If you are struggling to get traffic to your website then search engine optimization (SEO) is your solution. Today before buying anything people search for it online. SEO can bring your business in front of potential clients by ranking your site higher in the search engine results pages (SERPs). With high-quality SEO your content will be optimized for both search engines and users which will eventually improve your brand image.
Why SEO Is Important For Businesses
As E-Commerce businesses are growing, SEO has become more important for a business to succeed. It is the most cost-effective way to reach customers. Here are some reasons why SEO should be an integral part of your business.
⚡ Organic search is the main source of website traffic.
⚡ SEO develops credibility and trust.
⚡ SEO can tell what the customers need and want.
⚡ Good SEO provides a better user experience.
⚡ Local SEO can improve traffic, engagement, and thus conversions.
⚡ SEO is a cost-effective marketing strategy.
⚡ SEO is quantifiable, so you can measure your performance.
Functions Of SEO
The primary function of SEO is to increase the visibility of a website. That way the prospective customers will view the site and buy products or services. You should rank your website high in the search engine results pages (SERPs) and for this you need SEO. When your website comes on the first page of SERPs, it shows that the website is trustworthy and of high quality. The usability of the website improves with on-page SEO optimization. For example, you can make your website responsive with SEO best practices. That means, the content will be displayed in the best manner on whatever screen you choose for viewing. With quality backlinks, you will get more traffic to your site, and thus your customer base will increase. Creating quality content is an important part of SEO and people will visit your site for the original and useful content. SEO helps to maintain your success in online business over a long time.
Why Hire An SEO Expert
If you want to get more traffic to your business website, increase your customer base, and earn more revenue, then there is no better strategy than SEO. Once you realize that you need to decide whether to hire an SEO expert or do it yourself. You will find many online courses and tutorials on SEO and it may seem very convenient to learn the different SEO tactics and apply them on your website. But the truth is that you will be in a better position by hiring an SEO expert. Though you will have to spend some money the outcome you will get is worth it. You will save time by hiring professionals as they have in-depth knowledge about this field and many years of experience working on various businesses. They will understand the problem areas of your website right away and can think of the best SEO strategy. The experts will dedicate their time to the SEO campaign and focus on keyword research, internal link building, data analytics, and other tactics.
Hiring an SEO expert from outside the organization is a better option than using in-house resources. This is because you will need to pay the in-house expert even if there is not much work to be done. So, you will be saving money by hiring an expert from outside. The SEO experts always keep track of the algorithm modifications of search engines, updates, the latest industry trends, and other things. They can create a suitable strategy to rank your website higher. They know what the competitors are doing and how they can be beaten in the competition. They have gone through trials and errors many times; so, they can come up with a solid plan for your website for earning high revenue. These experts know how to put available resources to best use. Not knowing how to do SEO properly can get your business into trouble. SEO professionals use analytics to measure the performance of the website and decide what can be done to improve it. There are ‘Black Hat SEO’ practices and these may lower the ranking of your website. The SEO experts are aware of all these rules and policies; so they will use the industry’s best practices to optimize your website.
Hiring An SEO Expert
There is no shortage of SEO experts today. Therefore, hiring a good professional can be very challenging. If you don’t hire the right person, then the website’s performance won’t improve despite spending so much money. Here are some tips for hiring the best SEO expert for your business.
Do Your Homework
To hire an SEO expert, you should have basic ideas about SEO. Do some online courses or read blogs to know what services an SEO expert can give, what qualities to look for in an SEO professional, and other things. That way you can make an informed decision about hiring an expert in this field.
Decide On Your Goals
You must decide why you want to go for SEO. Being ranked first on SERPs or getting more traffic are very general goals; every business wants these. You need to be more specific about your goals, for example, getting more signups in the newsletter or increasing 20% of the customer base within the 3 months. Your goals must be realistic so that they are achievable.
