A skilled SEO consultant will quickly discover problems that harm your website’s performance in search results and they’ll know how to fix them. An expert SEO consultant will also be able to discover opportunities to improve your website’s performance in search results. This article will teach you some of the things that a skilled and knowledgeable SEO consultant will discuss with you.
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SEO is a mostly data-driven process. A skilled SEO expert knows this and will begin work by performing a thorough analysis of your website. That analysis will discover problems and opportunities that a consultant can address to improve your website’s performance. An expert know more than just technical SEO. They will be able to discuss with you how well your site is positioned to bring in new visitors in your market niche.
When interviewing an SEO consultant, here are some of the things that a prospective consultant should discuss with you.
Your Website’s Technical SEO Configuration
A website’s technical SEO configuration mostly affects how search engines see your website. If properly configured, technical SEO can enhance how your website appears in search results and cause it to rank well in search. Poorly done, technical SEO can cause your website to rank poorly or not at all. A knowledgeable SEO consultant should be prepared to discuss your website’s technical SEO configuration with you.
Website Content and SEO
The written content and the images on a website both affect how well the site performs in search. A prospective consultant should discuss with you about how well your content is presented on the page. They will understand how heading tags affect how search engines learn about the content on your site. Lastly, they’ll know about what keywords are used on your website, and how well those keywords are optimized to appear in search results.
Technical Errors
Problems such as crawl errors can cause your website to rank poorly or not at all. A knowledgeable SEO consultant will be able to find technical errors on your site and they’ll discuss those errors with you, and how they affect your website’s performance. A prospective consultant will be prepared to discuss with you how to fix those mistakes.
SEO Sitemaps
A sitemap makes it easy for search engines to find and identify the important pages on your website that you want to rank well in search. A skilled consultant will be able to find out if your website has properly configured sitemaps. If it doesn’t, a skilled consultant will be able to discuss with you what needs to be done to fix those problems.
Bad practices and best practices
Bad practices such as keyword stuffing and plagiarism can cause search engines to penalize your website. A knowledgeable expert will find any problems that could cause your website to be penalized. They’ll be able to discuss with you what must be done to fix those problems and implement SEO best practices.
Core Web Vitals
Things such as how fast pages on your website load and whether or not words and images jump around while a page is loading have a major impact on how well your website ranks in search results. They also can affect whether a visitor chooses to remain on your website, or if they choose to leave and go to one of your competitors. These important factors are called Core Web Vitals. A skilled SEO consultant will be able to analyze how well your website performs for Core Web Vitals and they will be able to discuss with you what needs to be done to fix any problems.
Page experience
Search engines can analyze the visitor’s experience on your website. If your site appears to perform poorly, that will have a negative affect on your website’s performance in search. This is true for the user experience on both desktop and mobile versions of your website. A knowledgeable SEO consultant will be able to analyze your site’s user experience and will discuss with you any problems or opportunities.
Structured data
When properly configured, structured data enhances how well your website appears in search results. Structured data can provide bolder, more visible search listings and make your products and services easier to find. If not properly configured, your website will lose visibility that your competitors may be taking advantage of. An expert SEO consultant will be able to spot both problems and opportunities in your structured data and discuss them with you. When properly implemented, structured data will really make your website stand out from the competition in search results.
Security
Is your website properly configured to use secure http markup? If not, prospective visitors will be shown a warning that your website is not secure. The warning will say that your website makes the visitor vulnerable to hackers. Some security problems can cause search engines to not show your website in search results at all. An expert consultant will be able to spot any security flaws on your website and discuss how to fix them.
Redirects
A redirect tells search engines that a page a user is looking for is located on another part of your website. When properly used, redirects are very helpful to your website’s visitors and to search engines. But problems like redirect chains and loops have a negative impact on your site’s performance. A knowledgeable SEO consultant will be able to analyze redirects on your website and advise you if there are errors that need to be fixed.
