.

If you want to partner with one of the most well-known marketing agencies in the U.K, come to us.