Do you get asked frequently if you offer SEO services for your marketing clients? There are an array of services a digital marketing agency typically offers. This includes email marketing, website development, social media advertising, conversion rate optimization, etc. So what do you do when your customers ask about SEO services and you don’t feel comfortable providing them yourself? There are typically two options. You can hire an SEO specialist in-house or you can outsource your services to a white label SEO provider. Let’s take a look at a few factors that make up a great white label SEO Reseller service for agencies.
How Do They Build Backlinks?
What’s challenging for most marketing agencies with SEO are the backlink building services. The reason this is so challenging is that agencies have to work the hardest to acquire backlinks. It’s relatively easy to make on-page changes to a client’s website because they already have access to the domain and they probably built the website.
You just created a great piece of content for your client and now you’d like to promote it. What do you do? One thing I can tell you not to do is to buy 100 links on a service like Fiverr for $30. Google will instantly see these are spammy backlinks and most likely are private blog networks. It’s okay to set expectations with your client that SEO takes a really long time. This is where a white label SEO service for agencies is really helpful. They have a lot of experience with building backlinks. When shopping for a white label service provider, ask them how they build backlinks. Do they write guest posts and pay for the link or do they use traditional link outreach methods? My preference is that they use traditional link outreach methods. These are going to be your best links.
What makes up a gray backlink? Look for these three factors. First, is it relevant to your industry? Second, does it have a relatively high domain authority? And finally, and maybe the most important part, are the backlinks dofollow? This last point is important because this tells Google whether to send link juice towards your domain.
When speaking with a white label SEO service for agencies, ask them if they use these criteria for what a good backlink is. Also, don’t be afraid to ask them if they pay for their backlinks or if they are purely organic links from their link outreach efforts. What you really want is some transparency from them.
Five-Star Customer Service
Great customer service is a core competency of any business. Don’t allow a white label SEO service provider to provide you with poor customer service. One of the biggest stigmas to white label SEO services is that they’re not located within the United States and are offshore. Obviously, an advantage to not being in the United States is probably price, which is always a great concern to small businesses.
When interviewing a white label SEO service provider, ask them if they give surveys to their customers to provide direct feedback. My favorite survey is the net promoter score. This survey asks on a scale of one to 10 if you would refer this business to a friend or colleague. If they do use the survey, ask them what their current score is for their NPS. Ideally, a score of 35 or better is a good range.
Next, discuss how they communicate with you. Do they offer customer service ticket support? Assuming the answer is yes then you want to see a response time of under four hours. Less than four hours is okay because many of these white label providers are also small businesses and don’t have the resources of a big box brand.
Finally, do they answer their phone? It’s great to have a phone number on your website to offer support, but if you aren’t answering it, what good does it do? When they do pick up the phone, can the person on the other end answer your question? Or do they need to follow up with you? It’s okay if they have to follow up as long as there is a quick return call/email from them.
Pricing, Pricing, Pricing
The last part, and usually the most important part of making your decision, is price. Not everything should weigh on pricing; however, it is important to make sure you will make a profit when outsourcing your SEO efforts. This is where choosing a company overseas or in the United States becomes crucial. Obviously, a company will be able to charge less if it is outsourcing the work overseas. This is okay as long as the quality of work and customer service remains high.
If you’re talking to a white label SEO service provider, and they offer 100 backlinks for $10, my assumption is that the quality of the product is poor. This becomes even more important depending on how competitive the industry is that your clients are in. You also have to weigh where they are located geographically. Are they in Covington, Georgia or New York City? Prices will vary depending on the cost of living in certain cities.
When you determine the white label provider you’d like to go with and they charge too much money, don’t be afraid to ask your client for more money. The worst that they can say to you is no. Quality of services will always outweigh a cheaper and lower quality option. This could be the difference between having your client for six months compared to six years.
Conclusion
When choosing white label SEO service for agencies, make sure to speak with multiple options. I would encourage you to talk with agencies that are in the United States and overseas to see which option will be best for your client and for your business. You can also ask these providers for references. Often they have non-disclosures with their customers; however, some are willing to talk with you about their experiences. You can also look at reviews online to get an idea of how they treat their customers and the quality of work. Lastly, join groups who have used or are using white label providers. They will be able to give you the best insight and most honest insight into what you can expect when working with these vendors.