Prices for content marketing agencies vary, and depend on several factors, including the content type, content length, and content promotion. Typically, small-to-midsized businesses will invest $2000 to $10,000 per month into content marketing.

There are a few qualities that every great content company has. Let’s talk about a few of the most important.

A great content marketing firm creates high-quality content that drives results for its clients. But how do you know whether or not the content an agency creates for other clients is high-quality?

One simple way is to look up some of the clients featured in the agency’s portfolio and read through the content on their websites. You can then see for yourself whether the content is well-written, useful, and easy to navigate. You can also conduct some quick Google searches to determine how well the content ranks. If it ranks well for relevant keywords, it’s a sign the agency does great work.

Another way to tell if a content marketing company provides high-quality content is by looking into the number of satisfied clients they have. It’s even better if the agency provides concrete numbers that define the results they’ve driven for clients.

When an agency is great at what they do, their clients will want to talk about them. A great content creation agency will have at least 200 testimonials and will have a high rating on review sites like Yelp and Clutch.

There is a difference between testimonials and reviews, though. Reviews on websites like Yelp can be a mix of comments, both positive and negative, about an agency. Testimonials, however, tend to all be positive and are typically featured on an agency’s website. That’s why the number of client testimonials an agency has is so telling — because all the comments are positive ones!

Did you know that Adlevel has 1000+ client testimonials?

The best content marketing agencies will always be transparent. This means that there are no hidden fees or costs and they know how to communicate effectively.

One way to tell if an agency is transparent is by looking to see if they have their pricing online. When agencies post their pricing, you know that their goal is to not waste any time finding clients that fit them, and vice versa. When site visitors and potential clients see a pricing table, they’re able to determine right off the bat if the agency is within their budget. This kind of up-front communication means that neither party wastes their time determining if they’re a good fit budget-wise.

Transparent content marketing agencies will also commit to campaign reporting. This is when the agency lets you know how your campaign is working, the results it’s driving, and more. Without transparent reporting, your agency could be scamming you out of great results without you even knowing.

Before settling on an agency, be sure to determine whether or not they have a reporting system for their content marketing campaigns.

The best content marketing agencies understand that every business is different and will always insist on developing a custom content strategy just for your company.

They’ll understand that even if two businesses are within the same industry, their goals and the content they want to create may differ, and they’ll construct a campaign to fit that.

When it comes down to deciding whether or not you should create and market your content on your own or hire an agency to do so, there are pros and cons to both.

If you’re planning to write and promote your own content, you won’t have to spend a penny. You’ll be doing your own work for free.

However, this can become a hindrance when you’re trying to run your company. Do you have someone that is a fantastic writer that can also do keyword research? Do you know the ins and outs of social media posting and SEO? Are you able to spend the necessary time on content marketing?

If the answer is no, consider working with a content marketing firm.

When you hire an agency to take care of the content aspect of your website, it not only frees up time for you to run your business, but it also ensures that the job is done quickly, efficiently, and correctly.

Agencies are experienced in areas like keyword research and content creation, and they can create customized content that targets the keywords that are most important to you.

They’ll look at a multitude of keywords to decide which ones will have the highest return for your business when they’re targeted and which keywords can be left out of the mix.

Adlevel will also help you create content that converts.

Typically, content refers to blogs, informational articles, email content, social media content, and more. And if that sounds like a lot to handle on your own, you’re right!

A content marketing campaign has a lot of moving parts, and even though it won’t be free, you can bet that hiring a content marketing company is the best option for your business.

With so many great content marketing agencies out there, it can be hard to pick one that’s the perfect fit. However, there are some criteria that you should follow when making your decision. Along with considering the qualities mentioned above, follow these steps when choosing a content marketing agency.

You should always consider your budget when you’re making a decision about an agency. Check over their pricing pages and decide if their services are something you can afford.

If not, bump them out of the running. There’s no sense in considering them if they don’t fit your monthly budget.

Location is something important to consider if you want to meet with your content marketing firm’s representative in person.

If you choose an agency that lives across the country, it won’t be realistic to have in-person meetings on a regular basis. Rather, you’ll be doing most of your communication on the phone or via email.

Communication is often just as effective from states away, but if meeting in-person with your digital content marketing agency is important to you, you should be sure to choose one within reasonable traveling distance.

Do your research before committing to a content marketing company.

You should search their website to see what their culture is like, how they treat their customers, and what drives their business.

If they seem to be a company that is driven by sales rather than making their clients happy, they might not be the best option. Instead, they should make it obvious that client happiness is their number-one goal.

You should also do your research to ensure that they offer everything that you’re looking for and that they can provide the kind of content marketing strategy that you want.

For example, if there is an agency that fits the budget and location, but they opt not to do keyword research and just write content, you may want to rethink your decision.

Before committing to a content marketing firm, you should always read their testimonials to see what other people say about them.

It’s one thing to see if the agency has a lot of testimonials, but it’s another thing to read them and see what other happy clients have to say.

You’ll learn a lot – and they might even help you make a decision. For example, if you’re concerned about turnaround time, and a client testimonial specifically mentions the fast turnaround time, this could be a great sign that the agency can handle a high volume of work and still return it in a timely manner.

You should also read the negative reviews that you see on Yelp! and determine if they warrant a red flag.

If there is a small volume of negative reviews about an agency in comparison to positive reviews, don’t let that sway your decision. There will always be individuals that didn’t like something about an agency, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not right for you.

No matter your industry, content marketing is extremely important to your business — and for more than one reason. No matter what kind of company you run, content marketing is a great way to inform users about your company, your products, your staff, your facility, and so much more.

Content is how you’ll get users to your site, and once they’ve made it there, it’s one of the elements that can make or break their decision to purchase your product or look elsewhere.

To better understand the value of content marketing, let’s first talk about Google and its ranking algorithm.

In order for users to find you online, it’s extremely important to rank highly in search results. If you don’t, it’s unlikely that users will find your business, especially since 75 percent of searchers don’t look past the first page of results.

Google’s goal is to serve users with the search result that best fits their search query. They want to provide content that is beneficial, informative, and user-friendly.

With this information, it’s safe to say that if you don’t have well-rounded content on your site, you likely won’t rank highly in Google, and customers will have a hard time finding you.

Now that we understand the importance of content, why is it so important to market that content?

If users don’t know about the pages on your website, how can your company benefit from them? This is the exact reason why marketing your content is so important.

Marketing your content with strategies like search engine optimization (SEO), social media, email marketing, and others allows you to get your keyword-based written material out to your most qualified customers.

When you target keywords important to your industry, you’ll be able to interest customers that are interested in the topics related to those keywords. This means that highly qualified individuals, or those likely to convert, will visit your website, get to know your business, and ultimately convert. Even if they’re not ready to convert right away, they’ll have an awareness of your brand after surfing your website.

The more people that benefit and learn from your content, the faster your business will grow.