How to Choose an SEO Expert

Were you aware that Google uses approximately 200 elements for ranking websites? Knowing this, ranking your website that high on Google might seem almost impossible. But, an SEO expert can help. 

Search Engine Optimization is a marketing strategy that enables websites to appear in search results, driving more traffic and boosting visibility. This is why businesses must find a skilled digital marketer who can keep up with these changes. 

When choosing an SEO expert, it’s important to know what skills you should look for when vetting potential candidates. Keep reading to discover how to hire the right SEO expert for your business. 

Marketing Skills

When it comes to business, marketing is the lifeblood of any organization. In fact, marketing is the only lifeline of a company that’s not directly tied to the product or service it sells. 

If there’s one thing every SEO expert must have, it’s marketing skills. What does this mean? 

First, if you are looking into hiring an SEO agency, you must hire one with marketing skills beyond just SEO. SEO is a huge part of digital marketing, so hiring an SEO consultant with only SEO skills is a must. 

However, SEO is only one part of marketing. But what does marketing entail? Marketing is about:

  • reaching out to your ideal customers
  • informing them about your products or services
  • making them aware of how you can solve their problems.
  • building relationships with your customers and ensuring that you retain their loyalty

A good SEO expert will know exactly how to do these things. These factors are what contribute to a business’s success. 

Digital Marketing Skills

As we’ve already discussed, marketing is a crucial part of a business. However, it is also a crucial part of digital marketing. Digital marketing is the process of promoting your products or services online. It’s also a great way to reach people who are not necessarily in your area or who may not have even heard of your business. 

As the name suggests, digital marketing takes place primarily online using different digital channels such as websites, social media, blogs, email campaigns, video content, and more. Hiring an SEO expert with digital marketing skills is the way to go. You can expect your SEO expert to have a thorough understanding of how to drive traffic through digital channels and how to get that traffic to convert.

Technical Skills

While marketing skills are crucial, not all businesses are tech-savvy and may not understand the technical aspects of SEO. An SEO consultant with technical skills understands the importance of a strong technical strategy, which includes on-site optimization and off-site factors like links, citations, and anchor text. 

An SEO pro with technical skills can work closely with your IT department to ensure that your website is optimized correctly and that the foundation of your website is strong. Technical skills also include knowledge of current SEO trends and advancements in the industry. Your SEO pro must be up-to-date with SEO best practices, algorithm changes, and other factors affecting your website’s SEO.

Research Skills

The research phase of any SEO campaign is crucial. During the research phase, your SEO pro will analyze your website and its current SEO situation, looking for ways to improve your SEO and finding potential areas of improvement. 

Your SEO expert should be able to sift through your website and find the necessary fixes and improvements. An SEO pro with strong research skills can find the required solutions for your website and create a customized SEO plan to help you achieve optimal results. 

An SEO expert with solid research skills can also help you avoid expensive and time-consuming mistakes. With thorough research, your SEO pro can find out what works and what doesn’t work when it comes to SEO and avoid costly mistakes like keyword stuffing, over-optimization, and other errors that can damage your website.

HTML Certification and Website Architecture Know-How

Hypertext Markup Language, or also known as HTML, is the code that creates the structure of your website. A website’s architecture and layout are crucial for optimizing your website, getting more traffic, and converting that traffic into customers. 

An SEO pro with strong website architecture and HTML knowledge can help you create a website that is optimized for search engines and visitors. A website that is properly optimized and built with SEO best practices in mind will naturally rank higher in search engines, eventually driving more traffic to your website. 

An SEO expert with strong website architecture and HTML knowledge can help you create a website that is optimized for search engines and will rank higher in the SERPs. A good example of SEO experts with excellent HTML knowledge is Harris + Ward

What Else to Look for in an SEO Expert

Now that you know what makes up an ideal SEO expert, you must decide how you will go about hiring one. You have two options: hiring an in-house SEO expert or an external consultant. 

An in-house SEO expert can be great for small businesses, but hiring an external SEO consultant is usually the way to go for larger companies. While an in-house SEO expert will likely be more affordable, an external consultant can be more flexible with their time and provide more in-depth services. 

Find The Right SEO Expert For Your Business With These Tips

When it comes to business, hiring an SEO expert is crucial, as it will help you achieve higher rankings, more traffic, and more conversions. However, not all SEO experts are created equal, and it is important to find the right one. By following the suggestions listed in this article, you will be able to hire the best SEO expert for your business.