If Google, or the other major search engines do not display website on the first page of their results, your business is almost nonexistent on the internet. So, simply putting up an awesome website is not enough you will need to optimize it so that search engines can find, index and display your website on the first page of the results pages for relevant searches. This is exactly why hiring an SEO expert is essential.

Before you begin, here are a few questions you need to ask the SEO expert before making a hiring decision:

Ask for previous work

The very first question you need to ask is – previous work. A list of current and former clients gives you enough information to decide whether you with to go ahead with the candidate or not. You can also gauge how effective the SEO campaigns of the expert are. You can at least tell whether the clients saw a positive impact of the optimization in terms of rankings, audience and conversions as a result of the consultant’s efforts.

Ask for explanation of the SEO strategies

The SEO expert should be able to clearly explain their work methods and the strategies they use. They should be able to explain reasons behind their particular approach to marketing your website and should have a clear plan. They should also have an approximate, but realistic timeline to achieve the goals you agree upon. For starters they should be able to provide on-page and off-page strategies.

Local SEO or Global?

It is important to ask the expert whether their strategy will be focused on local or global SEO. Well, it is important for you to decide whether you want to spread awareness of your business locally or to any particular target area or Global.

Portfolio

Once you have seen the portfolio, and the results achieved for each project, it becomes very easy to gauge the kind of services you will receive from the firm or the SEO expert. Along with the other questions, you will also need to ask whether the expert has worked in the industry that you belong to, or have worked on projects similar to yours. This makes the process easier for him to understand and easier for you to explain your expectations. Make sure you at least look at a few previously run campaigns and understand their ways of work.

It’s important to understand what you want and decide the kind of results you wish to see in your website or business before you hire an SEO expert.

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