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Seven Alternatives To Asking For References From A Digital Marketing Agency

Forbes Agency Council
POST WRITTEN BY
Brett Farmiloe

I cringe when prospective clients ask for references. Why? Because I hate taking away our clients' time. Clients pay us to take stuff off of their plate — not give them more stuff to do.

But I also understand it. There is a severe lack of trust with digital marketing agencies. Prospective clients have to do something to protect themselves and reduce the risk of engaging with a digital marketing agency that won't produce positive results.

There are better alternatives than a 10-minute phone call with one of the agency's best clients. Here are seven alternatives to asking for references from a digital marketing agency.

1. Read reviews on Google+, Yelp, Facebook and the Better Business Bureau.

Client reviews are essentially the same thing as a reference call. You’ll uncover and hear similar things on a Yelp review as you will on phone call with one of the best clients from a company.

Take the time to read reviews on third-party websites to see what clients are saying.

2. Read reviews on Glassdoor.

Happy employees produce better work. Do employees like working at the company? Glassdoor reviews and ratings provide a glimmer of insight into whether you’ll have a happy or disgruntled employee doing your marketing.

3. Research the companies featured on their website.

If the company has testimonials or client logos featured on their website, research the digital footprint of the featured companies. You can do this by going to Spyfu and Ahrefs to learn more about how well each company is doing for marketing.

Spyfu will provide insight on traffic trends on the organic search and paid advertising level. Does the trend go up? Does the company engage in both organic and paid advertising? What you’re really looking for is validation that the marketing agency you’re considering is performing your proposed services for other clients.

Ahrefs provides insight into the backlinks, referring domains and domain authority for a website. All of these metrics are good indicators of the competency for a digital marketing company.

4. Does the company practice what they’re selling you?

While you’re on Spyfu and Ahrefs, plug the digital marketing company website in for a look at their internal marketing. A digital marketing company selling digital marketing services better be performing these services for themselves. Otherwise, it’s a red flag.

See what the SEO traffic looks like for the agency. What’s their domain authority? If their domain authority is less than 20, pass on the opportunity.

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5. Perform a couple Google searches.

Google the digital marketing agency's name. Google the CEO’s name. What pops up in a Google search? Read, listen to and watch the content that is displayed. It’s okay to do a little online stalking before signing on the dotted line of an agreement.

6. Review case studies.

Most digital marketing companies are happy to share their successes with prospective clients. Ask for case studies and review them. See if the successes the marketing agency has had with other clients can translate over to success for your company.

7. Ask the right questions.

After all this research, it comes down to asking the right questions to see if the company is a good fit. Two important questions to ask a digital marketing company include, “Who will be doing the actual day-to-day work on my account?” and “What does the first month of our engagement look like?”

There are alternatives to reference calls with current clients: You can learn much more about a digital marketing company by analyzing their digital footprint than by bothering an existing client for a 10-minute conversation.