Resource Guide Home

According to Marketing Sherpa, 80-90% of business to business transactions begin with a web search. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is now a critical part of new business strategy. Which means that everything on the web about your agency: good, bad or indifferent, is now a source of information about you.

The place that you want a business to find you first is your own website, because that’s what you control. But like the proverbial shoemaker’s kids, ad agency websites are often woefully incomplete, even though many agencies have the resources to change them. Here are some suggestions for checking and updating your agency’s website:

Optimize First – Check frequently to make sure your agency website comes up first on a Google search for you, and if it doesn’t find out why. The answer may be as simple as a lack of keywords or a need for some search engine optimization.

Keep it Updated – Make sure that you are constantly adding new content and removing old, irrelevant content. Updates count for searches as well as communications.

Do Something New – It’s surprising how many ad agency sites have the same five headings: About, Work, Clients, People, and Contact. Your website is your chance to do work for a great client: you. Use it to show off your creativity.

Have a Point of Difference – It’s also surprising how many advertising agencies use the same phrases to describe themselves. Is every agency really full-service? Instead of trying to be everything to everybody build your website and your image around what you know and do best. Show Your Best Work – No one has time to see everything you’ve done, so present your best work in the best light. Case studies are a particularly good way to show your ability to understand an advertising challenge and solve it.

Write a Blog - A blog is now a mandatory part of an ad agency’s website. Think of it as another place to show the world the heart and soul of your agency, and what makes it tick. Do Your Own PR - Every agency site should have a dedicated section for press releases. Every time your agency does something newsworthy, tell the world about it. Press releases are often read by clients who come to your site looking for a new agency, so let that motivate and influence your press release writing.

Include Contact Information – List the names and email addresses for all of the departments that people may want to contact. Make sure everyone who comes to your site knows who to contact for new business, job openings, HR, news quotes and charity inquiries, then make sure someone’s actually reading those emails.

Make an Impression – Potential clients, employees, investors and partners come to your site to form an impression about who you are. Do your best so they leave with a good one.