5 Questions to Ask Yourself When Hiring an SEO Consultant

Hiring an SEO Consultant? Ask these 5 Pertinent Questions

Getting a page to rank in Google, Bing or Yahoo searches is like being part of an elite club. Did you know less than 2% of people proceed to click the second page? Coming up in the first page in search results is one of the most important things you can do to increase your brand visibility. Optimizing your website to attain this is crucial, and hiring the right Search Engine Optimization consultant for your brand is even more so. 

Here are 5 Questions you need to ask yourself before you consider hiring an SEO company. This due diligence can go a long way in helping you obtain maximum results.

1.Do they have an understanding of all of the following three tiers of Search Engine Optimization?

• Whether the structural flow of the site makes it easy for the search engines to crawl through and index the content.
• The use of on-page optimization techniques such as tags, keywords, etc.
• The use of off-page optimization that allows backlinks, authority links, etc.

An ideal SEO company deals with all these levels in a balanced manner for maximum SEO success.

2. Do they have a proven track record?

Oftentimes strategy doesn’t convert to real-world results. There are endless Search Engine Optimization tricks and tactics that are talked about, and new techniques get invented every now and then. It is one thing to boast about knowing all those proven strategies, but it’s an entirely different thing to apply the right ones for real-time results. Validate the knowledge and expertise of your chosen SEO company / consultant by asking for at least 3 references who can vouch for results.

SEO is really part technical, and part tactical. You need to make sure their marketing understanding is sound. Content has to be created in a way that highlights pain points, benefits and in general appeals to the needs of your target audience at the other end of the search engine. The specialist has to have a well-rounded understanding of marketing psychology, cultural influences of the brand, and the voice of the brand, as well as the technical aspects of SEO, like web analytics, design, etc. A short-sighted, one-dimensional approach to SEO will not go into creating a long-lasting brand.

3. Do they focus on conversions?

Are they focused on increasing conversions or achieving a certain rank in the search engine? This right here is the crucial difference between a great company and an average company. Choose a company that has better, more holistic goals for their clients and an understanding of the big picture.

4. Do they have prior experience in your industry?

It is a significant advantage to work with a SEO company that has prior experience in your industry/niche. They don’t have to specialize or be an expert in

the industry, but knowledge of what kind of content works best and access to the right tools to create your particular style of content is crucial to the longevity of your search engine positioning. Ideally they should have a network of resources that are relevant to the industry. Ask them for examples of any digital assets that they have created for clients in your industry.

5. Are they transparent about their methods?

Rand Fishkin, founder of Moz, insists on steering clear of SEO companies that keep you in the dark about the methods they use to achieve their ranking.

Make sure they provide a technical review of your site to identify problems, such as error pages and broken links, which can potentially lower your search engine rankings. They should ideally be able to provide both on-page optimization processes like improving the internal linking structures, tags, etc, as well as off-page optimization, including raising awareness of your content on social media platforms. Whatever SEO campaign goals you agree on, you should get an estimate of the time it will take to drive up the ranking.

The ideal Search Engine Optimization consultants are those who adhere to an efficient working process and who know how to work around challenges. This passion for execution is what will propel you towards real results in the timeframe you want.

Work with Fitz Designz to ensure your business is implementing top-notch SEO strategy for better brand visibility and enhancement. Find us on LinkedIn and Facebook. Subscribe to our blogs for the latest intel on cutting-edge SEO strategies.