Ranking high on search options might require more than your internal marketing team’s efforts; hence, the services of SEO consultants may be the best option moving forward. You can find several SEO Toronto consultants versed in the game. However, to ensure that you get the best hands, it’s crucial that you ask important questions.
1. What’s The Goal Of My SEO Strategy?
SEO has three major components – technical SEO, user experience (UX), and off-page SEO. Companies intending to get the best from their SEO often consider the three components. Technical SEO addresses the structure and speed of the site. User experience optimizes the content of your site. Off-page SEO strengthens the presence of your site online.
1 1. What’s The Goal Of My SEO Strategy?2 2. How Will The Strategy Be Adapted To My Business? 3 3. What Tools Do You Use?4 4. What Are The Metrics And KPIs?5 5. How Long Will It Take To Get Results?6 6. How Will The Progress Report Be Given?7 7. What Do You Need From Us To Be Effective?8 Conclusion
Many SEO consultants will usually focus on one component of the strategy. However, to get the best SEO outcome in this modern age, consultants need to implement the three SEO components in a balanced manner.
2. How Will The Strategy Be Adapted To My Business?
Generally, SEO consultants with various experiences have diverse SEO strategies to offer. Still, you must ensure that there is a clear articulation of how the recommended strategies will cater to the unique model and needs of your business. You may need to assess the general approach in certain areas to get the best results. In other words, your strategies must not only be grand and all-encompassing; they should also be customized to suit the nature of your business and meet the demands of your industry.
3. What Tools Do You Use?
Yes, you’re not an SEO professional; however, knowing your consultant’s SEO tools can be beneficial for your company. SEO consultants will have an arsenal of tools with which they complete tasks. The professional ones will be transparent enough to explain why they choose certain tools to use and their potential impacts. Being familiar with the dizzying array of SEO tools yourself, as a business owner, can save you a lot of money and time. That way, you get to know the size, technicalities involved, and capabilities each tool has to offer
4. What Are The Metrics And KPIs?
To achieve a successful SEO, there must be a clear definition and identification of the metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs). These are metrics you and the consultant need to get mutual with to gauge the success of your campaigns. While there are several KPIs, it would help to ask your consultant which indicators you should be tracking for your SEO strategy. Whether you’ll be using leads or sales, organic traffic, keyword rankings, or backlinks, this should be a conversation between you and your consultant before a contractual agreement.
5. How Long Will It Take To Get Results?
All SEO campaigns are targeted at getting results. However, results may not always come at the snap of a finger. Getting results from SEO may take time, but that should not hold your consultant back from giving you a timeframe in which you’ll begin to see results. During the consultant engagement phase, you and your consultant must agree on a timeline. When you’re promised a timeframe shorter or longer than the agreed, you should ask why. If no genuine reason is provided, that’s one of the red flags to not consult with that company. On the other hand, watch out for consulting companies that promise instant results. Revisit the proposed strategy to understand how their proposal can give you immediate results.
6. How Will The Progress Report Be Given?
Whatever is not evaluated cannot be improved. A significant part of your consultant’s job is to give you reports on the progress of the SEO campaign. Progress reports are essential for innovations and strategy modification. An SEO consultant should be able to provide detailed information on how they’ll measure and report the effectiveness of the SEO campaign. You can agree on a timeframe for the reports. It could be monthly or quarterly, depending on what’s best for the business. Through the consistent report, you’ll be able to monitor the performance of your strategies and incorporate new algorithmic changes into your SEO strategy.
7. What Do You Need From Us To Be Effective?
After you’ve stated everything you need from your SEO consultant, they also should respond with their own needs. A successful SEO strategy can only be achieved through the collaborative effort of you and your SEO consultant. To conduct their work effectively, they’ll need information about your business, such as your audience, niche, goals, and platforms. They may require access to some of your digital assets. So, you must know what they’ll want from you to make them all available for their use.
Conclusion
Hiring an SEO Toronto consultant can be beneficial for your company, but for it to work smoothly, you must pay attention to details. Effective SEO strategy is two-way traffic. You need to ask questions to understand your needs and align them with the expertise of your consultant. Aside from that, asking questions also help you identify red flags, allowing you to filter a consultant that best fits your company’s goal and direction.
