5 Questions to Ask before Hiring a Chicago SEO Expert

These days, you need to employ search engine optimization (SEO) strategies for your business if you want to see growth. Businesses that fail to utilize this strategy tend to fall behind the pack when compared to their competitors.

Apart from growth, your business needs SEO for the following reasons:

1. It builds customer trust
2. It builds a great user experience

iii. It leads to higher conversions

1. It is a great return on investment
2. Customers rarely go to the second page of Google search results; hence, you need to take advantage of this amazing strategy that many are also making use of.

The fact that many are also implementing these strategies in their businesses means that there is a lot of competition already as everyone seeks to appear as the number one search result or the featured snippet. The least most folks aim for is an appearance on the first page instead of the second page.

With this sort of competition, carrying out these tasks yourself might not produce any of the goals mentioned above. Hence, the best option is to appoint an SEO expert to help you deal with all these. But how do you know which one is perfect for your business?

You don’t have to worry about that as we will guide you on how to hire one that will be the best match for your business.

Services Provided by Local SEO Agencies in Chicago

The world of search engine optimization is very wide; hence, the services provided by these experts vary a great deal. However, in most cases, an average SEO expert should be able to provide the following services:

• Review and maintenance of site structure and content
• Providing technical web development advice
• Outlining content strategy as well as the project timeline
• Management of online business growth campaigns
• Keyword research to learn how to do keyword research for SEO
• Results tracking, goal setting, and progress reporting
• Educating and training staff on best practices in SEO

Before you bring anyone on board, find out if they provide these services. If they don’t, you should take your business elsewhere. While there are other services, these are the basic, and any expert worth their salt should be able to offer these.

When selecting a professional, ensure that you confirm that they have a very good understanding of the workings of search engines. Sit with them and have this discussion with them: Find out how Google search works and how they intend to get your site and pages to rank in the number 1 spot or at least on the first page.

According to experts in web design, you should also read up on search engine optimization a bit. The reason for this is so that you will have an idea of the whole process. Some so-called experts might trick you into engaging in Pay-Per-Click or any other paid advertising. Doing that defeats the whole purpose of hiring such individuals in the first place.

Apart from the fact that paid advertising costs money, this strategy is short-term. Hence, as soon as you don’t have the money to pay, you lose the results. This isn’t the case with SEO as you enjoy the benefits for a long time. The money you will have to pay might just be all the expert charges you. Click here to read about the difference between SEO and PPC.

Questions you should ask your Potential SEO Expert

In the same manner you prepare to interview a potential employee, you should also prepare to interview the expert you want to hire. But since you aren’t very familiar with the whole SEO thing, what questions are you to ask? Well, we have you covered in that department. 

Below are some of the questions you should ask. Ensure you keep the questions open-ended to allow them express themselves.

1. Are there case studies or live examples of clients you have worked for in the past?

You don’t have to take their word for it, let their results speak for them. Hence, asking for case studies of past clients will be a good chance for them to prove their worth. A reliable agency should have this available as a way of winning new clients.

When such case studies or live examples are provided, you should confirm that they are not forged. We recommend you ask for these samples before you sit with the expert. This will allow you to determine if you even need to meet with them or not.

2. What approach do you take when increasing SEO and improving rankings?

This is the point where you will discover if the professional has researched your business as well as your industry. This is important because every business has different needs; hence, the approach is not a one-for-all type.

The expert should be capable of providing a detailed approach with key performance indicators (KPI) that will serve as measurements for the campaign when it begins.

3. What recommendations do you have for our current website?

As we mentioned earlier, upon your first contact with an expert, they should have looked at your website since they will end up working on it. With such information at hand, when asked this question, a good professional should be able to provide you with recommendations that are specific to your business needs.

4. How do you stay well-informed of the latest tools and trends in SEO?

SEO trends and tools are constantly changing. As a result, SEO professionals have to keep updated about the trends and tools in the field. Hence, you need to ask this question to avoid hiring someone who is still utilizing tools and techniques that have become obsolete.

5. How do you research keywords?

Keywords are important when it comes to SEO ranking; therefore, you should not fail to ask this question. Visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUYAe5ROeP0 to learn how to rank on Google’s first page. The answer they provide will reveal the priorities, skills, and diligence of the consultant.

You could go further and ask them about the tools they make use of in compiling the keywords, organizing the list, and reviewing the process.

Conclusion

With all that we have shared with you, you should be able to hire an SEO expert in Chicago or anywhere in the world that will be perfect for your business needs.