Forget Agency “Culture Fit”— It’s All About “Culture Add” (And Why That Matters)

If you’re running an SEO agency (or thinking of starting one), I’m willing to bet you’ve got a million things on your mind: Landing clients, keeping up with Google’s ever-changing algorithms, and maybe even squeezing in a few hours of sleep.

But here’s the thing: If you’re not building a strong marketing agency culture, you’re missing out on a massive competitive advantage.

Now, I’m not talking about that fluffy, feel-good “culture fit” stuff that gets thrown around in HR circles. We’re talking about something deeper, something that can actually make or break your business.

Think of it this way: Your agency culture is the secret sauce that sets you apart. It’s the reason top talent wants to work for you, why clients trust you, and why your team is motivated to go the extra mile.

But what exactly is a strong agency culture, and how do you build one? That’s what we’re going to dive into. So grab a coffee, get comfortable, and let’s get started.

Culture Assessment

Build Your Agency’s Foundation: Values That Go Beyond Rankings

The first step to creating a culture that sticks is to define your core agency values. Not just any values, mind you, but the ones that truly reflect what your agency is all about. These aren’t just words on a website or a poster in the break room – they’re the principles that guide every decision, every interaction, every piece of work you do.

Think of your values as the DNA of your agency. They shape how your team communicates, collaborates, and approaches challenges. They’re the compass that keeps you on track when things get tough (and trust me, they will).

Here’s the catch: Your agency values need to be more than just “good SEO.” Of course, delivering results is important, but it’s not the only thing. What else matters to you? Is it transparency? Innovation? A commitment to learning and growth?

Take some time to really think about this. Get your team involved. Have some honest conversations about what you stand for. The more aligned you are on your values, the stronger your culture will be.

Bringing Your Values to Life

Defining your values is just the first step. To truly embed them into your agency’s culture, you need to:

• Communicate them clearly and consistently across all touchpoints (website, onboarding, performance reviews, etc.)
• Use them as a framework for decision-making at all levels
• Celebrate and reward behaviors that embody your values
• Address actions or attitudes that don’t align with your values swiftly and fairly
• Continuously reinforce and recommit to your values as your agency grows and evolves

Hire for “Culture Add”: Skills Can Be Taught, Attitude Can’t

You’ve defined your values, great! Now it’s time to build a team that embodies them. This is where most agencies get it wrong. They focus solely on skills and experience, forgetting that culture fit is just as important (if not more so).

When you’re hiring, look for people who not only have the technical chops but also share your agency’s vision and values. Ask questions that go beyond the resume:

• What motivates them?
• How do they handle conflict?
• What kind of work environment do they thrive in?

Don’t be afraid to turn down a candidate with stellar skills if they don’t seem like a good fit for your culture. Skills can be taught, but attitude is much harder to change.

Here’s a pro tip: Get your existing team involved in the hiring process. They’re the ones who will be working alongside the new hires, so their input is invaluable. Plus, it gives them a sense of ownership and reinforces the idea that everyone is a culture carrier.

Onboarding for Cultural Alignment

Onboarding isn’t just about paperwork and logistics. It’s about helping new hires feel welcomed, valued, and aligned with your agency’s way of doing things.

Hiring for culture fit is just the beginning. To set your new hires up for success, you need to immerse them in your agency’s culture from day one. Your onboarding process should:

• Clearly communicate your agency’s mission, values, and norms
• Connect new hires with buddies or mentors to help them navigate the culture
• Provide opportunities for new hires to socialize and build relationships with the team
• Set clear expectations around roles, responsibilities, and performance
• Check-in to gather feedback and address any culture-related concerns

Create a Workplace Where People Actually Want to Work

Most offices are soul-sucking places. Fluorescent lights, endless meetings, and the constant pressure to hit deadlines. It’s no wonder people dread coming to work. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Your agency’s physical space has a huge impact on culture. Think about it – do you want your team crammed into tiny cubicles, or would they be more productive in an open, collaborative environment? Are there spaces where they can relax and recharge, or is it all work, all the time?

Don’t underestimate the power of little things, either. Good coffee, healthy snacks, comfortable chairs – these may seem like small details, but they add up. A well-designed workspace shows your team that you care about their well-being and that you’re invested in creating a positive environment.

