10 Questions to Ask a Digital PR Agency

So you’ve decided to hire a digital PR agency. Great! But, with so many digital PR professionals vying for your attention (and money!), how do you know which is the right one to hire?

Identifying which digital PR agency will deliver the results you’re after within the budget you have before you make any commitment is crucial. It’s not just about the money—a digital PR or SEO agency needs to prove that it's able to achieve the success you’re after.

The digital PR experts at Reboot have put together the key questions you need to ask a digital marketing agency before hiring them.

What is a digital PR agency and what can it do for your brand?

If you’re looking for a digital PR agency, you’re probably already aware of the benefits of hiring a digital PR agency. But, if you’re wondering what a digital PR agency can do for your brand, here’s a quick explanation.

The difference between digital PR agencies and traditional PR agencies lies in that crucial word, “digital”.

A digital PR company handles the complex processes of ideation, campaign creation, and outreach to targeted media websites. The aim is to earn backlinks for a client’s website.

Backlinks are an incredibly valuable asset to have on your website. The more quality backlinks your website gains, the higher credit Google will give your brand and your onsite content as being reputable and trustworthy. This, in turn, will lead to new website visitors and, ultimately, paying clients.

This process may sound simple but remember—if digital PR was easy, then everyone would do it! So for expert results, you need to call in the experts. It’s just a matter of finding the right SEO link building agency for you.

You may be wondering if you need an agency at all, why not hire an in-house digital PR team? Well, we’ve created another guide on the pros and cons of digital PR agencies Vs in-house digital PR teams.

Before we delve into questions to ask a digital PR service, however, you need to reflect on your business reasons for hiring the experts.

Questions to ask yourself before hiring a digital PR agency

Before you think about the questions to ask a digital PR agency, it’s worth asking yourself the following questions for clarity on what your goals are and what you want to achieve.

1. What are my business goals?

Are you looking to increase your client base? Do you want to appear at the top of the Google search engine results page (SERP)? Or perhaps you’d like to gain more authoritative media coverage to reach a wider audience?

Before engaging with and thinking about what questions to ask a digital PR agency, it’s crucial to identify what your business goals are. When you have a goal in mind, you will be able to work with digital PR experts to create a strategy for success. Without a goal, you will be directionless and paying for a service that is unlikely to yield any results.

2. What is my budget?

Deciding on how much budget you have for digital PR services is essential for managing expectations. Digital PR costs can vary, but sadly, the best things in life don’t always come for free, and you’re likely to get what you pay for with digital PR agencies. However, it’s always worth being clear and honest about your business goals with an agency to ensure you are receiving the ROI you deserve.

3. What audience am I trying to reach?

Do you know who your target audience is? This is a vital question to ask yourself before hiring a digital PR agency. You need to know who you want your services or product to reach. This will serve as a guide for the digital PR experts to target in outreach.

4. What will success mean to me?

When you think of success, what does it mean for you and your business?

Does success mean an influx of new or return of committed customers? Does it mean your website shows up on the first page of Google? More media attention? Your idea of success is directly linked back to your initial goal—and bearing this in mind from the start will ensure that your digital PR agency is taking the right course of action for you.

10 crucial questions to ask a digital PR agency before hiring

It’s essential to identify the right kind of questions to ask a digital PR agency before hiring them. Preparation is key when it comes to any long-term plan with the goal of success.

While there are signs of a good digital PR agency to look out for, here are some of the best questions to ask a prospective digital PR agency to ensure their promises align with your expectations.

1. Can you show me proof of previous client success?

Any decent digital PR agency will be thrilled to share its successful campaigns with you. Most agencies will already present case studies on their websites.

If a digital PR agency isn’t willing to show proof of client success, or if you can’t find any evidence of case studies on their website, then alarm bells should ring.

