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The lack of search engine optimization (SEO) leaves many small business websites buried under an avalanche of online content, invisible to potential customers.
Simply offering quality products or services is not enough to make it in today’s competitive market. Without a solid SEO strategy, your business will face major obstacles to growth, losing potential customers and letting competitors take the lead.
The good news is that there is a way to change this. The right SEO expert can help your website stand out from the competition and attract potential customers.
In this article I share five crucial tips for navigating the world of SEO professionals and finding the one who can really make a difference for your business.
Related: 10 Questions to Ask When Hiring an SEO Consultant
SEO is more important than ever
When your potential customers search for the products or services you offer online, you want to be at the top of the search results. This is where SEO comes in handy.
Using the right SEO techniques improves your search engine rankings and attracts more visitors to your website. More importantly, it provides the best user experience, helping convert these visitors into customers.
A strong SEO strategy builds credibility and trust in your brand. When your website ranks high in search engine results pages (SERPs), it is considered more authoritative and trustworthy.
However, ranking yourself is often difficult and most business owners need the help of SEO experts. Keep in mind that the market is flooded with SEO agencies that promise very high results, but not all of them deliver them. Some use outdated techniques or black-hat tactics that can cause more harm than good.
Let’s see how to avoid it:
How to choose the right SEO expert for your business
Here are five SEO tips for small businesses that can help you find the right SEO expert:
1. Niche relevance
When choosing an SEO expert, you should choose someone with specific experience in your niche. The reason is simple: Each industry has unique challenges, audience behaviors, and SEO mistakes to avoid.
For example, if you run a SaaS company, you’ll face different keywords, content strategies, and competition than in the technology or software world.
An SEO expert with experience in the SaaS industry will understand the nuances of your niche, from technical jargon to the customer journey of a software buyer. They will know what has worked in the past for similar companies and will be able to customize their SEO strategy accordingly.
By comparison, ecommerce SEO involves optimizing product pages, managing reviews, and understanding how to navigate the intricacies of various shopping platforms. An expert with ecommerce experience will understand these specifics and develop a strategy to ensure your products rank well on Google and attract the right customers.
The same goes for every other niche out there.
2. Proven experience
A history of solid results across multiple projects is a strong indicator of a seasoned SEO expert. Remember, a single success story might be a fluke, but consistent results across various campaigns suggest a deep understanding of SEO principles.
In addition to checking their track record, however, you also need to ensure that these results are tangible. Some SEO professionals might brag about doubling a website’s traffic in just a few months, but these numbers can be misleading without context.
For example, doubling a website’s traffic from 200 to 400 visitors is significantly different than going from 20,000 to 40,000. The latter demonstrates the ability to operate and deliver at scale, which is critical for companies aiming for substantial growth.
Related: 7 Compelling Reasons Why You Need to Hire an SEO Expert for Your Business
3. Clear goal and deliverables
A common problem when hiring SEO experts is presenting a vague scope of work. Statements like “We’ll improve your technical SEO” or “We’ll focus on your on-page SEO” might sound promising, but they lack specificity.
As a business owner, even if you are not familiar with all the technical aspects of SEO, you should expect a clear scope of work and a detailed timeline from your SEO expert. This can include all the tasks they will undertake, how they contribute to your overall SEO strategy, and when you can expect them to be completed.
It’s also crucial to understand exactly what SEO services you’re getting. For example, here are some questions you might ask:
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Is keyword research part of the package and how extensive will it be?
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How many blog posts or articles are included and what topics will they cover?
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How many guest posts from reputable sites can you expect and over what time frame?
4. Reasonable results
SEO agencies sometimes prioritize the management aspect of their services, such as strategy planning and client communication, instead of actual results such as content and backlinks.
Remember that content creation and link building are the most important factors in the SEO game. So, getting a blog post a week and a couple of backlinks a month isn’t enough to have a significant impact on your website’s search engine rankings.
For SEO efforts to be truly effective, you should expect at least a dozen or more high-quality SEO pieces of content each month. Additionally, aim to request five to ten quality backlinks per month.
5. Regular reporting
It is important to know in advance what the agency’s reporting structure looks like and how they intend to keep you informed about the developments and results of your SEO strategy. It must be clear, understandable and actionable, allowing you to see the return on your investment.
Effective reporting should start with basic metrics like website impressions. An increase in impressions indicates that more potential customers are seeing your website.
Another key metric is the increase in clicks on key pages on your website, as this indicates that the content is relevant enough to encourage further engagement.
Finally, any report should cover rankings for your target keywords. Improving your keyword rankings is a strong indicator of successful SEO, meaning your website is becoming more authoritative.
Related: Don’t Believe an SEO Expert Who Tells You One of These 7 Lies
Collaborating with the right SEO expert is essential to improve the visibility of your website and support business growth. Remember to look for someone with niche relevance, a proven track record, clear deliverables, reasonable results and regular reporting.
Following these five tips ensures a personalized approach, transparent communication and tangible results, setting you up for guaranteed success.