You’ve probably asked yourself, “How do I hire an SEO expert who truly understands my business needs?” It’s a question that many business owners and marketers grapple with as they seek to improve their online presence.
Hiring an SEO expert involves identifying professionals with a proven track record, understanding your business needs, and ensuring they align with your company’s goals and budget.
In this article, we’ll delve deep into hiring an SEO expert, breaking down the steps you should take, the questions you need to ask, and the qualities you should look for. By the end, you’ll be equipped with the knowledge to make an informed decision and find the perfect SEO professional for your business.
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How Do I Hire an SEO Expert?
It’s good business practice to delegate tasks easily managed by someone else, especially if you consider expertise in how to do the job well.
It’s natural to feel confused and overwhelmed when it comes to SEO work. It’s quite a technical field; you must do some behind-the-scenes digging and pattern-finding. It’s not something every business owner has had training in or a natural feel for.
It stands to reason that hiring the proper SEO is problematic since you have next to no idea how to get started.
As per any contract work or employee you hire, having the correct information on hand will assure you appoint the right person for the position and get the most out of your investment with them.
In this blog post, we’ll guide you through the best process for hiring an SEO expert. To help you out, we’ll include some questions to assess their experience and suitability and give you indicators for finding red flags and green lights, so you know who your stops are and who’s ready to go.
When you know where you stand and what you are looking for with your SEO hire, you can be confident about making the right choice.
A blog can’t teach you everything. The best way to learn the ropes is actually to learn them. Rather than going in blind and hoping for the best, we highly recommend that you get at least a basic understanding of what SEO is and how to track your SEO performance.
When you know the basics, you know if something is not going well, and you can have targeted discussions with your SEO specialist on how to get back on track.
Learn Some SEO Yourself
Hiring a great SEO starts with understanding it yourself. Like owning a business, if something goes wrong because you did not educate yourself, that’s entirely on you. If you need to hire an SEO expert, learn some SEO yourself first.
So, what is SEO?
SEO is optimising every page on your website to get higher rankings and better delivery on search engine results (like Google). There are a lot of different tools that can be used to get better SEO results. The method that will have the most significant results for you will depend on your audience, location, industry, most recent SEO audit, business methods and current web and marketing setup.
There are plenty of beginner guides to SEO to give you a basic understanding of what it’s all about. Once you grasp that, it’s time to turn it into real-life practice. Look at your Google Analytics and get to know the data. You’ll see where your web traffic has come from, how they moved around your site, how long they stayed for and what the most popular pages are.
After that, it’s time to get into keywords. The right keywords are the ones that match what your potential customers are searching for. You can use Ahrefs (a paid option with excellent quality) or Ubersuggest (a free, limited choice) to see what keywords are highly used in your niche. You can compare this to your keyword ranking and check out your competition.
How to Choose an SEO Consultant
If you have a fantastic list of SEO experts vying for your business, pick the one whose previous SEO experience matches your needs as closely as possible. Look for experience with other companies to match your;
- Business size
- Website size
- Location
- Web reach (local, international, global)
- Google Index numbers
The green light indicators: things to look out for that get a big tick
Experience
Look at how long they have been doing SEO work and how long their current business has been running. If you can’t find any history, they are newcomers using the expert label to get ahead. You don’t want to be their guinea pig as they figure out the best methods and work to a solid performance.
Make sure they know what they are doing and have proven field experience to back them up.
Knowledge
When a person understands what they are talking about intimately, they can easily explain it to you in ways that make sense, even if you are a novice. A real SEO expert can sidestep jargon, give you practical examples to demonstrate their meaning, and casually explain how they can build more traffic to your website.
They listen
Even though they are the experts, they are working for you, so you should expect to do a lot of talking and prompt you with questions to encourage you to discuss your business needs and goals.
You want them to take a genuine interest in your business and what your expectations are. To help out, be prepared to talk and give more than one-word answers.
Your input gives your SEO expert more flexibility to meet your needs and help you achieve your business goals.
Testimonials
Look for reviews that are trustworthy and current. No business will post a negative review on their website, but it is worth viewing what they have listed to see what type of feedback is listed and what areas meet expectations. Thoughts will come with full names, so you can follow up if you want to check they’re legit. This speaks for itself. You can also ask outright if they have a current customer who would be comfortable with a reference call.