Decide On Technical Or Content SEO
SEO can be categorized into ‘technical’ and ‘content’. These two are separate fields. Thus, you need to decide whether you want to do technical SEO, content SEO, or both. You should then hire an SEO expert accordingly. A technical SEO expert’s responsibility includes increasing the site speed, dealing with sitemap errors, including meta description, solving data problems, and other tasks. On the other hand, content SEO experts prioritize on-page SEO. Before choosing an SEO expert, you should find out which area of your website needs improvement. Then find an expert in that area of SEO.
Learn About The Website Platform
Some SEO experts or agencies work on specific platforms only, like WordPress. If you have other platforms in mind like Squarespace then you may have to look elsewhere. So, communicate your interest before choosing an SEO expert. Generally, using any platform you can increase the ranking of your website. It’s just a matter of preference and it must be given importance.
Budget
The fee that SEO experts charge depends on their knowledge, experience, and popularity. If your business is new then it is likely that your budget will be low. In such case, it is recommended that you should have a budget of $500 per month for hiring an SEO expert. If you have an established business and can afford to hire an experienced SEO expert then your budget should be around $50 to $150 per hour. The fee will vary depending on the services they provide.
Find Out The Services They Will Provide
The services provided by SEO experts vary. You need to find out what services they provide so that you can hire the right person. Some of these services include:
✅ Developing a customized SEO strategy.
✅ Finding the right keywords for your target audiences.
✅ Writing content for the blog.
✅ Managing social media pages.
✅ On-page and off-page optimization.
✅ Technical and non-technical SEO audits.
✅ PPC campaign.
✅ Improving website loading time.
✅ Doing local SEO.
Learn About Previous Experiences
It is highly recommended that you hire an SEO expert who has worked on business models similar to yours and knows what you expect from them. For example, if you have an E-Commerce business then you should look for experts having many years of experience in improving the ranks of various E-Commerce sites.
Check Testimonials
You should read testimonials of previous clients to get an idea about the qualifications and performance of the SEO experts. You will know whether they completed the project on time and delivered the expected outcomes. Good feedback from previous customers proves that the SEO expert knows his or her job well.
Take An Interview
After you have shortlisted SEO experts based on experience, budget, and other factors, call them for an interview. This will allow you to know whether the person can achieve your goals. You will know how long it will take to complete the project and what deliverables you can expect from them.
Ask Them To Perform A Site Audit
By asking them to do an audit of your website, you will know how detailed their views are on problems and what strategies they approach to find solutions. Notice how the SEO expert is communicating the website issues with you. He or she should explain to you in layman’s terms what’s wrong with your website and what can be done. Communication is very important when you are hiring a professional for SEO-related services. So, if the SEO professional explains everything then that person might be the right choice for the job.
Support Service
SEO is an ongoing process. The SEO expert you hire should give you support even after completing the project. The person should make the necessary changes if required. SEO needs time and patience. Therefore, the expert must allocate time for providing support services.
Where You Can Find SEO Expert
As the demand for SEO services is high you can find SEO experts from various sources. Wide availability makes the job of hiring an expert SEO professional more difficult. You should use authentic sources to find them. Job boards are a key place to look for an SEO talent. You will find freelancers on Freelancer.com, Upwork, PeoplePerHour, Angle list, Fiverr, Indeed, Craigslist, and other marketplaces. Social media is a great place to search for them as well. People there will recommend good SEO experts. Sometimes, the professionals post about their services and availability so you can contact them through social media. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Reddit, and others are good platforms to search for an expert SEO professional. Another option is to search on Google. Mention your locality and you will find a list of SEO experts. You can also take SEO services online and in that case the location of the SEO expert will be irrelevant. Friends, family members, and colleagues can often recommend good SEO experts. If you know someone who has updated his website recently, you can ask them for a reference.
Conclusion
If you want substantial growth in your business then you must rely on SEO and for that, you need to hire a good SEO expert. Someone qualified can help to rank your website high in SERPs and compete in the market. The algorithms used by search engines to rank websites keep on changing. An SEO expert will be well aware of it. Black Hat SEO practices are also prevalent in the market and a good SEO professional can avoid those and keep your website safe and secure. You can boost your brand image with good SEO practices.
