2. HOWTOSELECTTHERIGHTDIGITALAGENCY
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Your website is much more than
just an online billboard a
website.
Brands you
Serves current clients
Attracts new customers and
clients
Can bring significant direct revenue through
e-commerce
Can streamline internal processes
and increase company productivity
,
Of course, that s what a
great website will do
for you.
A terrible website can damage your
company’s reputation, send clients
to your competitors and put your
business in a hole that it may never
be able to dig out from.
3. HOWTOSELECTTHERIGHTDIGITALAGENCY 3
So how do you find the right
digital agency for your
Business?
When you first meet with a
digital Agency.
It is important to go in with a strategy in
place. Asking some key questions will put
you on the right track for finding the ideal
digital agency for your project:
How do they price their services?
Do they offer a comprehensive
set of services?
What is the agency’s track record
and what are their credentials
and qualifications?
What is included in their Web
Development Agreement
(and what isn’t)?
4. HOWTOSELECTTHERIGHTDIGITALAGENCY 4
1) Be Prepared and Define Your Goals
Before you begin interviewing digital agencies, you should have at least
a rough sense of what your goals are and what kinds of functionality
you require. Some important starting questions include:
Am I looking to attract prospects?
Am I looking to merely generate traffic (advertising-based model)?
Am I looking to generate direct revenues (e-commerce)?
Am I only looking to preserve and enhance my brand?
Am I only looking to increase the traffic of my website.
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2) Define your price range
This can be the most confusing part of selecting your digital agency.
If you Google ‘digital agency’, you will find agencies offering $199
websites while others offer web solutions that can run six or even seven figures.
A simple website for a hobbyist or a “basic personal site” can be created relatively
inexpensively. However, if your website is the face of your business and a place
where business is conducted, then the price can be considerably higher.
Some important pricing
questions to ask right from
the beginninginclude:
Which of their team members will be
working on your project and what
are their qualifications?
How much time will they be
spending on your project?
Do they provide a flat project price
that corresponds to a detailed
agreement?
Does the cost of the project match
up with the agreed upon deliverables
and hourly rates?
Is there a clear procedure for billing
for extra features or work outside the
project’s initial scope?
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3) When thinking of the price of a project,
You need to also think about the ROI. If a company can prove they have
a track record of a high ROI, you should think about upping your budget for the
project.
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The price of a website project
Is the result of many variables; the complexity of the site’s
functionality, the number of custom design elements involved; the
expertise and experience of the team performing the project and the
pricing schedule established by your web
Development team (i.e. hourly rates).
When you discuss price
with a digital agency,
Make sure they spell out all of the
functionality they will be providing and
the amount of time and effort that will
be required to deliver the project. The
hourly rate of the work will be based
on the experience and expertise of the
team assigned to your project.
Lastly, evaluate the price
based on what you will get
out of it.
A $20,000 project that brings you no
revenue is far more expensive for your
company than a $100,000 project that
brings in a 300% ROI.
Can the digital agency point to specific
results (ROI) deliver for other clients?
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Look for a digital agency that offers
comprehensive web services:
The best websites are the ones where design, functionality and
marketing work as one. A digital agency that has expertise in all three areas has the
ability to build you a fully integrated site from the ground up.
When one agency is responsible for design,
Another for development and a third for online marketing, you will invariably have issues
with communication, integration and implementation.
A digital agency that has the capability to handle your entire project, from planning, to design,
to development and marketing success is better qualified to do things right from the start.
Just ask:
Do they have the ability to provide comprehensive
web design, development and marketing services to
industry standards?
Have they done system integrations or customized
web projects that require excellent problem solving
skills or advanced codingcapabilities?
Do they have experience developing
mobile applications?
Do they have search engine optimization expertise
and a proven track-record of achieving Page One
Google results?
Do they have copywriting abilities to create both
compelling copy for the website itself as well as
quality content for social media?
your company
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Project manager, a professional team,
and concrete objectives.
