Why You Need a Search Engine Optimization Consultant
In the world of search engine optimization (SEO), there are many different roles and job titles you might come across, including search engine optimization consultant, site-auditor, and web designer.
What’s the difference between them?
And how do you know who to work with?
These are all questions that can be answered if you better understand the different roles of an SEO consultant.
Technical SEO consultant
A technical SEO consultant is responsible for helping website owners improve their organic search rankings by fixing any technical issues that may be holding them back.
This can include anything from optimizing website speed to improving indexation and crawlability.
A technical SEO consultant will also help with website migrations and redirects, as well as developing an overall SEO strategy.
For example, when you launch a new product or service, it's important to invest in the proper keyword research so that you don't waste money on traffic driven by irrelevant keywords.
An experienced SEO consultant can identify what keywords are popular and trending in your industry so you're spending money wisely on keywords that will convert into business leads.
The marketing expert can then create a comprehensive list of keywords, determine which ones have the highest potential to convert into customers, and then implement those in different areas of your site such as:
- titles,
- headings,
- navigation menus,
- page copy,
- etc.
Link building consultant
A link building consultant is responsible for helping to increase the number of inbound links to a website.
This can be done through various means such as guest blogging, forum posting, and social media outreach.
A successful link-building campaign can result in increased traffic and better search engine rankings.
The only problem with this type of consultant is that it's difficult to find someone who has expertise in this area.
You may need to spend a lot of time doing the research before you're able to hire an effective person.
However, if you are considering hiring one, make sure they have a background in SEO and experience in link building.
Otherwise, they won't know what techniques work best.
These consultants also need to keep up-to-date on current trends in the industry.
For example, these professionals will have a basic understanding of how Google crawls pages on the web and understand how spammy sites get penalized by Google algorithms like Panda or Penguin.
They'll also understand which types of content rank well on Google, which type of site architecture performs well, and when is the best time to post on social media channels.
They might even know where your competitor's backlinks are coming from so they can look for ways to obtain more backlinks themselves.
Of course, there are many different types of digital marketing experts that specialize in other areas besides SEO, but these people typically work closely with them too.
For instance, conversion rate optimization consultants are experts at making sure visitors convert into customers.
Social media managers usually work closely with these people because they want to make sure their client gets the most exposure possible and helps create brand awareness.
Paid advertising consultants help clients use PPC ads to target specific audiences in order to generate conversions.
And finally, email marketing specialists focus on getting clients new subscribers through email campaigns and nurturing existing relationships via automated messages.
There are countless numbers of different roles within this field, all with their own set of responsibilities.
Local SEO consultant
A local SEO consultant is responsible for optimizing a website for local search results.
This includes optimizing the website for specific keywords, making sure the website is listed in local directories, and creating citations.
The goal of this type of optimization is to increase traffic from nearby consumers that are looking for products or services that are close by.
- -National SEO consultant: National SEO consultants typically take on clients with a large geographical reach like companies with locations across the country.
National SEOs will create an overarching campaign to rank for as many phrases as possible.
- -Inbound marketing consultant: Inbound marketing consultants use techniques like blogging, social media, email marketing, and content marketing to help businesses grow their audience.
They use their skills in those areas along with their knowledge of search engine optimization (SEO) to improve a company's online presence.
- -Search engine evaluator: Google evaluates how well websites rank for different searches by ranking them on its SERPs based on PageRank scores.
One way of increasing your site’s PageRank score is through link building.
Link building can be done through a variety of methods including guest posting, which entails submitting articles about topics related to your industry to high-authority blogs and websites.
It also involves earning backlinks by having other sites link back to your own.
There are several tools you can use to find out what sites have links pointing back at you, as well as tools that show you where there might be opportunities for more links.
For example, Ahrefs provides an index of the top 1 million most popular domains and details on their keyword popularity, social shares, and domain authority (or power).
Conversion rate optimizer/specialist
A big part of what a search engine optimization consultant does is helping to improve the conversion rate on a website.
This means making sure that the website is designed in such a way that it encourages visitors to take the desired action, whether that be making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or filling out a contact form.
Often, this involves A/B testing different design elements and tracking the results to see what works best.
Conversion rate optimizers may also use tools like heatmaps and surveys to better understand how users interact with their site.
Conversion specialists may also work closely with copywriters to optimize product descriptions, headlines, and sales pages so they're more appealing to visitors who are looking for information before they make a purchase decision.
The goal is to make potential customers feel like their needs will be met if they buy from your company.
Doing this requires strong communication skills (to write compelling copy) as well as knowledge about how people shop online.
Conversion specialists often have backgrounds in psychology, cognitive science, user experience design, web analytics, and marketing strategy.
They'll need to develop a deep understanding of the customer journey and how each step affects conversion rates.
They'll also need:
- excellent verbal and written communication skills,
- empathy for their audience,
- attention to detail,
- creativity when coming up with solutions for problems,
- critical thinking skills,
- data analysis capabilities,
- and proficiency in at least one programming language.
In-house SEO manager: Another role that SEO consultants can fill is an in-house SEO manager.
In many cases, these individuals will report directly to upper management rather than just focusing on SEO tasks.
Sometimes companies have dedicated IT staff members that handle technical aspects of SEO while someone else manages content creation or other aspects outside of those related strictly to technical changes made by an internal team member.
At other times, all these roles might fall under the purview of one person. It really depends on the size and structure of any given organization.
Other types of consultants
A search engine optimization consultant is responsible for many different elements of search engine optimization (SEO).
They may be involved in keyword research, link building, on-page optimization, and more. While some consultants may specialize in one or two areas, the best consultants will have a good understanding of all aspects of SEO.
However, not every company needs an expert with this level of knowledge. Many businesses only need someone to oversee their marketing strategy.
In these cases, it’s important to find a company that provides both content marketing and digital marketing services.
Content marketing refers to anything related to creating and publishing new content, while digital marketing refers to anything related to paid advertising campaigns.
The majority of companies can do just fine by hiring an agency that specializes in either one or the other.
But if you want your company's strategy overseen by experts who know how they work together, then you'll need a full-service agency.