Whether hiring an outside agency or consultant, or a staff SEO professional, hiring great SEO help begins with knowing what you’re shopping for. So, the first step in recruiting the best talent for the job is defining what that job is. You may need SEO help with any—or all—of the following:
• Establishing an overall SEO strategy
• Reviewing and providing recommendations on site content or structure
• Technical advice on site development—for example, hosting, redirects, error pages, or use of JavaScript
• Content development
• Link building
• Managing specific marketing campaigns
• Keyword research
• SEO training
As with any other vendor or employee, check references and speak with current and former clients. Find out what the SEO did, not just in terms of improving rankings, but also in terms of the much more critical areas of helping to improve site traffic, sales, and conversions.
And don’t wait to take this step. The time to bring in SEO expertise isn’t after a site is built, but as early on in the process as possible to avoid costly mistakes and renovations.
If you’re looking to hire in-house staff, it goes without saying that general web literacy is a paramount requisite for the job. Therefore, focus recruiting efforts online, where these individuals live. Sites such as SEMPO, Search Engine Watch, SEO Consultants, and Marketing Pilgrim host SEO job boards. Social networks can also be good resources. Start with LinkedIn, Naymz, and Facebook. Craigslist is another place to look.
Reputable SEO consultancies have high search visibility, not only on the Web, but within their own industry. Their staff and principals frequently write and speak on search, so scan the agendas and speaker biographies at the major search conferences such as Search Engine Strategies, SMX, or Webmaster World. If you’re considering hiring an agency or company (rather than an individual), check its affiliations. Does it belong to professional associations that subscribe to codes of ethics and best practices? SEMPO is the Search Engine Marketers Professional Organization, and membership in that body is a vote in their favor.
Online presence counts, too. Does its site rank well in organic search listings? If it can’t achieve visibility, it calls into question how well it can do for you or your business.
Is the agency making outlandish promises? Any SEO who claims to have special “tricks” or secret methods to achieve high rankings is lying. There are no tricks to this trade, or secrets. There’s just solid knowledge and diligent hard work. Similarly, no one has a “special relationship” with the search engines, or access to Google’s “black box.” (Believe, me, Google did not become a multi-billion dollar market cap company by sharing the guts or its algorithms with anyone.) Is the company promising to submit your site to “hundreds” or “thousands” of search engines? Nonsense. The ones that really matter are the Big Three, and submission isn’t even necessary.
Does the agency promise guaranteed ranking? Don’t hire them. Instead, run for the door. It should go without saying that the same holds true for spammers. You’ve gotten those e-mails already, the ones that read:
"Dear YourBusiness.com,
I visited your website and noticed that
you are not listed in most of the major
search engines and directories...."
The best way to hire a great SEO is to learn the basics of SEO yourself, which you’re already doing if you’re reading this book. Be conversant in the basics and principals of SEO such as keyword research, the role site architecture plays, and the role vertical search might play in your business, for starters.
Google recommends asking the following questions:
• Can you show me examples of your previous work and share some success stories?
• Do you follow the Google Webmaster Guidelines?
• Do you offer any online marketing services to complement your organic search business?
• What kind of results do you expect to see, and in what time frame?
• What’s your experience in my industry?
• How long have you been in business?
Finally, beware of black hat practices. Ultimately, you’re responsible for your own site. An unethical SEO might deliver short-term results with very long-term—and dire—consequences, such as getting outright banned from the search engines for certain shady practices. And once you’re out, it’s very, very difficult to get back in. That’s something we’ll examine more deeply in Part IX, “Don’t Be Evil.”