Do they know enough about SEO?
In nearly every report we read online or Reddit, about a small business who’s engaged with a bad SEO company, a frequently recurring theme is that the client just wasn’t armed with the technical expertise to assess and appraise an SEO service provider.
SEO Theory versus SEO Results
Demonstrating they can rank demonstrates that what they know about SEO works vs just theory If you asked your heart surgeon, lawyer, or accountant for their accreditation and they started offering you a philosophical viewpoint on the merits of education, would you hang around? That’s why we strongly recommend that you check that your prospective SEO vendors can demonstrate their site ranking for SEO-related services. If they start talking – you should start walking.
Utilize your Expert Network
Talk to as many Colleagues and their SEOs as possible. A good SEO Consultant should be able to show proof of an ability to rank. The easiest will be if they have a similar project (industry, style, niche, etc) in their portfolio. While not having a well-ranked site (be it their own or a client’s) doesn’t mean they’re not good at SEO, it’s also a flag of sorts. If an SEO cannot prove that they can rank sites in the top 0-3 positions for highly competitive terms, then is that what your business needs?
Word of Mouth SEO Referral
One great way to find an expert SEO is to talk to colleagues in other companies who’ve worked with different SEO agencies. Ask about how they measured them and how they performed.
SEO Expert Metrics and KPIs
Over 22 years, these metrics and KPIs have proven reliable measures of how well we’re doing on an SEO campaign, perhaps they could be useful to you:
- Accurate keyword research for high-volume keywords
- Average Visibility and Position ranking (as measured by a tool like Google Search Console and SEMrush)
- Growing web traffic
- Growing web leads
- Ability to innovate in SEO
- Growth of keywords, topics, content ideation
- The breadth of Growth Hacking experience, for example
- Digital and online PR
- Social Forums
- Referring sites/content
- YouTube and Video
- Satellite sites
Obviously, not all of these are linear or always available but it’s a good start.
Things to Look for in an SEO Consultant
- That they can Rank in Google!
- Experience
- Customer Validation
- Validation on 3rd part specialist review sites
- Proof of ranking in highly competitive niches
- SERPs
- Traffic Growth
- Niche experience if necessary (e.g. Cybersecurity)
- Ability to articulate and demonstrate strategic SEO
- Ability to track, measure, and demonstrate at a tactical level
