Hiring an SEO Expert? Here are 10 Must-Ask Questions for a Successful Hire

Are you looking to hire an SEO expert to help you improve your online presence?

Hiring an SEO expert can be overwhelming, especially if you still need to determine what you want to achieve with SEO. Understanding your SEO objectives can help you align yourself with the right expert to achieve your goals.

But how will you know if the “expert” is an “expert”?

In this blog, I will provide you with the essential questions to ask when hiring an SEO specialist so that you can make sure you are recruiting the most qualified professional for the job. I will also discuss the different types and levels of SEO experts and how to review their qualifications.

But first, who are SEO experts?

An SEO expert has extensive knowledge in optimizing websites for search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing. They use content creation, keyword research, web analysis, and link-building tactics. Which ultimately helps businesses increase their rankings online across organic searches.

SEO experts typically have experience in multiple areas, such as copywriting strategy, development analytics, programming and coding, HTML structuring, XML sitemaps, onsite optimization, and internal linking structures.

When looking into hiring an SEO consultant, there are a few things that you should be aware of first; the main one being to understand which type or level of SEO specialist you need and know approximately how much this will cost your business.

Generally, there are three levels of SEO specialists:

1. Entry-level specialists usually focus on administrative duties for setting up campaigns.

2. Mid-tier specialists, working mainly to manage campaigns through optimization techniques.

3. Strategists/Senior consultants, advanced long-term consultancy roles focusing on developing roadmaps and helping clients navigate complex customer journeys.

As far as costs go, price usually dictates quality. Lower pricing typically results in lower quality or, even worse, future liabilities. Opting for more experienced advisors who understand best practices, toolsets, and approaches will help achieve promising results.

For example, if a basic package starts at $350 monthly, mid-tier monthly packages can hover near $1000. In contrast, strategist contracts might quickly soar into five figures depending upon scope requirements.

Now, let’s dive into the list of 11 questions you need to ask to ask upon hiring an SEO expert:

1. Can you share your past work with us?

A proper SEO professional will be open to sharing his past work and providing case studies.

As a business looking to partner with an agency, you must have insights into the type of work the potential agency has performed.

What is your approach to improving the company’s search engine rankings?

SEO consultants should share their SEO plan in detail, which includes techniques and strategies to improve your website’s search engine visibility.

They should also provide precise key performance indicators - KIPs- to demonstrate the progress of your SEO campaign.

Typically they would run a website audit which details your website’s current SEO standing and help draw a road map for optimizing your website for search engines. The audit will focus on three key areas; on-page SEO, off-page SEO, and technical SEO.

2. What is your approach to improving the company’s search engine rankings?

SEO consultants should share their SEO plan in detail, which includes techniques and strategies to improve your website’s search engine visibility.

They should also provide precise key performance indicators - KIPs- to demonstrate the progress of your SEO campaign.

3. How do you approach keyword research?

Keyword research is a process conducted at the beginning of every SEO project. Typically you will continue to run keyword research throughout your SEO project; after all, SEO is a process, not a one-time task.

SEO experts must demonstrate an exceptional understanding of the different keywords and keywords-intents. And devise a content strategy to answer the audiences’ concerns while considering the buyers’ journey into their process to help drive the audience down the sales funnel.

4. How will you modify the strategy for our company’s needs?

When it comes to SEO, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. SEO consultants should be able to tailor a strategy that serves your industry, business goals, and marketing objectives. For instance, an SEO campaign for a small lighting company will have a different approach and strategy than a multinational corporation.

It is beneficial for you to have your SEO expert speak the language of your business and be able to illustrate how they would tailor a strategy that would serve your business’s specific needs.

5. How do you measure the success of an SEO campaign?

Understanding the key performance indicators -KPIs- for SEO is crucial to SEO campaigns. SEO experts use specific analytics tools, such as SEMrush, MOZ, and Ahref, to extract data related to campaign performance.

SEO consultants define KPIs at the early stages of SEO projects and the metrics to demonstrate the campaign’s overall performance. An experienced SEO consultant will not initiate the SEO project without defining KPIs and metrics.

6. Do you follow search engine’s webmaster guidelines?

Google tends to heavily penalize websites that do not abide by their guidelines, negatively impacting SEO progress. Make sure that your potential SEO consultant follows those guidelines.

Some SEO agencies adopt unethical practices to expedite the results of their efforts. Rest assured that unethical practices will hurt your business more than benefit it. Make sure to understand those guidelines yourself and make sure that your SEO consultant follows them.

7. Can you guarantee the #1 ranking for my website on google, bing, and yahoo?

No SEO professional will guarantee the #1 position on Google, Yahoo, or Bing. If they give you any guarantees, take it as a red flag and walk away.

Search engines focus on providing users with the best experience by bringing them the most relative content that answers their queries. This process uses specific algorithms that are constantly changing and updated. SEO professionals have no control or authority over those algorithms. So they simply can not guarantee high rankings.

8. Are you experienced with local search results?

Local search results are essential, especially for businesses with a physical location. Optimizing your local search results will make your business appear when someone near your company searches for your products and services.

An SEO expert should include local search in your SEO strategy from the get-go and include your geographical information to be an essential part of your SEO campaign.

9. How will we communicate, and how often?

Communication is critical and the most vital part of every project; it is no different in SEO.

SEO progress takes time, and the consistency of communication should match that of the progress to help make decisions promptly.

Deciding on the method of communication and reporting beforehand will smooth out the delivery of information and help make the right decisions when needed.

SEO consultants typically have their preferences regarding communication; feel free to communicate your preferences from the start.

10. What happens when we terminate the contract?

Discussing the possibilities of contract termination needs to be addressed by both parties. Your SEO needs and objectives will evolve. You will want to consider that SEO evolution because it will involve moving the project in-house or expanding the SEO team.

Whatever the situation, you should keep all optimized digital assets, including content and images and make sure that the SEO consultant will not remove, change, or alter any of their work before handing over the project.

Including termination clauses and fees in your contract is necessary to avoid future conflict and legal issues.

To sum up, doing your due diligence before making any decisions is essential. SEO is a long-term process, and you will want to bind yourself with an SEO consultant who puts your business’s needs at heart.

Think about it this way; you can build your marketing campaign solely on SEO and attract organic clients. Although there may be better ways to go, the point is that SEO is a serious endeavour and should not be taken lightly. Take your time to conduct your due diligence thoroughly.