Your web design project should be manned by:
Information architects to plan the site
Web designers to design the user interface
Web developers to code the site
Quality assurance engineers to test it
Online marketing specialists to develop and
implement an efficient online marketing strategy.
project This team should work under an experienced
manager to ensure a successful outcome.
interface designer
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What is the track record of their team?
Your project and that they are able to show you a return on your
investment.
Before selecting a digital agency, ask about their previous
track record:
What types of clients have they worked with?
What kind of results have they delivered for those clients?
Do they have hard figures to prove their results?
Do they retain their clients and have ongoing working relationships with them?
TIP: Even if your site structure
includes multiple products or services
on a single page, it is still helpful to
create separate campaigns for each
service that drives traffic to your
single landing page. This will allow
you to analyze performance of each
service and adjust your budget
accordingly.
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You also want to be sure.
that the digital agency you are entrusting your business to are respected
professionalsintheirindustry. Awards, credentials,andqualifications
areall indicatorsofawebcompany’sexcellenceandprofessionalism.
Are their key players recognized as industry
leaders, speaking at events, or published in the
media?
What is their Dun & Bradstreet rating?
(D&B is a third party source monitoring
client satisfaction.)
Are they authorized to work for
government agencies?
Do they have other special credentials
showing other expertise?
Have they developed any special applications or
done groundbreaking projects?
What industry awards and recognition have
they received?
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Recent press mentions are also a strong
indication of a digital agency’s standing
within their industry.
Do major media outlets recognize this agency as experts in their field?
Does the company receive frequent press mentions from a variety of sources?
Does the company act as an informational resource for their industry?
Is the company seen as a leader within their field?
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Website Development Agreements
It all comes down to this.
Your website development agreement –
Sometimes called a service level agreement or a detailed spec
sheet- is an absolutely critical document. Just by reading the
agreement, you can learn a great deal about the digital agency you
may be working with.
Are they thorough?
Do they understand my business?
Do they have the technical knowledge to build my
website?
Do they have the design talent to make my site
something memorable?
Do they have the capacity to complete my project in a
timely and satisfactory manner?
Is the agency ethical
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Crucial elements to your agreement
Terms of Engagement:
Scope of Work:
The proverbial nifty gritty of your web project. The scope of work should be detailed,
specific, and unambiguous and set in a specific time frame. It should set out the
timetable for each element of the project.
Project Time:
The best web project is doomed to failure if it is not completed in a timely manner. Lost
days, weeks or months can have a crushing effect on a business’ online prospects. Make
sure that each element of the scope of work is attached to the time required to complete
the work. Does the agreement lay out responsibilities of both parties, including deadlines
and deliverables?
Payment Schedule:
This is always a subject of negotiation.
Developers will invariably want a large
percentage of the project price to be
paid in advance, while clients want
to hold on to their money as long as
they can. Look for a digital agency that
is willing to come up with a payment
schedule that makes sense for both
sides.
15. Accountability
Any web design project demands a great
deal of give-and-take between the client and
the digital agency they are working with.
Find out who will be the point-person at the
firm on your project. Ask how they measure
success. This is a long-term relationship and
you must be sure that this is the person you
want to enter into such a commitment with.
Make sure you like, trust and respect this
person, because you will be interacting with
them frequently over a substantial amount
of time.
Promises, Promises...
In any economy, many digital agencies will
promise you the moon, just to get your
business. Those promises tend to be both
grand and vague.
The only thing that matters is what is
promised in writing. You want to work with
a company that not only lists all features
and functionality in the agreement, but one
willing to back it up with specific results
(i.e. increased traffic, leads, conversions,
milestones, etc.) In their agreement.
16. Speak with a Web Specialist
At SEOFIED
+91-8763817412
And for more on selecting the
Right Website Company
for your online business &
other marketing guides,
visit at www.seofied.com
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to the next level?