There are many legitimate reasons to part ways with your SEO agency. They can be performance issues such as unmet expectations or just a general shift in your business that makes you realize it’s time to move on.
Whether your SEO agency has been a crucial part of your business’s growth or not, you should remain respectful. This doesn’t just retain your brand’s reputation in the tight industries of SEO and digital marketing. It also keeps future opportunities open.
In this article, let’s talk about how to part ways with your SEO agency professionally.
Table of contents
- Review your agreements
- Be specific with your reason
- Discuss your decision respectfully
- Give constructive feedback
- Ensure a smooth transition
- Keep records of all communications
- Avoid bad-mouthing your SEO agency
1. Review your agreements
Don’t pull the plug abruptly just because you feel like it. Before you take further steps in parting ways with your SEO agency, review your contractual obligations, legal requirements, and financial implications associated with the termination. If you don’t, you can have disputes and end up parting ways with your SEO partner in an unpleasant manner. With a thorough review, you ensure a smooth and respectful parting.
- Look at the notice period. Many SEO contracts ask you to notify in advance if you want to part ways with your SEO contractor. Usually, the notice period is 30 days. If this is the case, inform your SEO agency a month in advance that you plan to leave. This avoids disruptions and penalties that may occur when you choose to be abrupt, not to mention the additional fees and strained relationships.
- Review the termination clause. Your SEO contract may have clauses that outline the specific conditions under which the contract can be terminated. These conditions usually include poor performance. In this case, if your SEO agency fails to deliver on the appropriate key performance indicators, you can terminate your contract without penalties.
- Assess the financial implications. Your SEO contract includes many financial obligations. For example, there may be an early termination fee. If you prepaid for six months but decided to part ways after just four months, check if you are entitled for a two-month refund. By being aware of the financial aspects of the contract, you can budget accordingly and avoid unnecessary expenses.
2. Be specific with your reason
At Marketer’s Center, we do everything we can to streamline each process. We have order dashboards, so you can manage orders and SEO campaigns easily. You can reach us easily through email. Your SEO agency is doing everything it can to accommodate you and make your life easier. If you feel they are doing something wrong and you want to part ways with them, give them a specific reason. Maybe the issue can be fixed with some changes, or maybe it can’t. But proper communication can go a long way. Here are some of the most common reasons.
- They didn’t meet your expectations. You should have realistic expectations, but this doesn’t mean you can settle for little to no improvement in your SEO. If your SEO agency constantly falls short of reaching key performance indicators such as organic traffic growth and keyword ranking improvements, it may be time to fire them. But clearly articulate your reason, ideally with specific data examples, so your SEO agency knows you have legitimate concerns.
- There is a shift in your business strategy. Sometimes, you want to part ways with your SEO agency not because of performance issues but because of some kind of shift in your business, usually in your strategy. For example, if your company targets a broad audience but you want to niche down, you may want to switch to an SEO agency that specializes in your niche audience. This is a legitimate reason to part ways with your SEO agency. It’s a strategic reason, making it more understandable for the SEO agency.
- You have budget constraints. You may want to scale back on your SEO and digital marketing efforts because of budget cuts, fund reallocations, and other financial reasons. Be transparent about your financial constraints. Many times, SEO agencies can restructure their products and services, maybe even cross-sell cheaper alternatives, to cater to your new and lower budget.
3. Discuss your decision respectfully
How you communicate your decision can significantly impact the outcome of your decision to part ways. If you communicate poorly, you increase the likelihood of conflict, tarnish your relationship with your SEO agency, and reduce the chances of working with them in the future. By keeping the conversation respectful and professional, you ensure both parties feel valued and heard.
- Schedule a face-to-face meeting or video call. Nobody wants to break up with an email or a quick text. Discuss your decision in a face-to-face meeting or video call for a more personal interaction where you and your SEO agency can express thoughts and concerns freely. This also helps avoid misunderstandings because we all know emails and texts can have nuances in context and tone.
- Acknowledge your SEO agency’s work. Before bringing out the big guns, acknowledge the hard work and success the SEO agency has achieved during your partnership. For example, you can mention how their SEO audits have given you a clear perspective on what needs to be done. By recognizing their efforts, you are setting a positive tone for the conversation.
- Be careful with your delivery. This is particularly crucial if you have a negative experience with your SEO agency. For example, instead of being blatant by saying they didn’t meet your expectations, you can soften the blow by saying you have not seen the progress you were hoping for. By being careful with your words, tone, and delivery, you can part ways with your SEO agency professionally.
4. Give constructive feedback
If you look at the Marketer’s Center website, you will notice that we have a lot of testimonials and reviews from satisfied clients. This shows our ability to deliver results and our commitment to SEO client success. However, we also appreciate constructive feedback because it helps us get better. If you are trying to let go of your SEO agency, give constructive feedback so you can end the relationship on a positive note.
- Highlight your SEO agency’s strengths. During your meeting, you can start with positive feedback to help set the tone of the conversation. “Your SEO team did an excellent job with our website’s technical optimization” is a specific enough compliment that your SEO agency will appreciate.
