I have been in digital marketing for almost 16 years. As a Google Certified Partner, one of the most common phone calls I get are from businesses who decided to hire the cheapest agency/contractor/freelancer, and then got ripped off.
If you have a AdWords, SEM, SEO project, and you have little to no knowledge on how to run a project, don’t. It’s not as easy as it looks.
If an agency or person works for peanuts, you can expect peanuts in return. It means they have no business license, tech certifications, business degrees or advanced training, no insurance, no references, and no reviews. You are in for a nightmare – I promise you! Don’t always go the cheapest route either. You will pay a lot more in the end in lost time, lost sales, lost customers. The cheap route means the longest and most expensive route. And the ultimate risk you will face is a disaster that ruins your business and forces you into bankruptcy court.