Regarding open public reviews, the response to negative comments can be just as telling as glowing reviews. Look for what the criticisms are and also note any reactions that occur. If your SEO expert gets defensive, passes the blame or makes excuses, they are not ready to handle your business. Even if the negative feedback was uncalled for, lashing out indicates poor communication and a sign of failed business interactions.
Rank your website content on page one of Google with our robust SEO strategies.
We are proud to have created a team of SEO experts who have real-world experience in ranking websites. Whether that be Technical SEO, Link Building, or Content Creation, we can help.
Red Flag Indicators: Warning Signs to Be Cautious About
Cheap rates
As with all things, you get what you pay for. If the rates are too low, they are holding back on service delivery somewhere. You want the rates to reflect a genuine dedication to your site, getting it where it needs to be for fantastic performance and beyond, as well as troubleshooting, ongoing communication and unexpected fixes. Low prices mean they are using an unskilled team, cutting and pasting from other accounts rather than finding the right fit for you, or just not spending adequate time or not taking care and giving you a polished result.
Unrealistic promises
Everyone is looking for a silver bullet solution, so taking up an offer that guarantees success in a short timeframe is tempting. The truth is that quality SEO takes time to build. There is no way to rush it. Look for a long-term partnership that will get you results for the duration of your business rather than a ‘quick fix’ that may leave you worse off than you started.
Hidden processes
There is no reason to hide how you achieve success. Expect your SEO expert to give you a full run-down of what they will be doing to get results for your website (using examples directly in line with your work). If they seem vague or elusive, it may indicate they don’t have the experience or skill to assist you or are not committed to putting the time in.
Poor communication
Before hiring, ask many appropriate questions about their background and other clients. This will give you an understanding of their ability to perform their SEO duties, but also give you an indication of how friendly and open they are.
You should feel comfortable and reassured by their answers and how well they treat you.
Any resistance at this early point is bad news. It indicates that they won’t respond well if you have questions or negative feedback down the track (and you might). Be especially concerned if they avoid you or dismiss things like missed or late calls. You want to feel they care about you and your business from the start.
What to Talk About
Reporting
Ask about their proposed reporting structure and who your crucial person of contact will be. There is no correct or wrong way to do this. It’s about finding a fit that works for you and your business. Ultimately, you are looking for someone who best matches your working style and way of doing things. That way, you will be on the same page and flowing in sync. Find a comfortable reporting structure that works for the frequency of updates and what data is included. Knowing how quickly they respond if you send an email request or if they are available by phone for questions during your contracted time is also a good idea.
Who does the work?
There are many options here, so you need to know your needs to get the right balance of assistance at the right price. When it comes to doing the work, it might be you. Some SEO experts, especially freelancers, will give you all the data you need to make changes as you see fit. If you have a developer, they can talk to them directly or allow you to pass on the suggested changes.
Other SEO experts operate from an agency. The agency has all the services you need, from developers to writers and everything in between. If this is what you need, the who is doing the work aims to understand if you will have a professional with a lot of experience undertaking your SEO work or an intern or overseas staff who may not be qualified or be able to deliver a high standard of work.
If you are using a big SEO agency, you can expect junior staff members to handle your website.
Their rates
Generally, you won’t see results for at least three months, so you must budget for a 3- 6 month contract. If all goes well and you are happy with the results and the discussions about ongoing implementation, then you can extend the contract.
As well as what their rates are, ask about their billing period and payment options.
Previous clients and websites
Ask about what work they have completed in the past they were proud of, and be upfront about asking for references. Ask for email and phone contacts so you can email for an appointment and follow up with a 10-15-minute phone call. In the call, you can talk to them about their experience and what results they got.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, hiring an SEO expert is an investment in the sustained growth of your online presence. Their expertise spans technical optimisations, content strategies, staying ahead of dynamic search engine algorithms and collaborating with a skilled professional to position your business for increased visibility, organic traffic, and long-term success. Embrace the power of SEO expertise to unlock your business’s true online potential.
If you would like your search engine traffic looked after by the best SEO agency in Singapore and Brisbane, contact us today and let’s make a plan to get you onto Page 1 of Google.
How Do I Hire An SEO Expert? – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