Javascript and CSS
Javascript adds valuable functionality to a website. But if it isn’t properly configured, Javascript can slow your website down, or create security vulnerabilities that could make your business vulnerable to hackers. CSS tells web browsers how your website should look to visitors and can enhance your site’s user experience. But if improperly configured, CSS can cause pages on your site to load slowly, and that will negatively affect how well your site performs in search. An expert SEO consultant will analyze your site’s Javascript and CSS, and advise you on fixing any problems found.
Off Site SEO: Backlinks
When another website or a social media platform such as Facebook links to your website that link is called a backlink. Think of backlinks as upvotes, they tell search engines how popular your site is. If you have lots of good backlinks, that will improve how well your site performs in search. But if you have bad backlinks, your website can be severely penalized. Skilled SEO consultants will know how to spot and disavow bad backlinks and can often help you build good backlinks to your website.
Other things you should know about finding an SEO consultant
As you may already know, there’s a right way to do SEO and a lazy way. The latter can result in significant ranking drops and penalties that could have long-lasting effects. If you’re hiring a consultant, it’s important to verify that they’re experts in the field and aren’t taking on a project that’s out of their scope. The easiest way to gauge this is to discuss the points we’ve outlined above. Ask questions that pertain to your vision and goals. See how well they align with them based on how they reply. You can even go into specifics like what strategies they plan to implement based on their initial audit of your website. The length of time each phase takes to complete. Plus whether they’re willing to share visual case studies from previous clients in the same, or similar, industry you’re in.
Do an SEO Audit of Their Website
One way of vetting a potential consultant is doing a quick SEO audit of the consultant’s website – if applicable. Here is a free tool that gives you an overview of the website’s health, optimization score, and more. https://www.seoptimer.com/. If their website performs poorly, it’s unlikely that they’ll be able to help you with your site.
Avoid ‘Cheap’ SEO Services and Packages
As a business owner, managing your budget in a cost-efficient manner has a direct impact on your success and potential to grow. When you’re looking to hire an SEO professional, never settle for cheap, short-term solutions. Poorly done SEO will negatively affect your site’s performance in search.
Conversely, there are no guarantees that you will get the results you’re looking for and your success is dependent on the level of skill and knowledge your prospective expert brings to the table. This is why the vetting process is so crucial. A professional SEO consultant with an extensive level of experience will likely charge you a competitive rate based on market price.
When it comes to services rendered, the price will vary based on your needs, your marketing strategy, and the industry you operate in.
Temper Your Expectations
Experienced SEO consultants who have been in the industry for a long time will never promise search engine rankings. This is because it’s impossible to determine the time period of when a page will rank and how well it will perform. Rather, a great consultant will promise deliverables, detailed reports that convey important metrics, and provide complete transparency throughout the process.
Moreover, it’s also important to remember that a high Google ranking is not the primary indicator of success. Don’t make it your one-and-only metric. Your overall goals of what you initially strategize with the consultant and overall return on investment should also be considered.
If you rank number one for a keyword that has little to no volume of search traffic, the chances of your leads skyrocketing are slim. Targeted traffic is key here along with customer intent. You want to build more awareness for your business while generating new leads that can convert. Being on the first page means nothing if the targeted keyword has little to do with the product or services you offer.
Need an SEO Consultant? Centaur Consulting Group Can Help
The time and investment required to hire an SEO expert can be stressful. You have many considerations to keep in mind and a lot of research to do. But putting in the hard work ensures that you’re partnering with someone who can deliver real results.
Great SEO comes with various long-term benefits that can increase your overall revenue. To succeed, you need an SEO consultant that integrates seamlessly into your business. and helps you achieve realistic business goals.
This is where Centaur Consulting Group can help. Our full-service digital marketing agency offers SEO services tailored to your needs. Our holistic marketing approach has helped us build strong partnerships with businesses of all sizes. We helped them improve their brand awareness and organic search performance. To book a free consultation, click on the link here.
