SEO is one of the most important aspects of any online business. If you’re not doing SEO, you’re missing out on a lot of potential traffic and revenue. That’s why it’s important to find a good SEO consultant who can help you improve your SEO strategy. In this blog post, we will discuss how to find a good SEO consultant and what to look for when hiring one.
Michal Pecánek, Marketer and content writer at Ahrefs suggests 9 questions for hiring an SEO consultant. But, let’s check the things we may consider in advance…
What Does a Professional SEO Consultant Do Exactly?
First of all, what does a professional SEO Consultant do exactly? You can expect a consultant to offer their guidance, recommendations, and actionable tasks for you to actively earn more organic traffic on your website. The expert’s job includes reviewing the site’s current state of affairs while also providing insights into how they think it should be optimized moving forward so that higher visibility is achieved with resulting boosts of both humans visiting as well technology-driven searches relevant only towards what has been inputs by those who use these services beforehand which will lead them directly back here.
Why You Should Hire a Professional SEO Consultant
Many people are not sure if they need to hire an SEO consultant. However, when you work with a professional inbound marketing company your voice must sound like someone who knows what he or she’s talking about because this will help grow connections between consumers and prospects for the brand by demonstrating an understanding of their needs- which leads us back towards having real value through providing solutions!
SEO Agency Vs. In-House SEO: Which Is Right for Your Company
The debate between hiring an SEO agency and building an in-house team of SEO professionals has been going on for some time.
What is SEO Agency?
SEO agencies are teams of experts that provide search engine optimization services to different organizations in various industries. Agencies work alongside their clients, conducting audits and developing comprehensive strategies for success through both technical know-how on the web as well content creation/medical research skillsets among other things depending upon your specific needs!
What is in-house SEO?
In-house SEO relies on a team of marketing professionals hired by your organization. These individuals will be responsible for things like internal audits, page optimization, and technical support as well as content creation. Usually, most companies find that hiring somebody else can help save money.
Pros and Cons
There are pros and cons to both approaches, and ultimately the decision comes down to what makes the most sense for your company. Here’s a look at some of the key considerations:
- Cost: Hiring an SEO agency can be more expensive than building an in-house team, but it also offers the benefit of economies of scale. In-house teams may be able to get by with a smaller budget, but they will likely need to sacrifice scope and breadth of knowledge.
- Expertise: When you hire an SEO agency, you’re tapping into a team of experts who have a wealth of experience and knowledge. An in-house team may be able to replicate this over time, but it will take longer to develop the same level of expertise.
- Flexibility: An SEO agency can offer more flexibility than an in-house team. If your needs change or you want to experiment with different approaches, an agency can quickly pivot and make changes on the fly. With an in-house team, you’re more likely to be stuck with a set way of doing things.
These are just a few of the key considerations when deciding whether to hire an SEO agency or build an in-house team. Talk to your marketing team and see what makes the most sense for your company. Whichever route you decide to go, make sure you invest in quality SEO services to help you achieve your goals.
Where can I hire SEO experts in 2022?
LinkedIn is one of the best platforms you can use to search for an in-house SEO expert. You can post a listing on LinkedIn for people to work with you, both locally and globally. Its features such as various filtering questions and video applications make many things easier for employers.
Freelancer platforms
There are many websites to hire a freelance SEO expert. You can hire a freelance SEO expert for short-term projects, especially if in-house or an agency is better for long-term projects.
- Upwork
- Freelancer
- Guru
- Fiverr
- Facebook Careers
Do some research. Especially for SEO agencies, you can find their websites and LinkedIn pages by doing a little Google search. You can decide by examining their portfolio on their website.
Ask your colleagues/friends
Use your network. Ask people in your area who have worked with an SEO agency for their opinion of the agency. They will surely be more honest and open to you than the SEO agency itself!
Tips for Hiring an SEO Consultant
There are a few things to consider when hiring an SEO consultant. The first is experience. You want to hire someone who has a lot of experience in the industry and knows what they’re doing. The second is results. You want to hire someone who can show you results that they’ve achieved for other clients. The third is price. You don’t want to overspend on SEO, but you also don’t want to under-invest in it either.
Ask The Right Questions
What is your experience with SEO?
This is of course the first question to ask as a start. Ask about their past experience, especially when hiring an in-house SEO consultant.
Have you worked with a business like mine before?
It is always better to find someone who works in an industry like yours. Plus, if you’re in the widget industry and have been considering working with an SEO specialist before, there’s a good chance that they will know more about how to navigate through government regulations. After all – this is what their entire career has focused on.
What parts of SEO are you an expert in?
