Hiring the right SEO expert can transform the number of enquiries your website brings in. Hiring the wrong one can waste a year’s budget, or even get your site penalised. After more than twenty years in SEO, and having taken on many clients after a bad experience elsewhere, these are the things I would check before trusting anyone with your rankings.
What does an SEO expert actually do?
An SEO expert improves how your website appears in search engines, and increasingly in AI answers, so more of the right people find you. The work usually covers three areas:
- Technical SEO: site speed, Core Web Vitals, crawling, indexing and site structure.
- On-page SEO: keyword research and pages that fully answer what your customers search for.
- Off-page SEO: earning links, mentions and reviews that build your reputation.
A good SEO expert connects all of this to your business goals: more calls, bookings and sales, not just traffic. For a fuller picture of the role, see my explainer on how an SEO consultant’s work fits into a business.
What to look for in an SEO expert
1. A proven track record, with real numbers
Ask for case studies from businesses like yours, showing the starting point, what was done and the results in traffic, rankings and enquiries. Vague claims such as “we doubled traffic” without context are not evidence. Good experts can also put you in touch with past or current clients. You can see how I present this in my case studies with real numbers.
2. They rank for their own keywords
Search for the SEO expert’s own services in Google. Someone who claims they can rank your business but cannot rank their own website for competitive searches should explain why. Be cautious if the only way they appear is through paid adverts. Here are examples of my own rankings, captured in 2023:
#1 in Google Places
#1 in Google Search
3. Years of hands-on experience
Experience matters because SEO keeps changing. Someone who has worked through many Google updates recognises patterns quickly and avoids tactics that used to work but now cause problems. Ask how long they have been doing SEO themselves, not how long their company has existed.
4. Strong technical knowledge
Many ranking problems are technical: slow pages, indexing errors, duplicate content or layout shifts. An expert who can diagnose and fix these, rather than only writing recommendations, saves you time and developer costs. For example, my guide to fixing the “CLS issue: more than 0.25 (mobile)” warning ranks near the top of Google for its main searches:
5. Commercial awareness
The best SEO experts understand your products, customers and margins. They target the searches that bring buyers, not just the ones with the biggest numbers, and they care about conversion as much as rankings.
6. Clear communication and reporting
You should always know what is being done and why. Expect regular reports that show work completed, rankings for agreed keywords, organic traffic and, most importantly, enquiries or sales from organic search, using your own Google Analytics and Search Console data. I set out what a good engagement looks like in what to expect when you work with an SEO consultant.
7. Honest, realistic promises
No one can guarantee first place in Google, because no one controls Google’s algorithms. Be wary of anyone promising “number one in 30 days”. Realistic experts talk about timeframes: usually three to six months for noticeable progress, and longer for very competitive searches.
8. Safe, white-hat methods
Ask exactly how they build links and create content. Buying links, link networks, keyword stuffing and mass-produced content can all lead to penalties. A reputable SEO expert will happily explain their methods and show examples of links they have earned.
9. You own the work
Everything done for your website, from content and pages to accounts and data, should belong to you. Avoid anyone who builds pages or sites they keep control of, or who keeps your Google Business Profile or analytics in their own accounts.
Warning signs when hiring an SEO expert
- Guaranteed rankings or a fixed number of backlinks for a fixed price
- Secret methods they will not explain
- No case studies, reviews or references
- Reports full of rankings for keywords nobody searches
- Long contracts with no way out if results do not come
- A “web design by” credit link added to your footer without asking
Questions to ask an SEO expert before hiring
- How would you approach SEO for my business, and what would you do first?
- Can you show me results for a similar business, and can I speak to that client?
- How do you build links, and can I see examples?
- How will you measure success, and how often will you report?
- Who will actually do the work?
- What do you need from me, and what does it cost each month?
- What happens if I want to stop?
SEO expert, consultant or agency?
An independent SEO expert or consultant gives you senior experience and direct contact with the person doing the work. An agency offers a bigger team and can cover more marketing channels, but you may deal with account managers rather than specialists. My comparison of consultants and agencies explains which suits different businesses.
SEO expert or paid ads?
Paid search ads bring traffic immediately but stop the moment you stop paying, while SEO builds rankings that keep working. Many businesses use both. Just make sure you know which you are paying for, as some providers sell “SEO” that is mostly advertising:
How much does an SEO expert cost?
In the UK, experienced independent SEO experts typically charge between £1,000 and £5,000 a month for ongoing work, depending on how competitive your market is and how much needs doing. My guide to SEO consultant fees in the UK breaks this down further.
Final thoughts on finding an SEO expert
The right SEO expert has real results, ranks for their own services, explains their methods clearly and treats your business goals as their own. Take your time, ask the questions above and check the answers. If you would like to talk it through, I offer a free review of your website as an SEO expert in London working with businesses across the UK.
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