SEO is never a sure thing. You can invest in the most reputable agency and even then there’s no guarantee that things will necessarily pan out the way you plan. Which begs the question: is hiring an overseas SEO agency even more risky?
Read on for more…
Can you trust an overseas SEO agency?
When looking for an SEO agency to outsource your digital marketing requirements to, it can feel terribly overwhelming.
Every other agency claims to be the very best in the business, so how can you tell if you are dealing with a truly capable firm or the smooth-talking posers who are out to manipulate you out of your hard earned cash?
Furthermore, can you trust an overseas agency?
The good news is that there are countless overseas agencies that are both trustworthy and more than capable of delivering superior results.
The question is, how can you tell if you are dealing with the right one?
We’ll get to that shortly. But first, what are the risks involved?
The risks of hiring an overseas SEO agency
In truth, hiring an overseas agency is no riskier than hiring a local SEO agency if you fail to do your due diligence. In any case, here are some potential issues that could arise:
- They can take your money and run: if you rush into the first overseas agency you come across without any background checks, there’s a chance that they can take your money and stop all contact with you. Fortunately, this is incredibly rare – especially if you take the time to do your research (which is a must).
- The time difference can be a nuisance: another potential problem is the time difference. For example, if you are a Houston-based business and your SEO agency is located in Melbourne, Australia, then you’ll be looking at a 15-hour time difference, which is essentially a day behind. That said, there are a number of ways that you can work around such large time-zone differences.
- Cultural differences: while most reputable overseas agencies have multi-cultural and bi-lingual staff, there’s always the risk that certain things may get lost in translation. For example, if you are working on your local SEO in Cornwall, England, an Indian writer might not be able to provide as much value as, say, a native English speaker who was born and raised in Cornwall.
Aside from the above 3 “risks”, there’s no real danger of working with an overseas agency than sticking with a local business. After all, with the likes of Skype and Zoom at your disposal, you no longer need to spend a ridiculous amount of money on international phone calls.
The fact is, digital marketing in Singapore is exactly the same as digital marketing in the US; Google’s search algorithm rules and ranking factors still apply. Which means, so long as you take the time to research an agency before you invest your money in them, you shouldn’t run into any problems.
A local SEO agency could just as easily turn out to be a boiler room filled with con men than anywhere else.
Conclusion: Mitigate risk and do your research
The truth is, the world is a very big place and there are some exceptionally capable SEO agencies all over the place. As such, you shouldn’t necessarily limit yourself to working exclusively with local agencies in your proximity. Instead, open yourself up to the prospect of working with overseas agencies provided they meet certain criteria. Namely:
- Lots of 5-star reviews.
- A wealth of real life case studies.
- Social proof.
If a prospective overseas agency has all of the above, then you will effectively mitigate the risk of working with an overseas agency by confirming their legitimacy before investing. This is the way.