Search engine optimization can be a daunting task with so much ground to cover. You’ll need expert knowledge in various areas, such as content writing and online reputation management if you want your business or product seen by more people through Google searches on their phones!
What SEO tools do you use?
Of course, it is important to know how much experience your SEO consultant has in which tools. There are many tools on the market. Especially when hiring an In-House SEO expert, find out if they use tools that can meet your needs.
How often and what reports do you send?
Some SEO companies do not submit regular reports. However, you can understand whether SEO is successful or not by examining the reports. Be sure to ask them to send regular reports.
When will we start to see results?
You need to know that SEO takes time. If an SEO consultant starts talking about the first month or two of their work schedule being completed with no concrete reason as to why they are so confident in such rapid organic search traffic growth within those periods then there may have been some problems implementing recommendations in a timely manner which could lead one down false paths causing more confusion instead if empowerment by giving them accurate data on when progress will happen.
What fees should I expect?
It’s important to know how much you’ll be charged, of course! You also want to know if the consultant gets paid either hourly or on a project basis. The most common form for this is a “project” payment which can vary depending upon its size and complexity but almost all consultants offer some sort in one fashion or another so make sure yours reflects what kind they prefer before starting any work together.
What happens if I want to cancel?
What happens if I want to cancel? You’ll still need ownership of all content generated by the consultant after their contract expires or they terminate it early. For this reason, make sure that any agreements include a clause specifying when consultants will no longer work for you and do not charge fees in exchange for ending your relationship early with them.
Can you guarantee rankings?
If their response includes words such as “guarantee”, or suggests that they have some influence over the algorithm then stop talking to them immediately because it’s simply not possible for any consultant (even those with experience) to be able to predict specific search engine optimization strengths/weaknesses ahead of time-based on anything other than guesswork.
What will you need from us to be successful?
Find out what support they expect from you to be successful. It will be best for you to learn how much you need to invest in this business, both financially and in time. To have detailed information about budgeting, check our article here.
What problems do you notice on our site?
The most important part about hiring an SEO company is getting feedback on your site. It’s worth taking the time to see what areas they find improvement in because this will give you insight into their process and how much work needs to be done before clients start seeing results from social media or Google searches.
What Are the Traits of a Good SEO Consultant?
It will be useful for you to give importance to the following points during the interview. A good SEO consultant should have the following characteristics.
- They should ask questions about your business
To understand your business, they should ask questions and learn what you want to achieve with SEO, and what you expect. Not every business is the same, and an SEO expert should understand your business with questions. - They should be reliable
Trust your instincts. During the interview, the people in front of you should be reliable with their demeanor and what they say. It is important that they present a good portfolio, give you confidence, and are knowledgeable enough about SEO. - They should come up with an action plan
They should have a plan and tell you what they would do if you worked together. It is a good sign that they have done prior research about your business and have a path in mind. - They should have experience with what works
They should know what needs to be done in line with your needs and what will work. It is beneficial for you to have previous experience rather than trial and error. - They should be honest with what you can expect
They should not be delusional or lying. Of course, there are limits to what can be done with SEO, and an experienced SEO expert will know what to do by looking at your business. They should be open and honest with you about what to expect.
References Matter A Lot
You should always read reviews from real people and your peers before you hire an SEO consultant. Talk to others who have worked with them, and ask questions if need be! The person must satisfy the client because there could easily be another one just like it waiting in line behind this individual- so take note of what went well or bad during past projects together as well as how quickly things got done (or didn’t).
Ask for Their Portfolio
When looking for an SEO consultant, one of the first things you should ask them is whether or not they’ve worked on projects similar to yours and what kind (or type) those clients were. It may seem like a simple question at first but it can go miles in determining if this individual will be able to help provide clarity to your situation! In addition – don’t forget about taking time browsing through their website while doing research beforehand too; seeing how well-written content was created across various platforms helps give insight into.
Have Specific Goals in Your Mind
To find a great SEO consultant, you need to know what kind of services they offer and how their team will help improve your inbound marketing strategy. You can check on key performance indicators (KPIs) regularly with them so that these metrics are improving as well! There’s no one size fits all when it comes down to deciding between professionals – think about which KPIs matter most for your business goals before making any final decisions today.”
Know the Warning Signs
Knowing the signs of bad SEO consulting is incredibly important. Some services have tactics they will use to convince you that they know what they’re doing and are the most qualified but don’t believe them right away.
Don’t be fooled by big promises with vague statements. If a consultant tells you that with a strategy only they know, they can quadruple your website traffic in two weeks, don’t believe it outright. SEO is a clear science and there are certain steps you can take to improve your page ranking. No one can claim to have special knowledge on this subject.