Is your website not ranking on the first page of search results? It’s time to up your search engine marketing efforts and boost your website traffic. If you lack the technical expertise, your best bet is to hire a SEO company.
But hiring an SEO expert – be it freelance or full-time – asking the right question is the key. Here’s Top 7 essential questions to ask while hiring an SEO Consultant:
1. Tell us a bit about yourself and your experience.
Even though it sounds like a cliche question used in most interview settings, it only makes sense to gauge a candidate’s personality. You are not just asking them about their work, but understanding their background and also how they came to work in SEO.
Candidates that merely list off their CV and without adding any substance to their answer is someone you want to consider hiring. While SEO is a great deal of initiative and mostly requires solo work, it’s also a collaborative effort across various marketing disciplines. A candidate with a strong personality and communication skills is crucial.
2. How do you keep yourself up-to-date with SEO
SEO is constantly evolving, with new algorithm changes rolled out. To succeed in SEO, you need a thirst for knowledge and keep yourself updated.
A technique might have worked for years, but a Google update or a new technology is introduced and, suddenly, that technique is redundant. You need to be reassured that the candidate is well aware of these changes and keeps themselves updated.
Find out what newsletters they’re signed up for, Twitter accounts they follow, or different marketing blogs that they read for up-to-date information.
3. How do you audit a website?
While the first two questions are more about their experience and personal passion, it’s time to dig into specific technical SEO skill sets. This can be done in the form of a task, where you can ask a candidate to evaluate a particular website.
The goal is to observe their thought process and how they demonstrate a plan of action in a structured manner. Candidates shouldn’t just hand you an audit report. Ask them to add context, why they are using certain tools instead of others or why they have made certain recommendations and analysis.
4. How do you measure your success?
When done right, SEO can have a very positive ROI. Asking this question will help you assess how they’re tracking their work and they’re aware of what’s working and what isn’t. This ensures the long-term success of your SEO strategy and the candidate’s role in your business.
Where the answers are concerned, your candidate should discuss tracking the number of keywords on the first page before and after starting the SEO strategy. And for long term goals, they should talk about organic traffic, conversions (sales, leads, etc.), and deeper KPIs, such as customer lifetime value.
5. What was your biggest accomplishment at your last job?
Having SEO wins listed on a CV is great, but you want to understand the part the candidate played in delivering them. You want to hear about an accomplishment that the candidate is proud of. How did they achieve their results? Was there an increase in organic traffic, revenue or top paid keywords? What techniques did they use, and how long did it take to get results?
A strong answer to this question is a good indication of where the candidate’s SEO skills and knowledge lies.
To further enhance your assessment, consider incorporating iq questions and answers into the interview process. Understanding a candidate’s cognitive abilities and problem-solving skills is crucial, especially in a dynamic field like SEO. A well-rounded SEO expert should not only demonstrate technical proficiency but also showcase analytical and strategic thinking. Including IQ questions will provide a more comprehensive evaluation of the candidate’s suitability for the role.
Final Thoughts
While these questions aren’t the only questions you should ask, these questions are the first step towards finding that candidate. It will help you assess a candidate’s personality, knowledge of SEO, problem-solving skills, and technical proficiency.
It’s not enough for them to simply hyme off search engine jargon. They need to demonstrate a deep understanding of SEO, communication skills, and history of successful SEO campaigns. And in doing so, they will prove if they’re the right fit for the role and your business.
