Considering SEO for your business can be confusing, because it’s not one size fits all. Many business owners make the mistake of thinking it’s a case of “doing SEO” without thinking about how, or even if, it will benefit them. This post will go over some key questions and steps to take to ensure that hiring an SEO expert is the right choice.

Is SEO right for you?

7 Points to Consider Before Hiring an SEO Expert.

1. How do customers or potential customers find your business? Do they find you on Google or other search engines? How about TikTok or Instagram? SEO is beneficial for most businesses and brand awareness, but for some industries, it can work better to focus on social media for initial customer awareness.
   
2. How old is your business? On the Internet, brand-new businesses are practically nonexistent. They can benefit greatly from SEO as well as paid ads to boost awareness.
   
3. Are you willing to create or spend money on content? If you are, then you need to consider how often you’ll publish content (ie. Once a week, twice a week) and for how long. Consistency is key here, as Google will favour your website pages when they see you are updating on a regular basis. The content you create needs to be SEO optimized with the reader in mind.
   
4. Using SEO to raise brand awareness is very effective, but not for initial awareness. Product searches often lead to listicle posts that are full of affiliate links and SEO’d to death. E-commerce businesses should focus their SEO efforts on brand / product awareness and paid ads / social media to generate initial awareness.
   
5. Have a budget in mind. If you are interested in using SEO strategies to build your website authority and show up on the first page of Google, you’ll need to have a budget. SEO doesn’t work if you’re not willing to have a budget for your marketing. Be wary of anyone claiming to do cheap SEO, as it isn’t in your best interest.
   
6. An effective SEO campaign takes time. It might take 3-6 months to get good results, so don’t expect them right away. Spending money on paid ads that start working within 24 hours can help a business under time pressure.
   
7. Getting new customers is great, but don’t forget about your existing ones. You can make money when you resell them. Put that automation in place first before trying to get new customers. Getting the same customer back again has a higher return on investment than getting a new one.

If you’ve decided that hiring an SEO expert is worth it for your business the following tips will help you choose the right person for the job.

Tips for Hiring an SEO Expert

1. Have a one to one interview, preferably on video chat, so you can really get a sense of who they are and what services they offer.
   
2. Ask them to provide references to check how effective they were at delivering SEO services.
   
3. Ask the potential SEO specialist to perform an audit on your website so you know where they expect to spend their time building your brand. Have a look through the website audit they prepared and follow up your initial interview with questions that will help you understand the reasoning behind it.
   
4. And finally, is this a person that you would like to work with long term? A great relationship with anyone you hire to build your business is key to your success.

I hope that this post helped you better understand whether SEO is right for you business at this point.

If you’d like to consider hiring us for your SEO please feel free to book a free 15 minute consultation.