Think about this. You’ve just been appointed as a Content Marketing strategist, and are tasked to conduct all SEO research for your website. You’re not an expert in SEO (and there’s plenty to do) But the team understands that you’ll have to get help from outside and is happy to add an external SEO consultant.
Then you rely on your amazing network of people in the field of content marketing in order to make an idea of potential candidates and then you need to address a crucial problem: how do you determine that someone who is an SEO expert really understands what they’re discussing?
Begin here by answering these questions, which can help you find out whether or not your SEO advisor is actually has the expertise.
The Big Questions
What are the services you offer?
It is likely that the answer will vary between the experts; however, before making the decision, it is important to determine which tasks you require consultants to provide. Are you looking for consultants to go through the checklist of essential SEO elements and perform all things related to keyword research through the optimization of pages and linking, Or will you or someone in your organization assume the responsibility for the specific items? After that, figure out how much knowledge in the areas of those solutions. We’ll get to that shortly.
What’s the most important thing you’d perform if we take you on as a candidate?
The best SEO consultants must begin with an audit of your website to find out what your website does to meet the goals of your marketing. What’s effective and what’s not? It is crucial to establish an idea of the benchmark to be completed. Don’t expect them to repair what’s not broken as well as you do not want they to destroy what’s driving traffic even though it’s taking some time to get the system operational. If they could give the SEO tutorial for you to help explain how they work, the more.
Have you ever worked for any company from our sector previously?
This doesn’t mean that the SEO consultant hasn’t had experience working with an organization that is in your sector, they’re the best person (or firm) to do the job. The most important thing to consider the fact that they’ve never worked in the industry you work in, they have demonstrated their ability to work in various various industries. They can also demonstrate that they are able to quickly learn about your industry.
This is what brings the us back here…
Do you have some clients whom you’ve dealt with, the services you offered, and what were the outcomes?
Anyone SEO professional who is worth the world of salt (or gold, depending on your preferences) ought to have a set of case studies that show the “before” and “after” of their customers’ SEO well-being. Naturally, you are able to manipulate anything to your favor. So, request references from the firms they discuss with you about. If they are unable to resist it could be because they are concealing something or might not have any information to offer.
How long will your client relationships typically continue to last?
If they say, “We’re very efficient, so we generally work with clients for just 6-8 weeks, and then we wrap up our engagement,” this is an untrue statement! Optimizing your SEO takes time. It requires lots of trial-and-error and constant monitoring to find your sweet location. But even so the sweet spot can be constantly changing, which implies you must be monitoring further in the future.
Many businesses that truly want to be successful with SEO are likely to keep the SEO consultant whatever time period their budget will allow, unless they decide to implement SEO in-house or they’re getting the results they’re expecting. Therefore, if they state that they’ve seen results in one year or more, then you’re likely to be on the right path.
What can you take to increase your search engine rank?
“We’ll make sure you’re ranking in the number one spot in your industry within four weeks.” Another time, wrong answer! If you’ve been told this, there’s just one choice, and that’s to get out.
Every SEO expert can show you how to rank on the internet. However, they cannot guarantee immediate results. There are many different variables to consider. Google’s algorithm changes constantly and your competitors’ websites are ever-changing as well, and a new competitor will pop in and someone might publish a harsh review of your company, regardless of the quality of your SEO the public may steer clear of you with a vengeance.
The message they need to convey is a different matter. “After we do your audit, we’ll do some keyword research and determine what keywords you should target your website and content marketing efforts around based on the competition and your overall marketing strategy.” Perhaps something similar.
Do you know about backlinks? What can you do to ensure that your backlinks drive more traffic to our website?
There is no guarantee that cannot be given, however what they can say is that when they’ve done their homework, they’ve got a clear idea of where the backlinks need to be put in and the people you ought to be linking to. Backlinks do not all come identical; therefore, placing them randomly will do no good for you and might even go to your disadvantage in the search results of Google. Your advisor should be prepared to collaborate with you in determining the importance of backlinks to beware of costly mistakes.
What SEO tools do you make use of?
