Web Marketing all-in-one for Dummies®

Chapter 9. Hiring an SEO Professional

In This Chapter

• Figuring out how to find candidates

• Checking qualifications

• Asking the right questions

• Knowing what to expect

After reading this minibook, you might decide that you need to hire an SEO consultant instead of trying to improve your search rankings yourself. And hiring a consultant might be a wise decision. Search engine optimization is a time-consuming and demanding Internet marketing task.

Finding an SEO Professional

A good SEO professional is someone you work with for months or years. She can advise you and help you make long-term improvements to your Web site. And she is also aware of your business objectives beyond higher rankings or more traffic. Try the following places to start your search:

• Talk to other business owners. Find out whether they've worked with anyone; and if so, how they liked them. Referrals are still your best information source.

• Check industry associations and analyst Web sites, such as SEMPO at www.sempo.org or SEOmoz at www.seomoz.org. Both have marketplaces where you can request bids, and both provide lists of members or recommended vendors.

• If you're looking for someone local, search for "(your city/town name) search engine optimization". Really, if an SEO consultant can't get a Top 10 ranking for that search, you might want to reconsider.

Avoid looking in the following places:

• In your Inbox: Never, ever talk to an SEO professional who e-mails you out of the blue.

• Any Web site or professional who guarantees you a ...