5 MUST-HAVE CHARACTERISTICS OF A GREAT SEO CONSULTANT

Did you think we would start with the consultant must be a "ninja" at SEO?

That kind of thinking outlines the big problem the SEO industry faces right now.

Let me explain.

There are loads of quality SEOs in Australia. However being able to rank their own site is one thing - being able to rank yours is another.

And this is just the start... the bigger problem and more or less trend we've observed over the years is companies posing as consultants when they don't even know the first thing about SEO. Yet their flash sales team conjures clueless business owners into smoke and mirror campaigns - leaving them none the wiser.

We're not trying to turn this guide into a rant... all we're saying is "buyers beware" this stuff happens every day.

Ensuring your consultant is a person of the highest character, willing to put the best interest of the client first is essential.

For example, we often get calls from business owners wanting to do SEO. After analysing their business, however, we find SEO isn't actually their best step forward (now or sometimes ever), either because Paid Ads, Offline advertising or focusing on other areas of their business will get better immediate results.

Yes, we could make a quick buck closing the SEO sale - but that's not what an honest SEO Consultant would do.

This preserves our integrity and many times when the prospect is ready for an SEO campaign we are the first port of call :-)

Bottom line, the consultant is there to give honest advice in the best interest of the client, not to line their own pockets.

Even though we didn't lead with this one, it is of utmost experience the consultant lives, breathes and understand how SEO works.

When choosing your consultant ask for plenty of case studies, past successes and test their understanding of SEO.

This is what you're paying the consultant for.

Years of experience, hours of testing and knowledge of how to face/combat the issues you may be facing to shortcut your journey.

It's how you beat your competitors fast.

However, you will only succeed with the right consultant by your side.

A few things the consultant must display is knowledge of the SEO landscape (algorithm updates, on-page techniques and link building strategies that work now), industry experience and understanding of the actual geographical area that your business operates in.

Choosing an SEO Consultant with this kind of experience will be a very profitable investment for you.

Good luck on this one.

We mean it.

We've been operating and consulting in every major city of Australia for well over a decade and one thing we continue to come across is that there's plenty of technical SEO's, but the majority of them lack problem-solving skills.

A technical person follows a system. If that system doesn't fit your situation... well... more than likely it will fail.

So when choosing your SEO Consultant make sure that person also understands marketing and aren't just locked in on specific SEO technicalities.

The bigger picture is to grow your business - not just get rankings.

Here's an example of how we've solved problems for clients in the past.

We were consulting for a company that manufactures and sells diet products online.

If you know anything about the weight loss niche you know that this is one of the most competitive industries world-wide.

Big companies usually have these markets locked up.

So how does a start up compete and succeed?

Brute force SEO as per the playbook?

No!

It took understanding the market and narrowing down on a niche within the market.

The attack we consulted the client to choose was a narrow front but a mile deep and to top it off a trending topic.

After we compiled the strategy, it was game set and match for the client.

The client went from a few local sales to 7K in weekly sales all across Australia.

Here's this clients story:

And that is just one story.
If you'd like to know how Websites That Sell can help you, make sure you reach out on 1300 188 662 or contact us here.

This is one of those "tricks" employed by slick sales people in the SEO industry.

Talking tech jargon and instilling fear in the prospect until they buy.

This is the complete opposite of what a professional Search Engine Optimisation consultant should do.

The consultant's job is to listen to the client, work out what challenges they face and then break the solution down into easy to understand terms.

The majority of business owners in Australia still don't understand what SEO actually is.

If the consultant can't break down at the very minimum, in easy to understand terms what SEO is and how it could work in your business... they are going to have a hard time helping you build out a strategy to take over Google.

We regularly do free audits for prospects and the feedback we continually receive is as follows:

"Thanks for finally breaking this down in easy to understand terms"

"It's like the fog lifted"

"I can see you know what you're talking about, just by helping me understand the basics"

Here's what it comes down to.

It doesn't matter how smart the SEO Consultant if he/she doesn't listen and fully understand the challenges you or your business faces the relationship will fail.

So when choosing your Consultant, before you make any hiring decisions, make sure they demonstrate listening skills and the ability to relay information that solves the problems you voiced in an easy to understand manner.

If you've been in business any amount of time you'd know trust is essential.

Trust with your employees, team, suppliers, customers, clients - the list goes on.

Business is built on relationships & trust.

It's no different from the relationship that will form with your SEO Consultant.

You need to be willing and confident to reveal commercially sensitive information to your consultant.

You will need to have the trust that this information will only be used to benefit your business.

You will need to trust the consultant that revealing sensitive information can actually lead to a breakthrough.

Leaving things hidden will only hinder your consultant.

That's why trust is of utmost importance in a successful client consultant relationship.

A good step forward to build trust is to ask the prospective consultant to provide some free information & strategies of how they would help you.

You can request this information from us by applying for a free quote & strategy session here.