The answer is a bit subjective. when you find that an SEO consultant is using the majority of available tools, they probably don’t have the most accurate data to give complete and accurate reports. It would seem that if that’s how they earn money, they’re likely to purchase some top SEO-related tools for getting results.
It is recommended that they have at the very least, instruments that can be used for SEO analysis linking, building links, technical analysis and reportage. All of them tools aren’t created equally. A simple Google searches ( or our blog article) will provide you with an idea of which ones have the most power and which ones are simply a waste of time!
What kind of reports are we to expect from you? How often?
If they write an example report which is the size of a book from War and Peacethan they’re probably not a good consultant you need. Yes, they could represent one of the Einstein of SEO and SEO, but if it’s difficult to discern what they’re writing on the table, then it’s not worth your time. It’s your job to be the customer and, as such, it’s your responsibility to grasp the details as well as monitor the results and not working, and present all the information to your boss as you would you would a boss. Check out the sample reports so you can learn more about the manner in which they operate, and inquire what frequency they perform SEO audits when you are planning on cooperating with them for a long time.
In general, presenting reports every month is standard and quarterly reports do not fall outside of the normal. They can gather sufficient information to determine the needles moving in what direction, yet isn’t as likely useless like a report on a weekly basis could be. Reports should contain an outline of the SEO strategies they’ve employed and, hopefully, a rise in traffic to their website, the places your website ranks with the terms you’ve chosen, as well as the conversion rate of the visitor from one phase in the sales funnel the next.
What is the best way to measure the results of your efforts?
Every marketer understands that it is essential to define SMART objectives in any endeavor. They should be specific, easily achievable, quantifiable as well as timely. It’s unlikely that you can set these goals at the very first meeting. However, the SEO consultant ought to be able to provide you with an idea of the type of objectives were formulated by other businesses according to the result they desired. If the two parties are in agreement, there’s no doubt. You either hit the numbers or do not. If you’re not need to know the explanation for why, and also what you plan to do about the issue. A competent consultant might challenge your objectives slightly if they’re not realistic or, in some cases or too small.
Do you require administrative access to our website? If so, why?
Prior to giving away the castle’s keys Find out the reason they’re required as well as what they intend to make of them. It’s crucial. It’s not uncommon to ask to hire an SEO consultant to gain feet on your site, in order to do test and work on optimization. However, if you’re more confident in having an employee in your business who is executing your plan, be sure that they understand the steps to take.
How do you stay current on the Google’s (and Bing’s) algorithm changes?
If they claim, “I read a lot of SEO stuff online,” make sure they are more specific. Ask them to provide you with websites as well as conferences and expert on the subject they study to ensure you follow up with them prior to hiring the consultant. A constantly evolving landscape means that consultants’ knowledge about SEO is bound to change too. It isn’t a good idea to be stagnant.
What is the best way to price your services? And what methods of payment are you able to use?
A good SEO service comes with an expense. However, if you conduct some study, you’ll be able to quickly figure out the most reasonable price and out of the ordinary. Certain consultants charge an hourly rate while others might offer an ala carte model costing each service individually while freelancers can cost an hourly rate.
It’s possible to be hit with a large bills in the beginning. But after the major portion of the task is finished you should find out what the company will charge you as a retainer for them to stay in case of need and find out what this really means. Certain consultants may accept your retainer and leave, which is why you should spell it out prior to signing the line to ensure everyone understands what is required.
What’s the procedure for resolving the contract should we determine that we no longer require your assistance or are not getting the results that we desired?
It’s not an easy issue to tackle, but it’s a necessity. It is crucial to be obvious from the beginning, so that neither side gets blindsided.
What next steps should we take?
If you’re satisfied with your initial interview it’s a good idea to get a written estimate that includes all the elements previously mentioned along with a schedule for completing it. If you’re not sure the person you’d like to employ inform them that you’re evaluating a variety of applicants and when you’ll capable of giving them an answer.
The more investigation you undertake to know what’s required with SEO optimizing, the more easy it’ll be to be able to answer the appropriate questions and find the most suitable SEO consultant to help with your project. Have fun, and should you need support to help with SEO, contact us!