Top SEO Expert for Hire

Assume that someone searches on Google about something relevant to your business, and your website is on the second page of search results. What do you think are the chances of that person clicking your website? Research shows that only 0.78% of the time, Google searchers will click a website link on the second page of the search result.

Higher conversion leads are the main reason why some business thrives in comparing others. A survey of marketers says that around 60% of them claim that their highest quality of leads comes from SEO. Globally, on average, leads have a close rate of less than 2.5%, and anything above 2.5% is considered above average; according to Hubspot, SEO leads can have a close rate of more than 14%.

Lead generation, website ranking, and getting good relevant leads without running ads, all come under SEO. Let’s understand what SEO means:

Definition of SEO

SEO means Search Engine Optimization, in simple terms, working in a way on the website and other things, so that the website's visibility on search engines (like Google) gets improved when someone searches something related to your business. When Google gets a query about something relevant to your website, then a well-done SEO’s job is to make sure Google notices your website and suggests your website on higher rank for the searcher to see.

SEO is one of the few areas in marketing where manipulation will not work. An SEO expert’s work is to bring as many relevant visitors to your website as possible without running ads. Instead of ads, they work on making your website reach higher and higher in ranking so that your website is visible to people when they search. . An SEO expert’s work is technical work, it requires a certain set of unique skills, so before hiring an SEO expert, it is important to understand what an SEO expert does, and what is their scope of work.

Scope of work of a freelance SEO expert

• They make sure that the website is easy to navigate and that there is no issue with the website, which can make the business lose a potential customer.

• They ensure that there is a regular flow of new content on the website, which targets the right audience and creates more ways to let people come to the website.

• They make technical recommendations to the websites’ developers so that the website is smooth and fast.

• They track and analyze the data of website analytics and study where the website needs more work.

• They constantly check the ranking, the website, and the data to ensure that the website is constantly growing and getting up in rank.

• They do regular research on targeted keywords to increase the relevant visitor's footfall.

• They develop a content strategy for the company.

• They develop and implement link-building strategies.

• Analyzing competitors' websites and data and planning accordingly.

• They also work side-by-side with performance marketing agencies to get the maximum return on investment (ROI).

• They also monitor search engine algorithms to ensure the website is on the right track.

In short, they do everything necessary to bring more people onto the website whose conversion rate is high, without spending money on ads. Once you understand the scope of work, the next step is to find one for your business.

To find out whether the freelance SEO expert is good or not, you have to learn what they should know and then evaluate them on those parameters.

Technical skills

Basic coding skills are necessary; one doesn't have to be an expert in coding, but to perform technical aspects of the work, knowledge of CSS and HTML is essential. In addition, XML sitemaps, status codes, Title Tags, Meta Tags, Alt-tags, robots.txt, and the ability to solve crawl issues are some of the many technical skills required.

Education

Although anyone can do it with basic knowledge and learning skills, having studied in the relevant field can be useful. For example, IT, business and technology, or marketing fields can be useful.

Experience

The more someone has been in this field, the more they are clear with the fundamentals of SEO. In addition, SEO is constantly changing and extremely competitive, and someone successfully thriving in this field for a longer duration suggests that they are a learner, creative, and adapting.

Analytical and research skills

Analysis and research are the core of this field. Everything has to be analyzed regularly, and the next actions for improvement come from that. And research helps in understanding the market, competition, change, and much more. So without the skills of analysis and research, it is impossible to thrive in this field.

Apart from all of the above, they should have a genuine interest in marketing and SEO; they should have an understanding of psychology as well as technology; they should be a good writer as well; they should constantly upgrade themselves and their knowledge and some knowledge of Webhosting, and excel.

How do you know whether a freelance SEO expert has these skills or not? Here are a few ways for you to get a reality of what they know:

Ask for Keyword Strategy

Assessing the keyword strategy will give you an idea of how much homework they have done and how much they know. The strategy they give should be based on competitor analysis, keyword research, and your website's analytical data. It should include a list of keywords that are the most relevant words for your product or service. It should include more than just common terms and keywords. Do they understand your industry, and do they understand your business? If they do, they should be able to come up with more niched keywords that will bring the most relevant audience to your website and eventually increase the ROI.

Review their past work

A simple way to analyze their past work is to search relevant keywords on the search engine and see the website's ranking. That will be a real-life example of a clear indication of their performance.

Ask for more work

For this, you should know the difference between Pay-per-click (PPC), Social Media Optimization (SMO), and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Once you know the difference, see what they are offering; if they are offering all of this, it means they don't have the focus. Another option is to ask them if they can offer more than SEO. If they say yes, that means they are not the right person. You want someone who just focuses on SEO and nothing else. It is not part-time work. They work in other areas as well; this is full-time work and requires time and energy. So if someone asks them to do more than SEO, they should be aware that SEO itself is so big that they cannot do more without dedicated teams.

References

This is the oldest and most productive way of figuring out how good they are. If you find anyone good, look around for references, and you will find some connection to their past employer who can give you a genuine reference of their work and the result they have produced.

How much time do they have?

The ideal situation is to find someone who only works for you. But if they manage more people's work, it shouldn't be more than a couple of clients. If it is more than that, it means either they don't know what they are doing, or they won't be able to give justifiable time to your work.

This is how you can figure out how to evaluate a freelance SEO expert. Before you go into the pricing, you should know the deliverables they are offering and the time they are committing. It is a slow process, so if someone is promising you drastic improvements and benefits in just a few months, then they don’t know what they are doing.

Deliverables should be mindfully curated, and their incentives should be connected to delivering deliverables; otherwise, you will keep paying, and there won't be any benefits to your business.

Deliverables

Letter of agreement

There should be a simple, easy-to-read document that states all the terms of the arrangement. What will come under their scope of work? What work will they do by when? By when will they complete the project? What will be the milestones? What will be the review process? What will be a measurable goal?

Everything should be crystal clear before the work begins; if it is done, then it will create a lot of hassle while working.

Weekly or every fortnight, there has to be a review process. And that the review process should be directly connected to the deliverables and milestones. So that the moment work gets slow or off track, you can catch it before it's too late.

Expected Timeline

As we said, timelines and milestones are very important in this field of work. Everyone on your team and the freelance SEO expert should be on their toes all the time to ensure everything is going well and as planned.

And once the timeline and deliverables are aligned, the last step is understanding what not to do. If you are aware of what not to do, you will save yourself and your company from many mistakes made by others.