This content was originally published on AllBusiness.com.
The decision to hire an SEO strategist can be one of the smartest things a business owner can do to grow their online visibility and revenue. But when it comes to hiring an SEO provider, all businesses should have a careful vetting process to ensure they get the most qualified and reliable partner.
There are plenty of SEO strategists out there claiming to help your business while using outdated or non-Google compliant methods, so it’s important to be selective. Your business is more likely to thrive when you rely on professional SEO services that have proven their worth over time.
Before you hire an SEO provider, make sure you ask the right questions so you set your business up for SEO success. Any serious SEO agency or strategist will have concrete answers to the following questions.
7 questions to ask before you hire an SEO strategist
1. What specific SEO services do you provide?
SEO is multidisciplinary and includes a broad spectrum of techniques. The first question you should ask a potential SEO strategist is what specific services they provide.
Some SEO agencies or freelancers may have a specific area of expertise, while others will combine various techniques to provide a more comprehensive approach. Be aware of these different services and the ways they can benefit your business. A few examples include:
- On-page SEO—Content services that improve total keywords and ranking positions
- Link-building services—Offsite strategies that elevate overall site authority
- Technical SEO—Strategies for improving metadata, page experience, and the technical performance of your website
- Reputation management—Improving reputation signals on review platforms, social media websites, and Wikipedia pages
- Local SEO—Strategies targeted towards helping your small business rank for location-based searches for specific regions
Know your specific niche and ask your potential SEO provider what they specialize in before deciding whether you want to work with them.
2. Have you worked with businesses or clients in my industry?
Trying to compete in a niche industry can be tedious and challenging. Make sure you ask your potential SEO strategist if they have experience with past clients in the same industry as yours. Understanding search intent is essential to SEO success, so your SEO provider needs to have a nuanced understanding of your target audience and the types of keyword searches they rely on to find products or services like yours.
Google also has specific ranking factors for different industries. A B2B brand is going to have to meet different criteria than a healthcare company to rank in the top spots.
This means you’ll want your SEO provider to come up with a completely personalized SEO plan tailored to your specific industry. If your SEO provider has worked with other businesses like yours, you can rest assured that they can help you outrank competitors faster.
3. Are your SEO strategies Google compliant?
Not every SEO strategy is considered “white hat.” It’s important to be upfront with your potential SEO strategist and ask whether the techniques they deploy are high quality and Google compliant.
If your SEO provider uses black hat SEO techniques, Google may choose to penalize your website and prevent your web pages from ranking to perpetuity. Any website that appears to be using spammy or low-quality techniques is unlikely to rank well in Google search.
An SEO specialist should avoid these black-hat strategies:
- Keyword stuffing
- Comment spam
- Duplicate content
- Irrelevant anchor text
- Low-quality backlinks
- Niche edits
The reality is that black hat SEO providers are a lot cheaper than high-quality SEO services. Their strategies may work in the short term, but Google is always on the lookout for these types of tactics, and paying for the cheaper option will not pay off in the long run.
High-quality SEO providers may charge more, but the work they do is higher quality and drives SEO benefits for the long term.
4. How involved does my company need to be in the process?
Company owners and entrepreneurs have a lot on their plates. Choosing to outsource your SEO strategy means lightening the load and delegating multiple tasks out-of-house. That being said, when you’re hiring an SEO strategist, it’s important to communicate how involved (or uninvolved) your team wants to be in the process.
Check in with each SEO provider you consider to see how involved your team needs to be. Some SEO agencies charge more for things like keyword research or meta tag implementation. Your team might want to help in content strategy or you may want a hands-off approach where you simply receive periodic reviews of the strategies deployed.
You may be involved in:
- Regular meetings with your SEO specialist
- Keyword research or content strategy
- Ideation, editing, or publication of content
- Uploading new pages or metadata
- Reporting your own analytics
Most SEO agencies will want to have some contact with your team or access to your Google Search Console account. Discuss the level of involvement your business is comfortable with or expects so you can be prepared to dedicate the necessary time and resources.
5. How do you measure SEO success?
SEO success looks different to every brand. Some brands are hyper-focused on ranking for certain industry keywords, where others want to rank for related long-tail keywords that are less competitive. It’s important to be clear about what SEO success means to you so that your SEO provider can let you know whether that expectation is plausible or unrealistic.
SEO success can look like any number of things:
- More clicks and more converting traffic
- Improved total keyword rankings and impressions for relevant keywords
- Better CTRs (click-through rates) for new or existing pages
- Better PSI (PageSpeed Insights), Core Web Vitals, and mobile usability scores
- Successful growth in your SERP (search engine results page) average position
- Improved ROI for your digital marketing budget
It’s important to discuss your goals and how a potential SEO strategist will measure success over the short term and over time.
6. Do you have case studies or examples of proven SEO results?
Deciding to enter into a working partnership is no small decision. When hiring an SEO strategist, you need all the facts and information available to decide if that organization is right for you. Ask each SEO provider you’re considering for case studies and examples of their past results. This can help you get a clearer picture of what working with them will bring to your company.
Take this as an opportunity to also understand their efforts within your niche area. Explore the different techniques used and go in-depth to see how certain strategies played out over time.
If an SEO company is truly wooing you as a client, they’ll be happy to share past clients that are a point of pride for them. It can be a red flag if an SEO strategist doesn’t have any success stories to share.
7. What are your pricing options or do you require long-term contracts?
No one would ever enter into a business transaction without getting the facts about pricing and contracts. Once you’ve found the company you want to go with, it’s time to start talking numbers.
Ask for a pricing list for all the different services they provide. Chances are there will be packages for a complete SEO overhaul, or costs for individual deliverables, such as links or blog posts. With this information in hand, you can make a final decision if that company’s options are within your budget or worth the cost.
Many SEO contracts are based on deliverables which can impact the time required. If you are pursuing a managed campaign, you’re paying for an SEO specialist to help you with a number of different projects over time. But be wary of SEO strategists or agencies that require you to lock in for a year without having proven their value to your brand.
Hire the right SEO strategist by asking the right questions upfront
Overall, it’s important that you become a strong advocate for your business. Ask the right questions and make sure you’re on the right page with the final SEO strategist or company you choose.
Understanding the ins and outs of your new SEO plan upfront will help you find more success and lead to a more successful partnership.
