From flat traffic to a website redesign, SEO specialists give your business the support and expertise it needs to turn search engine optimisation into traffic and revenue. Here is when and how to hire an SEO expert.
When to hire an SEO specialist
The three clearest signs that it is time to hire SEO experts are:
- Time: you or your team do not have time for SEO.
- Results: SEO is not bringing in the traffic and revenue you need.
- Resources: you lack the resources, whether skills or tools, to do SEO.
Other reasons to hire an SEO can include:
- Getting support for a critical business project, such as a website redesign
- Fixing sudden SEO problems, such as a drop in website traffic
- Covering for a team member who is away, for example on maternity leave.
Why hire an SEO expert?
Hiring an SEO expert brings several benefits, including:
- Better SEO performance
- A scalable SEO programme
- SEO that adapts to economic, industry or algorithm changes
- SEO work that is aligned with your other digital marketing activity
- More time for your day-to-day work.
You cannot do everything yourself when it comes to marketing your business. That is where specialists in areas such as SEO and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising can step in and help both you and the business.
These benefits also explain why you might hire an SEO company for your business.
What does an SEO expert do?
An SEO specialist, whether a consultant, freelancer, strategist or specialist, helps optimise websites for search engines. The work can cover all, some or one of these areas: on-page SEO, off-page SEO, technical SEO or content SEO.
Some SEO specialists come from a background in:
- Public relations
- Marketing
- Content marketing
- Web development.
During the hiring process you will learn more about each candidate's skills, background and SEO experience.
How to hire an SEO expert
Ready to bring in an SEO professional? Follow these steps:
1. Describe what you need
Use these questions to work out what you need from an SEO professional:
- How long do you expect to work on SEO?
- Which areas of SEO would the professional work on?
- Do you prefer a particular pricing model, such as hourly or monthly fees?
- How will you measure SEO performance?
If people in your network use in-house, contract or freelance SEOs, consider meeting them to hear how hiring went for them. They may also recommend someone.
2. Set your budget
Next, decide on your budget.
"Cheap" SEO offers are easy to find, and you should stay away from them. What counts as affordable SEO depends on both the results and the price. The old rule applies: "If a price looks too good to be true, it probably is".
3. Research your options
You can find SEO consultants or specialists in several places, including:
- Your professional network
- Job and freelance sites such as Upwork, Fiverr and SEOFOMO
- Social media such as LinkedIn and Facebook
- Review sites such as Clutch, G2 and UpCity.
You can also simply search Google for potential candidates.
4. Find your SEO expert
Now you can start looking at potential SEO experts to hire. Consider:
- Reviews
- Case studies
- Years in business
Many SEO consultants are active online, so you can also look at their public profiles (LinkedIn, for example) to learn about their SEO consulting services, their views on search engine optimisation, their approach and more.
5. Assess your options
Now go through your shortlist of SEO candidates. At this stage you could meet them and ask:
- Do you have experience in our industry?
- For this partnership to work, what would you need from my team on an ongoing basis?
- Can you provide references?
- How do you measure the success of an SEO strategy?
- Have you worked with our technology stack?
Signs of a good SEO specialist:
- Realistic expectations: avoid anyone who guarantees quick results, such as in 30 days. SEO takes time to work and a real professional will make that clear from the start.
- Full transparency: whoever you sign with should be open about their business model, prices, reporting frequency, tools, results and industry experience. If you struggle to get a clear answer to any of your questions, keep looking.
Depending on how the meeting goes, you can decide whether you are ready to go ahead.
Can you do SEO without an expert?
You can do SEO yourself, but it takes time to build your knowledge and keep it up to date.
Google updates its algorithm often, so you have to keep a constant eye on industry news. There are plenty of courses run by leading SEOs and SEO automations you can use, but you only become an SEO expert through steady practice.
If you do not have the time or resources for that, consider hiring an SEO company.
Solve your SEO problems with SEO experts
Good results need good people on your team.
Visilay's SEO service includes a full SEO audit and a complete plan for on-page, off-page and technical SEO. If you would like to work with our team, get in touch today.