And it’s not just about the physical space. It’s also about the vibe you create. Do you encourage people to have fun and be themselves, or is it all strictly business? Do you celebrate wins, both big and small? Do you create opportunities for team bonding and connection?

Supporting Work-Life Integration

The lines between work and life are blurrier than ever. As an agency leader, you have an opportunity (and a responsibility) to help your team navigate this new reality in a way that supports their well-being and productivity. Some things to consider:

• Offering flexible work arrangements (e.g., remote work, flexible hours)
• Encouraging the use of vacation time and personal days
• Modeling healthy boundaries around work hours and email response times
• Providing resources for stress management and mental health support
• Checking in on workload and capacity to prevent burnout

Happy, healthy employees are more engaged, creative, and productive. When you prioritize your team’s well-being, everyone wins.

Communication: The Glue That Holds Your Agency Together

Imagine an SEO agency where nobody talks to each other. SEOs working in their own silos, content writers churning out articles without any input from the strategists, and the sales team promising the moon without consulting the delivery team. It sounds like a recipe for disaster, right?

That’s why communication is the lifeblood of any successful agency. It’s not just about exchanging information – it’s about building trust, fostering collaboration, and ensuring everyone is working towards the same goals.

But here’s the thing: Communication isn’t just about talking. It’s about listening, too. It’s about creating an environment where everyone feels comfortable sharing their ideas, concerns, and feedback. It’s about being open to different perspectives and being willing to compromise.

Creating a Culture of Open Communication

So, how do you create a culture of open communication in your agency? Here are a few ideas:

• Establish clear channels for sharing information (e.g., Slack, project management tools, meetings)
• Encourage active listening and respectful dialogue, even when opinions differ
• Create safe spaces for providing and receiving feedback (both positive and constructive)
• Lead by example – be transparent, responsive, and open to input from all levels
• Check in with your team to gauge the effectiveness of your communication strategies

Make Learning and Growth Non-Negotiable

SEO is like a rollercoaster – constantly twisting, turning, and throwing new challenges your way. If your agency isn’t constantly learning and adapting, you’ll quickly get left behind. That’s why a commitment to growth should be baked into your culture.

But it’s not just about keeping up with the latest algorithm updates or mastering new tools. It’s about fostering a mindset of continuous improvement, where everyone is encouraged to experiment, take risks, and learn from their mistakes.

Creating Opportunities for Learning and Development

Investing in your team’s growth not only benefits them individually but also strengthens your agency as a whole. A team that’s continuously learning is a team that’s agile, innovative, and equipped to tackle whatever challenges come their way.

Here are a few ways you can support learning and growth in your agency:

• Offer professional development budgets for attending conferences, workshops, or courses
• Host lunch and learns where team members can share their expertise
• Encourage participation in industry groups, online forums, and local meetups
• Provide mentorship opportunities for junior team members to learn from more experienced colleagues
• Celebrate and reward team members who take initiative to expand their skills and knowledge

Celebrate the Wins (Big and Small)

Let’s face it – SEO can be a grind. There are long hours, challenging clients, and the ever-present pressure to deliver results. That’s why it’s so important to celebrate the wins, no matter how big or small.

Did your team just land a major new client? Pop the champagne! Did you finally crack the code on a tricky technical SEO issue? High fives all around! Did someone on your team just complete a challenging certification? It’s time for cake!

Celebrating wins does more than just boost morale. It reinforces positive behaviors, builds team camaraderie, and creates a sense of momentum. It shows your team that their hard work is valued and appreciated, and that you’re all in this together.

And it doesn’t have to be anything fancy. A simple shout-out in a team meeting, a handwritten thank-you note, or a team lunch can go a long way. The key is to make it a regular part of your agency culture.

Learning from Losses

Of course, not every project will be a home run. There will be setbacks, disappointments, and outright failures along the way. But here’s the thing: Those moments are just as important to acknowledge as the wins.

When something doesn’t go as planned, take the time to debrief as a team. Ask questions like:

• What went well?
• What could we have done differently?
• What did we learn from this experience?
• How can we apply these learnings going forward?

