Questions to Ask Before Hiring an SEO Specialist

Questions to Ask Before Hiring an SEO SpecialistThe world of search engine optimization is one that is often muddied in confusion. There are so many rumors flying about regarding what works and what doesn’t that one can find one’s head swimming from all the false and misleading data. That’s why knowing what to ask a SEO specialist is of vital importance so you get the best service from the most ethical professional.

1)  What is their SEO experience?

The first thing you want to know is what do they know. How long have they been at SEO and can they show you statistical results to validate their claims. This is tricky because there are so many ways a scammer can beguile you and you’ll need to be on your toes to make sure you get them to tell the truth and back it up. Check on how long they’ve been in business. Ask for testimonials and then search for testimonials on your own. Somewhere there’s going to be someone praising their skills or lambasting them. You’ll have to use the right measure of judgment here because competitors can often bad mouth a company and get away with it legally. You want facts, transparency and good communication from the SEO specialist  you’re hiring. If they struggle or hesitate one iota you’ll know you’re in for trouble.

2)  Show me the stats

Statistics are the figures that back up what a person says such as in the SEO industry. They’ll have their own statistics but the websites they state they’ve catered to will have their own as well. This is where you can separate the chaff from the wheat. Ask them about their stats regarding a website they’ve worked on. Contact the owner of that site or use any of the available website monitoring statistical programs. You’ll be able to piece together when the SEO expert actually got on board and how effective they were. It takes weeks and months to show results so go through a good amount of data and you’ll have a good measuring stick to estimate your probable success with them.

3)  Don’t trust the hype

SEO experts of ill repute will make all kinds of claims to get your business. One of them is that they’ll get you to the top of Google and the rest of the search engines in a day or a week. That’s a big lie and a sure sign that they’re out for that quick buck. SEO is an area of such need that it attracts the worst of the worst. When an SEO company makes such claims you need to run the other way. Ask your prospective SEO specialist how long it take to get positive results. They should tell you it will take weeks or months as that’s the way it works. In rare occasions you can hit the jackpot and fly to the top of the results. Once that happens you’ll know you’re with the right expert.

4)  Watch out if they claim an inside track to Google

Google is the search engine of target but you’ll have SEO companies claiming to know some inside track to Google’s algorithms, their cousin works for Google or they have some psychic link to Goggle’s top SEO staff. All this again is hype and no responsible business SEO expert is going to make those claims. They’ll tell you that they do know the fundamentals of Google’s algorithms but those algorithms change and thus makes SEO a more precise type of engineering and not some magic bullet.

Overall, a real SEO specialist will walk you through the process and not try to mislead you. They’ll provide pertinent data you can understand, statistics to back it up and long term service not some fly-by-night operation.

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