June 30, 2017
With the online market expanding at an unrivalled rate and competition for placing in search engines at an all-time high, it is vital that your company’s website has an online presence – SEO really is more important than ever.
Millions of people use search engines every day, looking for answers to their questions or solutions to their problems. In terms of customer exposure, getting yourself ranked among the top results in a search engine could be the difference between success and failure.
If SEO is nothing more than technological jargon to you, then finding someone to help with this side of the business can be crucial.
Here are some essential tips on finding the best SEO consultant to ensure that you beat the competition and reach your intended audience.
1. What Matters to You?
Whether it be a content genius, a technical whizz, or someone who is experienced with social media, it is vital that you work out what kind of SEO consultant you want.
While many prospective consultants will have experience in all of the aforementioned criteria, these can often be expensive choices. For example, if you know that your content is generally sound but your social media presence is below par, look for someone who has experience in the latter.
These early choices could determine the quality of consultancy you receive.
2. Search Your Own Network
Finding an SEO consultant with experience in your industry field can be a real coup. They will be familiar with competitors and will have prior knowledge of what it takes to impact your search engine rankings.
Make use of your social media networks like LinkedIn and Twitter to find your ideal consultant; perhaps that connection with a long-lost former colleague will have been worthwhile.
3. Use Online Marketing Communities
If you fail to find someone appropriate within your network, try heading to a major marketing community online. These forums will help with recommendations of legitimate, trustworthy SEO consultants, while also offering advice on pricing, technical questions and more.
4. Individual or Company?
There are positives and negatives to working with an individual, freelance SEO consultant. The same can be said for working with a consultancy firm.
An individual will likely be much cheaper to hire and more flexible, both in terms of working hours and your direct input. However, working with a consultancy firm will likely offer a more comprehensive improvement to your SEO, as they will likely have technical, content and social media experts working together.
The decision on who to choose entirely depends on your circumstance. However, if finance is the priority, an independent consultant may be a more prudent choice.
5. Ask Questions
Even if you are SEO illiterate, you must ensure that the consultant you hire knows exactly what you expect from them. Ask them for a detailed strategic process about how they plan to improve your SEO, ensure that they are providing daily feedback of their work and quiz them on their past clients.
Some consultants will claim that they are able to get you to the “very top” of Google or Yahoo! This could either be unappealing arrogance or a serious red flag. Consultants have been known to use “Black Hat” tactics. This underhand way of SEO works in the short term but will usually be discovered by the search engines and your website would subsequently be de-indexed or removed.
Consultants who are honest and explain that optimization will not produce results immediately are far more trustworthy and are likely to be abiding by standard SEO practices.
If you’re looking for an SEO consultant then please feel free to contact us to have a quick chat about your project – 01242 898401
