What is an SEO Consultant?

What Is An SEO Consultant?

Search engine optimisation (SEO) is always changing. Whether it’s with algorithm updates, a change in ranking signals, or a move towards machine-lead generative search, there’s a lot to stay on top of to ensure your website and its content rise to the top. It’s one thing to know the basics of SEO, but it’s another thing to know how to implement best practices to bring meaningful results. If you’re struggling to see the progress you want or your visibility is slipping, then enlisting the help of SEO consultancy services could be the answer you’re looking for.

SEO consultants help businesses to improve their online visibility and reach their full potential in search engines like Google. This blog post is here to tell you everything you need to know about what an SEO consultant is and does, the signs you could benefit from one, and the top questions to ask when hiring one. It’s time to get stuck in!

What Is An SEO Consultant?

An SEO consultancy professional can work on their own on a freelance basis or be an expert within an agency that provides SEO consulting services to clients. They are experts in all things related to SEO and work to boost rankings, online visibility, and, more recently, inclusion in AI-powered search engines and features. An SEO consultant can handle any element of SEO you need, and it’s a smart investment for businesses that don’t have the budget for an in-house team but still want to enjoy the benefits of having an SEO expert on board.

What Does An SEO Consultant Do?

A professional SEO consultant essentially provides a range of services to increase a business’ search engine visibility. They’ll put into action a variety of best practices and strategies depending on what a company needs to grow in the SERPs (search engine results pages).

Here are just some of the main areas of SEO strategy that search engine optimisation consultants can help with:

• On-Page SEO: They’ll look at optimising on-page elements so your site ranks better in searches. It can involve improving content, optimising metadataPut simply, metadata is data that describes data. It’s a labelling system designed to help machines and humans understand what is contained within a packet of data. and tags, internal linking, and boosting site speed.
• SEO Audit: The best way to detect and fix any issues your site might have is by carrying out an SEO audit. This gives an in-depth analysis of your site and looks at its content, backlinks, competitors, technical side, and much more to find areas for improvement.
• Link BuildingLink building is a process of acquiring links pointing to your website. These links are obtained by creating content, participating in social media or commenting on other blogs.: When you have quality, high-authority backlinks, it is easier for you to rank highly. An SEO consultant, UK or based wherever, will be able to create and implement top link building campaigns to raise your backlink profile and authority in the SERPs.
• Keyword ResearchKeyword research helps websites unearth the best keywords to drive traffic and visibility. This research is supported by a number of powerful web-based tools, the best of which we’ve listed here.: A search engine marketing consultant will conduct in-depth keywordKeywords are the words and phrases that potential customers might search for to find your business. research to find the relevant words or phrases your business should be targeting. They’ll determine the best keywords to go after for maximum impact.
• Technical SEO: Technical SEO is a highly specialised area of digital marketing. A consultant SEO expert will dig deep into the technical elements of your website to ensure there are no gremlins holding you back from reaching your full potential. From crawling and indexing issues to schema markup, you can be confident your site is in the best shape when you choose trusted SEO consulting services.
• SEO Reporting: The individual SEO consultant or SEO consultant company you pick to help you should always give you updates on your website’s progress in the form of regular reports.

The Top 10 Signs You Need the Help of a Search Engine Optimisation Consultant

You might have a basic grasp of SEO techniques, but that doesn’t always translate into the search performance you’re aiming for. Here are the top 10 signs it’s time to speak to a professional SEO marketing consultant:

1. Your Organic TrafficOrganic search traffic (sometimes called natural or unpaid search) is the traffic that's driven to a website because of unpaid placement on a search engine results page. Is Dropping

A noticeable drop in organic search engine traffic is the first and most obvious sign that your current SEO strategy isn’t up to scratch. If you’re not sure where you’re going wrong and don’t understand the cause behind the dip, it’s time to enlist the help of an organic SEO consultant to establish the root cause and overhaul your strategy to up the number of organic users who visit your site.

2. A Google Penalty Has Hit You

If you’ve noticed your rankings have taken a hit after a Google core update, you’re likely on the receiving end of a Google penalty. Now, you might think you can figure out how to come back yourself, but such penalties are incredibly difficult to recover from without the help of an SEO expert. You could do more damage than good in trying to fix the issue yourself. Search engine consultants can help by putting a recovery plan in place and helping you avoid getting hit by penalties again in the future.

3. You’re Not Ranking Highly For Important Target Keywords

You’ll likely have a list of important target keywords that your business needs to be ranking highly for to be successful. If you’re not ranking well for your keywords, a search optimisation consultant can help.

4. You’re Scaling Your Business

SEO will help you gain online visibility in new markets if you’re expanding your business. You may even be looking at upgrading your website as part of this growth. A search engine consultant has the knowledge to drive your online visibility and sales to make growth successful.

