6 Questions to Ask When Hiring an SEO Expert
So, you’ve decided to invest in the health of your website, huh? Congratulations! This is a huge step toward online growth for your business. A personalized SEO strategy is one of the most tried and true ways to increase your website traffic and connect with the right kinds of leads: i.e. shoppers who are actually ready and able to become customers. While DIY SEO isn’t unheard of, it’s not particularly popular or effective. There are a lot of small, nuanced pieces to coordinate to bring the full picture together, which is why most businesses choose to partner with a third-party SEO strategist.
Just like hiring for any other role in your business, you want to be sure that the person you’re working with has the skills needed to do the job. But if you don’t really know what goes into an SEO strategy, you probably don’t know the right questions to ask when interviewing an SEO strategist. So, what questions should you ask to determine if the person you’re interviewing is an experienced and educated SEO expert, or just someone who knows their way around Google+? Let us make it easy for you. Here are the questions you need to ask to find an SEO partner for your business.
Question #1: What is your process?
A good answer:
An SEO expert should have no problem giving you a high-level overview of their implementation process. They should talk of the 3 aspects of SEO: technical SEO (crawling and indexing, schema markup, redirects, and site speed), on-page SEO (keyword optimization, image optimization, and content quality), and off-page SEO (link building, reviews, and citations). Their ongoing SEO process should vary per client, based on their needs. Ongoing SEO should be all about discovery, then acting accordingly.
A bad answer:
You don’t want to hear vagueness when discussing implementation. Beware if they are unable to give you a clear action plan. Beware of them leaving out one or more of the main aspects of SEO (technical, on-page, and off-page). For ongoing SEO, there’s no such thing as an effective cookie-cutter approach. No two companies are going to have the exact same long-term SEO needs.
Question #2: How do you stay on top of SEO trends?
A good answer:
SEO is always changing. When I say always changing, I mean an average of almost 9 updates a day! While most of these updates are very small, like UI changes or new features, there are several larger updates that are worth discussion and may change the way experts approach SEO. Any SEO expert you hire should be continuously learning about Google’s algorithm updates and reading opinions of industry experts, like Moz, Search Engine Land, Search Engine Journal, SEMRush, and Google Webmaster Central Blog.
A bad answer:
The worst answer here would be they don’t actively keep up with SEO trends. Beware of someone who can’t name a reputable SEO news source, or someone who relies on print/ published books for their info, as they are not going to have the latest information in up-to-the-minute SEO trends.
Question #3: When will I see results?
A good answer:
No one has complete control of how websites are going to be served in the results page. SEO strategists can only influence the results using best practices determined by experts who have evaluated and tested Google’s algorithm updates. For this reason, a timeline for results cannot be guaranteed. With that said, depending on your niche and competition, it typically takes 3 to 12 months to see significant growth.
A bad answer:
Anyone who guarantees immediate results is likely using black-hat SEO techniques. Black-hat SEO is a set of techniques that violate Google’s terms and conditions. These techniques result in higher traffic quickly, but will ultimately hurt your website health and may even result in a penalty from Google, which are very difficult, but not impossible, to recover from.
Question #4: How do you measure success? / What are your KPIs?
A good answer:
The best answer to this question is for the question to be turned around back to you. An SEO expert should work with you to determine your business goals, and therefore your SEO KPIs. These KPIs may include organic traffic, keyword ranking, website leads, click-through-rate, bounce rate, and site health.
A bad answer:
A bad answer would be an SEO expert telling you their KPIs without considering your unique business goals. This goes back to avoiding cookie-cutter strategies, as one-size-fits-all is almost never the best fit for anyone.
Question #5: What do you need from me?
A good answer:
An SEO expert will have many questions for you to determine how to build your SEO strategy. They should have an extensive questionnaire. They will need you to give them access to your website for editing purposes, as well as access to any tracking accounts you already have setup (Google Analytics and Google Search Console). They should also request access to your Google My Business listing for optimization purposes. They should have questions and action items for you during both the implementation and ongoing SEO processes.
A bad answer:
“Nothing, we’ve got it from here!” To build a solid SEO strategy, an SEO expert needs background info that only the business owner can provide. Beware of any so-called “strategists” offering services that are completely hands-off.
Question #6: For ongoing SEO, how will you report progress?
A good answer:
This can vary from expert to expert. The reason for asking this question is to know what to expect. Will you have a phone call once a week, or will you receive a report every month? What will be included in a report? Can you show me an example of a report and explain it to me? Make sure their reporting techniques align with your expectations.
A bad answer:
Beware of anyone who has no clear reporting method, or they’re unable to provide an example of a report. You may even have your current reporting system ready for them to view, and you can ask them to explain the reports to you.
Honey + Hare is Here for Your SEO Needs
With these six questions and the answers that follow, you should have a clear image of the type of SEO expert you are interviewing. If you’d like to discuss options with an SEO Strategist at Honey + Hare, contact us today. We’re here to answer your questions!