2. Can you provide me with references of your long-term clients?

Bad digital PR agencies might be able to gain new clients, but if they have a high client turnover this is a big red flag. A lack of committed clients could indicate that the agency is either failing to implement long-term strategies or is using black-hat SEO tactics, which is a punishable offence.

It’s cheaper and more efficient for clients to stay with the same digital PR agency for progressive success. So, if an agency can’t provide proof of client retention, then it’s a sign to find another company.

3. Can you tell me about your favourite campaign you’ve run?

Anyone who works in digital PR, SEO, or marketing loves sharing their success stories. A good digital PR agency would be thrilled with this question and be ready to talk about recent campaigns that have done well. If a company struggles or refuses to share any examples, then it’s likely that they haven’t had any success.

4. Do you have examples of links you’ve earned for your clients?

A decent digital PR agency will gladly point you in the direction of quality organic backlinks that they’ve earned (these might even be presented alongside their case studies on their website).

A response that provides a number (especially a large one) before mentioning the quality or relevance of links is a sign that this agency will have bought rather than earned links. And this is a big no-no for Google’s guidelines.

5. Can you improve my Google rankings?

Achieving a place on the first page of Google’s search results is no easy feat. You should be wary of any company that guarantees you a slot on the first page of the SERPs within a specific timeframe.

You should also avoid any agency that responds with “we buy links”, which is a direct violation of Google’s Webmaster Guidelines and is guaranteed to hurt your business.

If ranking high in the SERPs is your goal, then it’s worth seeking out a digital PR agency that can also offer an SEO strategy. Digital PR specialists who offer a blend of digital PR and content marketing, such as Reboot, are more likely to create a robust digital PR strategy that will meet your goal of ranking in the SERPs.

6. Where will you win placements for me?

If a digital PR agency promises you placements in every major outlet, or that they can secure links from any website, be wary.

Securing placements takes time, trust, and hard work. A good digital PR company should be able to suggest relevant and appropriate outlets that will be valuable specifically to your brand, rather than claiming they can “get you in anywhere”.

Instead, look for agencies that have proven success in securing placements and backlinks from the type of publications you’re after. This should be highlighted in their case studies or portfolio.

7. How do you monitor results?

A good question to ask a digital PR agency before you hire them is how they measure and monitor results. Quality agencies should have placement trackers and metrics that reveal how well a campaign has performed.

If a digital PR agency can’t provide you with an answer to this question, it’s a strong sign to look elsewhere.

8. How long before I start seeing results?

We’ll be straight here: it’s almost impossible to claim how long it will take for digital PR strategies to show results. There are many moving parts and processes involved (did we mention it’s not an easy discipline?) Therefore, any agency that guarantees results within your first month—or any specific time frame—is likely bluffing.

Seek out a digital PR agency that is willing to have a conversation about results and how to manage expectations.

9. Who will be my main point of contact at your agency?

Communication is key to any good business relationship, and this shouldn’t be any different when working with a digital PR agency.

If an agency doesn’t offer a central point of contact (i.e. one person to communicate with) and explains that everyone will be working on your account collectively, consider walking away.

A good agency will have streamlined communication and will have a sole account manager who will stay on top of all digital PR strategies related to your business.

10. What do you need from me and my business?

Perhaps one of the most telling questions to ask a link building agency before hiring them is finding out what they need from you.

If the answer is “nothing” or “just let me handle it”, walk away.

Every facet of digital PR needs to be led and linked to your brand and your customers. An amateur agency will be ignorant of this and claim that they can handle everything without you. The ins, outs, and minutiae of the work will be covered in your digital PR contract.

You should be involved in decisions and planning with a digital PR agency—remember, the work should be a collaboration, not a dictatorship.

What to consider when hiring a digital PR agency

If you’re wanting to improve your company’s success, achieve new goals, or increase revenue, then hiring a digital PR agency is the answer.

Reboot offers expert digital PR services for every industry, from health and fitness to travel and from accounting and finance to adult industries. Please get in touch with our team today for any questions you have about our digital PR services.