With so many companies, freelancers and consultants vying for your attention, it can be hard to discern the difference between the genuine professionals from the snake oil salesmen. Asking the right questions can help you choose an SEO who will be a good fit for your company’s goals and values. Here are some questions to get you started.
1. How do you measure success?
Asking about key performance indicators (KPIs) can reveal whether an SEO understands your business and can communicate clearly. A qualified SEO should be able to provide examples of how they’ve helped their clients meet and exceed their goals. They should also be able to explain how their work fits into the bigger picture of your marketing plan.
2. What is your process for ensuring content meets search engine requirements?
The best SEOs follow the Google Search Essentials guide and will ensure that every piece of content they produce follows its guidelines. This ensures that the site is well-organized, structured and easily crawled by search engines. If an SEO suggests a technique that’s outside the guidelines, be wary—it could be a red flag that they’re using unapproved techniques to boost your rankings.
3. How much time should I expect to see results?
It can take anywhere from four months to a year for an SEO to make significant changes to your site and rankings. Ask an SEO Your prospective SEO should be able to tell you what their expected timeline is, and what they can realistically achieve within that timeframe. They should also be able to provide you with a list of any changes they recommend making, and why those changes are necessary. If an SEO claims that they can give you first place rankings in a matter of weeks, you should consider looking elsewhere.
4. Have you worked with brands similar to mine?
A question like this can reveal a lot about an SEO’s experience level, subject matter expertise and their ability to adapt to your industry. It’s also a good way to find out how they’ve handled any challenges that have arisen in the past.
5. How do you keep up with changes in the SEO industry?
As search engines evolve, so too do the strategies that SEOs use to improve sites. It’s important that your prospective SEO keeps up with the latest developments, and is able to adapt their approach as needed.
A good SEO should be able to explain how they anticipate search engine algorithms changing in the future and how those changes might affect their clients’ websites. They should also be able to describe the types of research they conduct to stay on top of their game. This can include anything from researching competitor strategies to keeping an eye on emerging technologies that might have a impact on how they optimize sites. Be wary of SEOs who don’t seem to keep up with the industry.
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