Culture Starts at the Top, So Lead by Example

Here’s a hard truth: Your agency culture won’t magically appear out of thin air. It’s shaped by the actions and attitudes of its leaders. If you want your team to embrace your agency values, you need to embody them yourself.

Think about it: Do you show up to work with a positive attitude, even when things get tough? Do you openly communicate with your team and value their input? Do you invest in your own learning and growth, and encourage others to do the same?

If you’re not walking the talk, your team will notice. They’ll see right through the empty platitudes and buzzwords. But if you lead by example, they’ll be more likely to buy into the culture you’re trying to create.

This doesn’t mean you have to be perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. But it does mean being honest, transparent, and accountable. It means being willing to admit when you’re wrong and learn from your mistakes. It means being the kind of leader you’d want to work for.

Cultivating Cultural Champions

While culture starts at the top, it can’t be sustained by leadership alone. To truly embed your values into your agency’s DNA, you need to cultivate cultural champions at all levels of the organization.

Cultural champions are the people who embody your agency’s values and live them out loud every day. They’re the ones who:

• Go above and beyond to support their colleagues
• Speak up when something doesn’t align with your values
• Take initiative to drive positive change
• Inspire others through their actions and attitudes

Identify these champions and empower them to take on leadership roles within your culture. They can help onboard new hires, plan team-building activities, and provide valuable feedback on what’s working (and what’s not).

Empower Your Team: Trust and Autonomy Fuel Creativity

Look at it this way: you’ve hired a team of brilliant SEO minds. They’re experts in their fields, brimming with innovative ideas, and ready to tackle any challenge. But then you shackle them with micromanagement, second-guessing their every move, and stifling their creativity. What a waste of talent!

In a strong agency culture, trust and autonomy aren’t just buzzwords, they’re the foundation of how you operate. Give your team the freedom to experiment, to take ownership of their projects, and to make decisions without constantly looking over their shoulders.

Of course, this doesn’t mean throwing them into the deep end without any guidance. Set clear expectations, provide the necessary resources, and establish open lines of communication. But then, step back and let them work their magic.

When you trust your team, they’ll rise to the occasion. They’ll be more engaged, more motivated, and more likely to come up with those groundbreaking ideas that set your agency apart. And when they know they have your support, they’ll be more willing to take risks and push the boundaries of what’s possible.

Balancing Autonomy with Accountability

Autonomy isn’t about giving your team free rein to do whatever they want. It’s about trusting them to make smart decisions, take ownership of their work, and deliver results in a way that aligns with your agency’s values and goals.

It doesn’t mean abandoning all structure and oversight. It’s about finding the right balance between freedom and accountability.

Here are a few ways to strike that balance:

• Set clear goals and expectations upfront, but let your team determine the best path to achieve them
• Establish check-ins to provide guidance and course-correct as needed
• Create a culture of peer accountability, where team members hold each other to high standards
• Provide constructive feedback that focuses on growth and improvement, not blame or punishment
• Celebrate successes and learn from failures as a team

Embrace Failure as a Learning Opportunity

Failure is a part of life, practically inevitable. Algorithms change, strategies evolve, and what worked yesterday might not work today.

But here’s the secret: Failure isn’t the end. It’s a stepping stone to success. Every misstep, every setback, every “oops” moment is an opportunity to learn, grow, and improve.

In a strong agency culture, failure isn’t something to be feared or punished. It’s embraced as a natural part of the learning process. When your team feels safe to take risks and experiment, they’re more likely to come up with innovative solutions and push the boundaries of what’s possible.

Of course, this doesn’t mean you should celebrate every failure. But it does mean creating an environment where people feel comfortable admitting their mistakes, learning from them, and moving on. When you normalize failure, you remove the stigma and fear associated with it, opening the door to greater creativity and innovation.

Conducting Blameless Postmortems

One powerful way to embrace failure as a learning opportunity is to conduct blameless postmortems. A postmortem is a meeting held after a project or initiative has ended (whether successfully or unsuccessfully) to review what happened, identify lessons learned, and brainstorm ways to improve in the future.

The key word here is “blameless.” The goal isn’t to point fingers or assign blame, but rather to have an open, honest conversation about what went well, what didn’t, and what could be done differently next time.

