Hiring an SEO expert is a sizable investment for small businesses. For that reason, it’s worth being extra careful and thorough in the search for one. This can be a daunting task, due to the abundance of Melbourne SEO services being offered. To help you narrow down your search and minimize the risk of feeling as if you’ve thrown your money down the drain, here are some of the things to look out for.
Acquire information about their SEO knowledge
Hiring an SEO expert with years of experience is a wise decision. However, what matters way more is their expertise. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is three-fold, as it involves:
- on-page SEO,
- off-page SEO,
- technical SEO.
Therefore, it’s highly advisable to make sure that your SEO expert of choice has the necessary knowledge of all three types. Moreover, it’s crucial to keep in mind that in the digital world, changes are rapid and inevitable. SEO is not the same it used to be just five years ago. Search engines’ algorithms are constantly evolving and the guidelines keep getting updated, so make sure the person you hire is not only knowledgeable but applies a fresh approach. A good SEO professional always stays up-to-date with the current best SEO practices. What you should also do is have a look at their website. To discover top-quality SEO services in Central Coast, paying attention to the information provided on the page, as well as how it was designed, can give you a clue about their level of professionalism.
Learn about their track record
Having learned about the SEO service provider’s knowledge and experience, the next step is to make inquiries about their past achievements. You can do this by asking them to provide you with case studies of past clients. Additionally, it’s worth trying to find reviews online. Finding out about the experiences of the previous customers is a good way of ensuring that you don’t get scammed, albeit not foolproof. Beware that some reviews might be fake. Another thing to keep in mind is that finding a few negative comments in a pool of positive ones is normal and no reason to get concerned. Pleasing everyone is impossible and some people might have ulterior motives for doing this. For these reasons, it can be helpful to contact some of the people who left the reviews, so that you can gather more information.
Ensure you have good communication
After you’ve conducted all the background checks and settled on one SEO service provider, it’s time to meet with them and make your final decision. During the consideration phase, it’s essential to be observant and pick up on certain clues. Their behavior can reveal a great deal about their intentions. It’s a good sign if their focus is on acquiring information about your business, instead of spending an enormous amount of time trying to convince you how they will be the main character in your success story. Them asking questions likely means that they plan on having an individualized approach. Choosing a professional that will create a customized SEO strategy for each client, instead of applying the same plan over and over again is bound to maximize your desired results.
Pay attention to their promises
When in conversations with the SEO specialist, pay special attention to how they speak about what they can do for you. Some SEO workers may tell you they have developed a special technique that can produce instant results. Beware of such claims because there is no magical, secret solution that can place your website on the top of the search results in no time. If the promises they make sound astounding, take a second to think how plausible they are. Unrealistic promises are a sure red flag that could mean a few things:
- the specialist uses techniques that violate the guidelines,
- the specialist is incompetent,
- the specialist is trying to deceive you.
Hiring an SEO expert that adheres to the guidelines is essential to avoid your website getting penalties. Black hat SEO can only have negative effects on your rankings, which makes hiring an SEO professional who uses these tactics pointless. Thus, your person of choice should be an expert who only employs ethical (white hat) SEO practices.
All in all, the decision of which SEO expert to choose doesn’t have to be too complex. Your best bet is to acquire as much knowledge about SEO as you can before you embark on your pursuit of the perfect SEO professional.
