Did you know six of 10 internet users click on one of the top three listings that result from their search engine queries?
When done correctly, search engine optimization (SEO) can help your business attract more prospective customers. Your company’s URL will come up near the top of search engine query results, which will be accessed by people who click on the top few results.
If your URL is at the bottom of the first page or on subsequent pages, the chances are good that people using search engines to find information won’t ever visit your site.
Unless you have someone on your staff with SEO skills, it pays to consider hiring one. Continue reading for a look at six things to look for in an SEO expert who can help you.
1. The Right SEO Expert Will Have Experience
Experience matters when it comes to effective SEO that leads to high-ranking search engine results. Someone with the requisite skill set will be able to check out your site and immediately know what strategies need to be developed and rolled out to attract more internet users to your website. There is no one-size-fits-all approach for SEO, so finding an experienced service provider will give you the desired results.
2. The Right SEO Expert Will Understand SEO In All its Forms
If you go out and hire an SEO professional, you’ll want to ensure the expert understands the three levels of effective SEO, namely, technical, off-page optimization, and on-page optimization. More about these three SEO levels follow:
I. Technical: This level refers to assessing the structure of your website to ascertain how simple or hard it is for search engines to comb over your site and index the content.
II. Off-Page Optimization: This refers to efforts taken outside of your business’ website to boost your search engine results pages (SERPs) rankings. Examples of off-page SEO include structured data and site speed optimization.
III. On-Page Optimization: This refers to measures taken directly on your company’s website to improve its search engine rankings. Examples include optimizing content with title tags, keywords, and meta descriptions.
3. The Right SEO Expert Will Have Good References
One of the best ways to determine if a service provider will meet your needs is to look at how they’ve helped other companies in the past. It’s in your best interests to find an SEO professional who can refer you to past clients who are satisfied with the results. Ask for current references. The world of SEO is constantly changing. So, best practices from a year or two ago may be outdated in the here and now. You’ll want to get feedback from businesses, preferably in your industry, that are recent customers. Reputation matters, so ensure you get references you can follow up on.
4. The Right SEO Expert Will Offer Other Services
Find an SEO expert who can help you with other service needs. For instance, you can find a service provider offering website design, email marketing, digital marketing, reputation management, Google Ads, and other related service options. Find an agency that can meet all your needs if you need an SEO expert but also need help with Long Island search engine marketing or video marketing services.
5. The Right SEO Expert Will Have Excellent Communication Skills
While it’s important to hire an SEO expert who is whip-smart, it’s also essential that the professional you hire be able to communicate effectively with non-experts. Not everyone can break things down in a way that the uninitiated can grasp clearly.
So, when you’re speaking to prospective candidates, ask lots of questions about what the process entails, what strategies will work for your company, and other things you want to know. If you’re unable to make sense of the answers, if the SEO expert talks at you rather than to you, or if you feel you’re getting the runaround, you’ll want to continue your search. It’s hard to work with someone if you’re both speaking different languages.
6. The Right SEO Expert Will Be Able to Fit Your Corporate Culture
Remember that the SEO expert you hire will need to be able to work with various departments in your company. And in interacting with people from these different departments, the SEO professional will have to grasp that every company has a way of doing things. So, it’s essential that the person you hire respects your corporate culture, understands how things are done at your company, and knows who to report to.
SEO is a must if your business has a website. And if your website doesn’t have an online storefront, getting one is essential in this digital era. But simply having a website isn’t enough with so many websites on the internet. You need to attract eyeballs.
Finding the right SEO expert to assist will help bring more traffic to your website, leading to more sales. Do your homework to make an informed decision for your business. It’ll be well worth it when internet users looking for products or services your company sells learn about your offerings and value proposition via their search engine queries.
