What is the role of an SEO Consultant?
So what does an SEO consultant do?
I usually answer this question with something like, “I make websites appear on the first page of Google” (in theory), but what is a more accurate answer?
An SEO consultant is someone who specialises in optimising a website to help it rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs), usually to appear on the first page, or at least within the first few pages.
The main goal of an SEO consultant is to improve the visibility of a website to generate more traffic from organic search results.
Achieving this usually requires a combination of different SEO strategies and tactics, which may include things like optimising website content, building links to the website, and fixing any technical issues that could be holding the website back from ranking higher.
There are many different disciplines within SEO, and an SEO consultant can specialise in one or more of these. Some of the most common disciplines include content-based SEO, link building, and technical SEO.
Content-Based SEO Consultant
Content-based SEO is all about optimising website content to make it more relevant and useful for both search engines and users. Identifying areas where a website’s content can be improved, or creating a strategy for producing new or fresh content for a website.
An SEO consultant who specialises in content creation would usually have a background in writing, strong skills in writing are essential as they tend to focus their SEO strategies around producing fresh written content, producing a lot of written copy, such as blog posts, articles, and even eBooks.
In modern SEO a strong background in writing has become more and more important, especially considering that Google has started to shift its focus to quality content over the volume of links.
Content isn’t just about writing copy, content can also include video and graphical work as well, these are further specializations in the role of “content specialist”.
Link Building Consultant
A link-building consultant is someone who focuses their attention on tactics that can help to increase the number of links pointing to a website. Link building is an important part of SEO because search engines use links as a way to measure the popularity and authority of websites.
In general terms, the more links a website has pointing to it, the more popular and authoritative it is likely to be, and the higher it will rank on search engine results pages.
However it must be said that not all backlinks are useful, in-fact some will actively damage your website’s SEO. A good link-building specialist will know the difference and what to look for in a good link and what to avoid in a bad link.
Bad links can come in many forms but some of the most common are link farms, low-quality directories, and paid links. These types of links will not only do nothing for your website’s SEO but they could actively harm it.
Technical SEO Consultant
A technical SEO consultant is someone who specialises in optimising websites for better crawlability and indexation by search engines. Technical SEO usually focuses on things like website structure, site speed, and mobile-friendliness.
It is important to have a technically sound website because if search engines can’t crawl and index your website properly then all of your other SEO efforts will be for nothing.
A technical SEO consultant would usually have a background in web development or a similar field. They would be able to identify any technical issues that could be holding your website back and put together a plan to fix those issues.
Why Hire an SEO Consultant?
There are many reasons why you might want to hire an SEO consultant rather than trying to do the work yourself or hiring an SEO agency.
One of the main reasons is that an SEO consultant usually has a lot more experience and knowledge than someone who is trying to learn SEO themselves.
An experienced SEO consultant will know what works and what doesn’t, and they will also be up-to-date with all of the latest changes in the world of search engine optimisation.
Another reason to hire an SEO consultant is that they can provide a more personalised service than an agency. When you work with an SEO consultant you are usually working with just one person, whereas an agency will have a team of people working on your account.
This means that you will have a better understanding of what is being done and why, and you will also have a single point of contact that you can go to with any questions or concerns.
The final reason to hire an SEO consultant is that they are usually a lot more affordable than an agency. This is because they don’t have the same overheads as an agency, and they can often offer a more flexible pricing structure.
Overall, hiring an SEO consultant is a great way to get the most out of your SEO efforts, and it can also save you a lot of money.
Nobody Is a master of everything
On a final point, I would like to say that there are no SEO consultants who are a master of every discipline, some focus purely on one aspect, while others can focus on another. I would classify myself as a Technical / Content-based SEO, with a little bit of Link building thrown into the mix.
My background is primarily in website design and development, I first started in the “web” industry in 1999 and started my career as a designer. Soon enough SEO started to become “a thing” and my boss at the time asked me to “look into it”, which I did.
As a result, I quickly got stuck in at the very beginning of the SEO industry when Google was in its infancy and there were no Social Media websites to speak of, other than My Space!
Having worked in SEO for close to 2 decades now I have been down the road in most disciplines, however as I stated earlier, nobody is a master of everything!
Thank you for reading, If you would like to discuss your SEO or are learning SEO yourself I would be happy to have a chat with you. Alternatively, if you would like to learn more, please continue to read my other SEO blog posts or read through my services pages.
Please feel free to contact me directly on 07581 073 926 or via my contact form.
