What Questions To Ask Your SEO Consultant Before Signing the Contract?

Choosing an SEO consultant who will help your website climb to the search results' top positions is not an easy task. Before deciding to use this or another consultant’s services, it is good to know a few facts about it and get answers to a few pressing questions. Below is a short list of questions you can ask your SEO consultant to convince yourself that you are dealing with professionals.

Questions to ask your SEO consultant

1. What kind of references can you boast of?

The question of experience in running SEO activities is one of the basic issues you should ask the consultant before starting cooperation. It is a valuable source of knowledge about the consultant’s past, ongoing projects, and effects. Long-term presence on the market is a sign of the consultant’s knowledge about the industry and his stability, which translates into greater customer confidence. It’s also helpful to ask about case studies and company references. The illustrated achievements and issued recommendations confirm a consultant’s professionalism and credibility.

2. What actions will be taken? Has the consultant already run a similar project?

Each project requires an individual approach to the topic, so an experienced consultant should choose the right strategy for a specific website type. Activities for a fashion store will look different than for large e-commerce or blog. Therefore, before selecting a consultant, ask if it has serviced or is currently running a similar project. Experience in positioning a project of a similar size to yours is a great perk. Also, keep in mind that having an extensive experience with various industries is a huge advantage. Having the experience of working with different industries enables the consultant to brainstorm different creative ideas and come up with something that generates results. You can also ask them about the SEO strategies they use. Talking about the strategy, you can get an idea of their expertise.

3. Can you help us create a backlinking strategy?

Another important issue that influences SEO is about link building. In the beginning, it is worth asking about the idea of ​​link building for your website. A trustworthy consultant will present you with a strategy of actions to improve the website's visibility in search results. When talking to specialists, you can also ask how the links are obtained and their sources. Remember - in the case of SEO, it is not the quantity that matters, but the quality of the links obtained. Obtaining 2-3 links from a strong domain is definitely a better solution than several dozens from low-trust websites.

4. How long does the proposed SEO strategy take to bring results?

Another important question worth asking about is the time frame for the results. Note that no self-respecting consultant will guarantee the first results in a week or two.

The third month is the most reasonable limit. This is when we can start to expect results. In this case, however, it may be that some of the consultants work more intensively in various fields related to SEO. Thus it may happen that the results obtained, for example, after a half-year-long campaign, will turn out to be much more durable and stable than those obtained faster and in a more straightforward way. However, everything ultimately depends on the difficulty and competitiveness of a specific industry. However, it is worth emphasizing that even waiting a year for a position in a profitable field is worth the costs incurred.

5. What is the expected cost of the SEO consulting service?

The question about the method of accounting is one of the points that we should raise in the conversation. Of course, not every business owner is wealthy enough to decide to use a service blindly. Therefore, financial matters should be clarified at the very beginning. Different consultants approach fees differently; some charge fees for working days, others charge for the entire finished project, and others decide to pay a subscription fee. However, the most important thing is that all rules and regulations regarding remuneration are clearly formulated in the beginning.
Of course, the amount of hours you will work on your project per month will have an influence on the amount of consulting hours you will need. As a result, it will essentially influence the budget. So, you should discuss it all in the start.

6. How can we monitor our progress?

Monitoring the progress of your work is extremely important because when you make your efforts, your competitors fight back and it affects your results too hence, constant monitoring is crucial. Another aspect that makes monitoring imperative is that positioning services often consume a large part of the marketing budget, so it is worth having control over what work is carried out. So, choose a consultant who helps you set up the monitoring system properly. He must act as your advisory and tell you the key information that you should monitor. To give you an overview, a standard monthly report should contain information such as:

• Number of impressions, clicks, and CTR from search results
• Bounce rate
• Website visibility
• Website traffic
• Obtained links
• Content created
• Return on investment
• Life time value of new clients acquired
• Conversion rates
• Price per lead

These are only six of many questions you can ask your consultant but don't be afraid to ask and explain everything before deciding to sign the contract. Remember that in the consultants’ assessment, both its history and development plans, as well as the proposed conditions for website positioning, count.

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