Normalizing postmortems and treating them as learning opportunities, you create a culture of continuous improvement. You show your team that it’s okay to make mistakes, as long as you’re committed to growing from them.

Here are some tips for conducting effective postmortems:

• Set clear ground rules around confidentiality, respect, and non-judgment
• Focus on facts and behaviors, not personalities or assumptions
• Encourage everyone to participate and share their perspectives
• Identify both successes and opportunities for improvement
• Prioritize learnings and create an action plan for implementing changes
• Follow up to ensure learnings are being applied and progress is being made

Build a Feedback Loop

Think back to the last time you received feedback. Was it a positive experience that left you feeling valued and motivated? Or did it feel like a one-sided critique that left you deflated and discouraged?

Feedback is a powerful tool, but it’s often misused in agency settings. It can either build up your team or tear it down. That’s why creating a culture of open, honest, and constructive feedback is crucial.

Here’s the truth: Feedback should be a two-way street. It’s not just about managers giving feedback to their direct reports. It’s about creating an environment where everyone feels comfortable sharing their thoughts, ideas, and concerns – up, down, and across the organizational chart.

It’s important to understand that feedback isn’t just about pointing out what’s wrong. It’s also about recognizing what’s right. When you celebrate successes and acknowledge contributions, you create a positive feedback loop that reinforces good behavior.

Feedback should be a two-way street. Encourage your team to give you feedback as well. This shows them that you value their opinions and that you’re committed to creating a culture of continuous improvement.

Make sure feedback is delivered in a way that’s respectful and actionable. Avoid personal attacks or generalizations. Focus on specific behaviors and offer concrete suggestions for improvement.

Feedback isn’t about criticism – it’s about growth.

When done right, it can help your team members develop new skills, improve their performance, and reach their full potential.

Normalizing 360-Degree Feedback

One powerful way to create a culture of feedback is to implement 360-degree reviews. In a 360 review, feedback is solicited from an employee’s manager, peers, direct reports (if applicable), and even external stakeholders like clients or vendors.

The benefits of 360 reviews are numerous:

• They provide a more well-rounded view of an employee’s strengths and areas for improvement
• They promote a culture of open communication and continuous feedback
• They help identify blind spots or areas where an employee’s self-perception may differ from others’ perceptions
• They provide actionable insights for professional development and growth

Of course, implementing 360 reviews can be daunting. Here are a few tips to make the process smoother:

• Clearly communicate the purpose and process of 360 reviews to all participants
• Provide training on giving and receiving constructive feedback
• Use a standardized format or tool to ensure consistency and fairness
• Make sure feedback is kept confidential and used solely for developmental purposes
• Follow up with employees to create action plans based on the feedback received

Remember, the goal of 360 reviews (and feedback in general) is not to critique or tear down, but to support growth and improvement. Normalizing this practice in your agency, you create a culture where everyone is invested in each other’s success.

Foster a Sense of Community Beyond the Office

Work is just one part of life, and a healthy agency culture recognizes that. It’s about creating a sense of community that extends beyond the office walls, where people feel connected, supported, and valued for who they are, not just what they do.

Think about the ways you can foster a sense of community within your agency. It could be as simple as organizing team lunches or after-work drinks. Or you could go bigger, planning company outings, volunteering for a local cause, or participating in industry events as a group.

The key is to create opportunities for your team to connect on a personal level, build relationships, and have some fun together. When people feel like they belong to something bigger than themselves, they’re more likely to be engaged, motivated, and loyal.

And don’t forget about the power of recognition and appreciation. A simple “thank you” or a shout-out in a team meeting can go a long way in making people feel valued and appreciated. Celebrate birthdays, work anniversaries, and personal achievements. These small gestures can make a big difference in creating a positive and supportive work environment.

The Bottom Line

Building a strong marketing agency culture isn’t easy. It takes time, effort, and a whole lot of intentionality. But it’s worth it.

When you create a workplace where people feel valued, supported, and empowered, amazing things happen. Your team becomes more engaged, more productive, and more passionate about their work. Your clients get better results and become raving fans. And your agency thrives in a way you never thought possible.