There are way too many SEO experts on the internet that claim they can rank your website on the first page of Google SERPs, but very few can actually keep their promises. People who don’t know how SEO works usually fall into their trap without knowing that it’s not about ranking but ranking for the right keywords and then maintaining that position is a big challenge in itself.
You might have hired an SEO expert for your job with a reference, but that’s not enough. You won’t know if you invested in the right place until a few months, and by that time you might not even see that SEO professional. It takes a few months before you can see rankings, and most incompetent professionals take their money and become invisible by then.
They might say that they will build this number of backlinks and make your site responsive, but you wouldn’t know the quality of backlinks and if there is room for improvement in the technical SEO of your website. This is why you have to be careful the first time. Here is what you should know to make sure the SEO expert you are hiring is actually competent.
Critical Thinking is Crucial
SEO is not as simple as most people think. Just writing content and building links is not all to it. You have to create plans based on strategies that are based on research, data, and experience. You can’t build a good strategy without the ability to think critically.
If you see that an SEO expert is not sharp, you shouldn’t opt for his services no matter how many big words he uses. It’s not simple labor that anyone can do with the right physique. This job requires one to have research and thinking capability that focuses on outranking tough competitors.
Check His Portfolio
You should not hire someone who claims to be experienced but doesn’t have a portfolio. This simply means that he lacks the experience to do any SEO job. If it’s first or one of the first jobs, he will only be learning at your expense. No business can take such a risk. New professionals have to work as assistants or internees with senior professionals before they can take on a full project.
You don’t necessarily have to take the services of a freelancer. You can also take the help of a company like Globex Outreach. They usually have more market experience and a powerful portfolio to show their work. Most of the time, they also don’t charge you any more than a freelancer and offer competent affordable link-building services with a complete package.
Ask for Relevant Experience
Just SEO experience is good but not the best. You should look for someone who has relevant experience in your niche. If you are selling online shoes, you should hire someone who has done SEO for a fashion or clothing site before you. If he has done such a work, he should have proof to show it. Don’t just trust their word for it.
Many SEO experts don’t really create and execute the entire project but only build links for a fixed price. This doesn’t make them capable of leading your SEO work. They worked as an assistant for work that didn’t really require them to take responsibility. Make sure you ask all the right questions instead of throwing away your project.
Read His Reviews
A professional must have used an online platform to get work before you. Whether it was through a website of his own or a freelancing website like UpWork, they should have gotten some reviews. If it was on a freelancing site, this wouldn’t be a problem to find feedback on his work. Looking for reviews on other platforms can be a bit of a hassle if that SEO expert doesn’t have much experience.
You should not believe the reviews he shared on his own website. They can easily fabricate them. You should look for Google Reviews. A professional freelancer or agency would have registered with Google My Business. If they have and they have done work in the past, some clients would surely have left reviews. Most professionals request their clients to give them online feedback when they do a good job.
Should be Up to Date with Trends
SEO keeps changing. You can’t study one course and become an expert. A professional needs experience and must stay up to date with all the updates and trends. Search engines update every day and major updates are released every few months.
You should know what the latest update is and ask the professional about it before you hire him. It will give you an idea of how competent they are. Without the knowledge of the latest search engine updates, he won’t be able to provide a proper service.
Programming Skills for Site Maintenance
It’s also the job of an SEO professional to make sure the site is responsive and user-friendly. Even if he doesn’t do it himself, he should have the basic knowledge and skill of programming to get it done by someone else.
They can’t judge if the other person did his job correctly or what they need to do if they don’t know how to do coding. They don’t have to be full-stack developers to do it. Just basic HTML, CSS, and WordPress should be more than enough.
Must Know the Right Use of Data
Data is the gold of the twenty-first century and the internet provides a great opportunity to businesses to collect user data and make informed decisions based on it. An SEO expert should know how to collect and analyze data to devise data-driven powerful strategies that won’t waste your money.
You should understand how data science works for online businesses and look for someone who has experience with it. If they are running a full SEO campaign, it’s important to have the skills for data analysis.
The Search Engine Cage team is on a mission to educate entrepreneurs. We make things easier for the small business owner, by writing articles that help them to understand SEO and Digital Marketing.
