How to hire an SEO: questions to ask and what an audit should cover
Hiring an SEO starts with a two-way interview, reference checks, and a technical and search audit that you should expect to pay for. Those checks were published as a summary of a February 14, 2017 Google video by Maile Ohye, titled "How to hire an SEO."
The video is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piSvFxV_M04. This page is not a ranking promise, and it does not name a price.
What should you ask when you hire an SEO?
Treat hiring as a two-way interview, confirm the person is genuinely interested in the business, and check references. Ask for a technical and search audit, and expect to pay for that audit.
Questions an SEO should ask:
- What makes the business, content, or service unique?
- What does a common customer look like, and how do they currently find the site?
- How does the business make money, and how can search help?
- What other channels are in use?
- Who are the competitors, and what do they do well?
If those questions are not asked, the work is less likely to be tied to how the business actually earns money.
What should a search audit include?
A useful audit may or should include identifying an issue, a suggested improvement, an estimate of the time and money needed to implement it, the estimated business impact, and a plan for later changes.
A technical audit should look at internal linking, crawlability, URL parameters, server connectivity, and response codes.
Current search visibility work includes a technical and content audit and a prioritized roadmap. No ranking outcome can be promised. That is the live search service, not a separate audit product.
How long before search work can show a benefit?
In most cases, the 2017 video summary said, SEOs need four months to a year to help a business implement improvements and see a potential benefit. That is a time range from that summary, not a guarantee.
An SEO's potential is only as high as the quality of the business or website. The same summary quoted: "Doing what's good for SEO is also doing what's good for your online customers."
If the site uses complex legacy systems, search-friendly practice likely involves paying down technical debt. If the business is not ready to implement the improvements, results are unlikely no matter who is hired.
Related reading
Key takeaways
- Hiring checks: a two-way interview, reference checks, and a paid technical and search audit.
- An SEO should ask how the business makes money, who the customers are, which channels are in use, and who the competitors are.
- A useful audit names the issue, the fix, the time and money needed, the likely business impact, and a plan for later changes.
- The 2017 summary said results often take four months to a year, and that they depend on the quality of the business or website.
- No ranking outcome can be promised.
Next step: Book a consultation.