When paying for a service, everybody expects to receive a certain amount of effort and benefit in exchange. While this can be more easily measured when dealing with tangible products, things are a bit trickier in the service sector. From false promises to outright grifters, you take a gamble each time you solicit somebody for digital services.
Search engine optimization is a tough industry with respect to ensuring a top-rate service is provided. Due to the fact that even modest improvements in SEO outcomes can take months to show up, how can you be for sure that the person you hired is legitimate? Today, we’ll talk about the kinds of questions you should ask and what you should expect from any reputable SEO consultant.
Realistic Results
Above all else, any credible SEO consultant will not mislead you or make promises that he or she cannot keep. The nature of search engine optimization is such that true results take quite a while to be realized; anybody who is promising massive gains in a period of days or weeks simply cannot be trusted in the vast majority of cases.
As an example, let’s say you’re a phlebotomist. You may have been advised to create a blog on your site which details industry news, information about your company, and even information on where others can find the best phlebotomy training. Your SEO consultant has likely also done some off-page SEO to boost your page ranking. While all this is good, it won’t boost you to the top of the search engines overnight. If an SEO consultant promises this, it’s best to find someone else.
Transparency
SEO consultants deal with a myriad number of technical concerns, analytic data and other sorts of minutiae that the average person doesn’t understand. A good consultant, however, will take their time to explain in basic terms what they are doing, how they intend to do it, and what results can be expected over time.
Professional consultants will go above and beyond the call of duty in helping their clients understand what SEO strategies are being utilized. From explaining marketing concepts via video to arranging for personal one-on-one conversations, everything done by the SEO consultant should be something he or she can explain to you when asked.
All too often, fly-by-night consultants rely on clients not asking many questions: don’t fall into this situation.
Goals
What exactly are you wanting to accomplish by improving your SEO outcomes? While you may personally not be sophisticated in the art of search engine optimization, your consultant should understand how to translate goals into actionable items.
It is incumbent upon you to first determine what you’d like to see happen with a long-term SEO strategy. Are you wanting to increase traffic? Rank higher in select SERPs? Whatever the motivation, a proper SEO consultant will be able to convert these desires into tasks that can be achieved – and ultimately will share that information and those findings with you.
Sometimes, people set their expectations way too high with respect to SEO outcomes. It takes plenty of time and dedication – plus somebody who knows what they are doing. Your best bet is to evaluate carefully any and all consultants with whom you discuss plans before you agree to anything. Several basic characteristics of how these individuals operate (transparency, availability, production of goals and a realistic outlook) will help improve your chances of making a solid choice.
