Hiring an SEO consultant can sometimes be daunting, especially if you don’t know much about SEO. If you’re not sure if a consultant is really going to be able to help you, there are a few questions you should ask before hiring them. This blog post will tell you what you should ask SEO consultants and how to approach them if you search for an SEO consultant to do work for your business.
1) What’s the SEO consulting company’s track record like?
You should ask for proof of their past successes with the SEO work they have done. A good company will have lots of photos and case studies showing its successes.
If you don’t get any solid evidence that they’ve had successful SEO projects in the past, how can you predict that your business is going to be a success?
At the end of the day, it’s all about results. If you get a consultant who can’t show you real evidence of their past work, then they won’t be able to give you real evidence of their future work.
Ask to interview some of the companies who have used them in the past.
If this isn’t possible, try to find out what their work was like and how they got results. If there aren’t any results, it’s probably not going to help your business.
2) How much do you charge for SEO?
Good SEO companies will charge a low price for their services as they know that you’ll have to pay them again and again.
If you hire them without paying any money upfront, then you’ll never get any results as there’s no incentive to work hard.
If you have a budget, try to negotiate with the consultant so that they will be more accommodating and set realistic goals with you.
Swallow your pride and think of this as an investment in your business’ future so that it can grow bigger than ever before.
Try to get a consultant that charges less than average and by doing so will create a long-lasting relationship, but it’s always best to check out their track records first.
3) How long will it take for my website SEO to be improved?
You should have a clear vision of what you want your website to look like in the end. So, make sure your SEO company has this vision as well. This makes sure they would know what steps they need to take so that your business reaches its full potential.
SEO does not happen overnight and if you are promised instant results you should be very wary. You should be aiming for a realistic time period of six months and no less. If you are being promised results quicker than this, you need to ask yourself why it’s so quick. If it’s a guaranteed instant result then there is most likely an element of black hat involved.
4) What keyword research have you done for our industry?
You need to find out what keywords your competitors are ranking for and what keywords the people who want your product or service would search for.
You can find this information out by using the Google keyword tool, which is free. If the company you use doesn’t know how to use this tool then they probably won’t be able to help you much.
5) What kind of results do I get with SEO?
Good SEO companies will give you an ROI (Return on Investment) for your money. The SEO company should be able to model out the potential results and provide a breakdown of how much you can expect to gain in sales over a period of time.
It’s always important to know what you are investing in so that if you don’t get that ROI then you know where to look for the problem and be able to resolve it.
6) Do you use black hat SEO techniques?
Watch how they answer this question as black hat tactics are VERY bad SEO tactics that may at first drive fast results but in the end, seriously damage your reputation.
Why risk it?
Most good SEO companies will use a mix of techniques, so it’s important to find out what techniques they use, so you know what to watch out for.
Black hat SEO tactics are mainly getting links from people who don’t own the site or blog and are using pay-per-click methods. Pay-per-Click is not allowed by Google and is often the first sign that a company has no experience in SEO and isn’t really professional.
7) Can you do link building for me?
Link building is a very important part of SEO, and it’s integral to have links pointing to your website. The good news is that Google loves links (they are the main way Google figures out if your page is worthy of ranking well) as long as they don’t come from dodgy sources like PPC or “link farms”.
Outreach programs and natural link building is what you should be looking to get so ask them how they will do that. If you don’t like the answers then move on as this is another great way to get links pointing back to your website.
8) Can I cancel our contract if I do not see SEO results?
If you are not seeing results having the peace of mind that you can cancel it, especially for such a small investment is good.
However, if the consultant is of high reputation then it may not be an issue.
9) Do you guarantee SEO results?
It is very common that SEO consultants will guarantee results. But before you sign a contract, make sure you understand what their guarantee entails and what the possible scenarios are.
In some cases, they may promise to boost your rankings quickly, while in other cases they may promise more modest results such as
Remember, whichever the case, if you do not get what you signed up for, it is your responsibility to find another consultant without any expectations.
This also applies if the consultant has been dishonest or even just incompetent.
Conclusion
Find a reputable company that will give you all of the answers listed above, and is a good fit for your business. Many reputable SEO companies are excellent at working with startups because that’s what they do every day.
These are just some of the things to think about when selecting the right agency for your company. We hope this helps you find a great fit!
If you’re thinking about doing SEO yourself or want to learn more about SEO. Check our SEO content writing guide.