5. Your Competitors Are Outranking You

As a responsible and ambitious business owner, you’ll have your fingers firmly on the pulse when it comes to how your competitors are performing in search results. If they’re doing better than you, SEO consultant services can help you conduct in-depth competitor analysis and devise a plan to see you overtake them.

6. You Struggle To Keep Up With Advances In SEO

SEO changes at an unbelievable pace, and it’s a lot to keep on top of if you’re busy running a business as well. Search engine optimisation consultants are experts in their field for a reason: they have a genuine interest in SEO and make staying up to speed with all the latest developments a priority. Notice how AI-driven search is changing how results are displayed and prioritised? A search optimisation consultant will know exactly how you can navigate this and be successful.

7. You Don’t Have The Time or Resources To Do Your SEO In-House

Following the previous point, if you’re busy running your business, you probably don’t have time to craft and implement a stellar SEO campaign that will get great results. Consultant SEO professionals do.

8. You Have Clear Goals You Want To Meet

If you know what your goals are but aren’t sure how to reach them, it’s time to outsource to consultant SEO services to get you there. Having a clear target to aim for can help you find the right provider for you.

9. You Don’t Know Where To Take Your Strategy Next

You might have seen some improvements in rankings and visibility with your current SEO strategy. Still, if you don’t know what to focus on next, a search engine optimisation consultant could help you detect areas that need improvement.

10. You Have Basic SEO Knowledge

Having a basic SEO understanding will only get you so far. You might know what your business needs to be more successful in the SERPs and AI results, but you might not have the working experience to achieve this. In this case, SEO professional services can help take you in the right direction.

What Makes A Good SEO Consultant? Questions To Ask When Hiring

There are so many SEO consulting companies that it can be difficult to know which ones are good and which are best to avoid. To help you find a reputable one, here are some questions to ask them to help you get an idea of their credentials.

How Much Do You Charge?

You’ll have a set budget in mind when looking for search engine optimisation consulting services. It doesn’t matter how good a consultant is; if you don’t have the budget to pay for them, you won’t be able to work with them, so it makes sense to ask how much they charge first. Prices will vary depending on various factors, including your industry, business level, and what you want to achieve. For example, Click Intelligence’s SEO consultancy prices range from £1,000 per month for startup businesses to up to £10,000 per month for growing enterprises in highly competitive sectors.

What Experience Do You Have?

Everyone starts somewhere, but you want to choose an SEO consultant with several years of experience. The longer your web SEO consultant has been in the business, the better. They will have worked on more sites and know what works to bring results in the SERPs. Asking about their specialism is also sensible. For example, if you run an e-commerce store, you don’t want to choose a consultant who only has expertise working with travel companies.

Do You Have A Proven Track Record?

Ask to see evidence of your prospective SEO consultant’s success. Anyone who is credible will have a long list of case studies that prove they’ve helped others achieve success in the SERPs. Case studies should clearly outline the SEO problem, the steps they took to improve rankings, and the impact this had.

Are Results Guaranteed?

Now, SEO is a long game. Results can take time to materialise. If an SEO consultant is making high promises that you will receive guaranteed results fast, they’re probably lying to you. So many variables determine your success in the SERPs, so you want a consultant who is honest and realistic about what’s achievable for your business. You want to choose a consultant who is in it for the long haul and is willing to craft a strategy that will bring you tangible results in time.

How Will The SEO Work You Do Fit Into My Wider Marketing Strategy? 

SEO is just one arm of your wider marketing strategy. Asking your SEO consultant how their strategy will fit in with and support your wider marketing initiatives can help you get even better results. Any SEO consultant who is worth their salt will understand that there are a lot of cogs in the machine that need to work together as a streamlined team.

Are You Up To Speed With Search Engine Algorithm Changes?

Knowledge is everything in SEO. It’s such a fast-moving industry, so you want to rest easy knowing that the SEO consultant you choose is up to date with all the latest changes relating to algorithms, ranking factors, and the way users carry out searches. You also want to check that your consultant respects Google’s guidelines, as you do not want to risk rule-breaking.

Weighing It All Up

Whether you’re a small business or a large international company, working with professional SEO services consultants can improve every aspect of your SEO. However, finding a decent one can be tricky. To find a reputable SEO consultant to work with, you can do a simple Google search, check out industry-standard directories, or even use LinkedIn. Just be sure to check their experience and track record to ensure they’re the right fit for your company. The right consulting SEO professional can increase your website’s organic visibility and, in turn, your sales, which could lead to an impressive ROI.

Take Your Website’s SEO Up A Notch With Click Intelligence

As an experienced SEO consulting agency, contact us today to see how Click Intelligence can help your business increase its online presence. Our professional team has more than 20 years of experience delivering real-world results for our clients, helping them grow and reach their goals. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in; it’s likely our team will be able to help you. We work with clients across more than 40 industries, including travel, e-commerce, and iGaming, as well as fashion, beauty, and health. What’s more, every client we work with receives a bespoke strategy that is fully tailored to them for the best results. Get in touch today to learn more about our SEO consulting services.