- Suggest areas for improvement. Ideally, you do this with examples. For instance, if you are not satisfied with your SEO agency’s content strategy, you can mention how you appreciate their creative and informative blog posts, but they simply don’t align with your target audience’s needs. By having a positive remark mixed with your negative feedback, you soften the blow. You also give actionable insights for your SEO agency’s future projects.
- Offer suggestions for future success. For instance, if you have worked with an SEO agency before and you noticed that a data-driven approach gives you better content results, share this with your SEO agency. For example, you can suggest a more meticulous audience analysis and keyword research to improve the SEO impact of the blog posts they create. This approach gives the SEO agency a clear direction for growth, and they may appreciate you more as a supportive partner.
5. Ensure a smooth transition
A smooth transition ensures you part ways with your SEO agency while maintaining consistency and protecting your business interests. With this thoughtful approach, you also safeguard your SEO efforts and reflect your professionalism and commitment to maintaining a positive relationship with your old SEO partner.
- Coordinate the completion or transfer of ongoing projects. It’s likely that you have ongoing SEO projects and campaigns. You may be in the middle of a content rollout or a link building campaign. It’s important to discuss with your SEO agency whether they should be the ones to finish it or hand it over to your new SEO agency or in-house team. By being clear about this, you prevent issues that may arise from leaving your old SEO agency. Communicate properly, so you don’t lose momentum in your SEO efforts.
- Set up a communication plan for the transition. Create a plan and execute it for a smooth transition. Your plan should include your team, the outgoing SEO agency, and your new SEO partner. Set up meetings or calls to discuss the handover process, address issues, and align timelines and expectations. Keeping all these parties involved ensures a smooth transition and avoids misunderstandings.
- Don’t forget account and data transfers. Accounts, data, and access credentials are crucial aspects of any SEO effort. Make sure you get full access to your Google Analytics, Search Console, and other tools your outgoing SEO agency used on your behalf. Get all relevant files, including content calendars, keyword research findings, insights, reports, and everything in between. By having these on hand, you ensure your new SEO team has everything they need to continue the SEO work for your company.
6. Keep records of all communications
When ending a partnership with an SEO agency, keeping detailed records of all communications is vital to protect your business interests. Proper documentation helps avoid misunderstandings, supports every detail of the parting with a paper trail, and gives you physical or digital evidence when needed. Organized records help keep both parties accountable, especially during the crucial separation phase.
- Keep a record of your termination notices and agreements. When you notify your SEO agency that you would like to part ways with them, make sure it’s documented. Whether you are communicating through email or a formal letter, make sure you have everything in writing. Here are some of the most important details to document: the notice itself, the termination date, a list of outstanding deliverables, and a detailed description of the handover process.
- Prioritize key conversations and decisions. Throughout your relationship with your SEO agency, you will have documents containing conversations and decisions. For example, you can talk about performance issues and expectations. Make sure to save these documents, so you have evidence in case of disputes.
- Don’t forget about financials and payments. Anything involving financials is crucial. You make many financial agreements throughout your SEO agency partnership. From refunds for prepaid services to potential penalties, these financial agreements ensure you are not getting duped. For instance, if there is a dispute regarding the final payment, you can always show the final payment documents to strengthen your case. Unexpected SEO costs are another popular area of dispute.
7. Avoid bad-mouthing your SEO agency
When you part ways with your SEO agency, it’s important to maintain professionalism even after the relationship ends. Don’t bad mouth your old SEO partner, whether to colleagues, competitors, or on public platforms such as Facebook and Google Business Profile. Speaking negatively about your old SEO agency can damage your reputation, hurt future business opportunities, and create avoidable tension.
- Keep your feedback balanced. If you openly criticize your SEO contractor on public platforms, other agencies and potential partners may see you as an unprofessional or difficult client. This can make it unnecessarily difficult to find a new SEO agency that will take your business. In the end, this can affect your business growth. Even if things didn’t go as planned, keep your feedback balanced and professional even when writing negative reviews, so the others around you can see your ability to handle difficulties with grace.
- Don’t post your grievances on social media. Talking negatively about something, particularly an unsatisfactory partnership with an SEO agency, can create a negative perception of your business. If you really want to post about your partnership, you can simply say you have moved on because of strategic reasons or provide constructive feedback. Being hostile just attracts negativity.
- Try to keep the relationship intact. Don’t burn bridges even if you are not satisfied with the SEO agency collaboration. You may not align today, but tomorrow can bring new opportunities to collaborate. If you bad-mouth your SEO agency, you won’t be able to revisit this partnership any longer, depriving your business of potential growth and opportunities.
Keep the positive vibes
Parting ways with your SEO agency can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be a negative experience. In fact, handling it professionally can reflect positively on your business. Every interaction with the outside world, whether a B2B or B2C experience, can speak volumes about your brand.
If you are ready for a new SEO agency partner, Marketer’s Center has a wide range of services to fit your needs. From preliminary technical SEO audits to full-blown white label SEO solutions, we have everything you need to succeed in the online world. Contact us today for a new positive relationship.
