When considering an SEO Freelancer for your business, it’s wise to ask questions to make sure you’ll be working with someone who understands your needs and can help you improve your online presence.
Here are the top 10 questions you should ask before hiring an SEO Freelancer:
What kind of experience do you have with SEO?
Experience matters because it often directly impacts the effectiveness of the strategies applied to your online presence.
It’s not just the years in the field but also the breadth of industries the freelancer has worked within and the sizes of the businesses they’ve helped.
Ask them to share specifics about their roles and the results they achieved. This will give you a clearer picture of their capabilities and if they align with your business needs.
Can you share some success stories or references?
Detail for Understanding: Success stories and references act as proof of their ability to deliver results.
When they share examples, pay attention to the nature of the improvements and the timeline of achievements. Real references can provide insight into what it’s like to work with the freelancer day-to-day.
How do you keep up with changes in SEO best practices?
The digital marketing space is consistently maturing, and staying updated is critical to ensure strategies remain effective.
Ask them how they stay informed. Do they attend webinars, are they part of SEO communities, or do they follow certain industry leaders or official SEO Guidelines from Google? Their learning methods can reveal their commitment to their profession.
How do you choose which keywords to focus on?
Keywords ensure your content connects with the right audience. The freelancer should explain how they conduct keyword research, including the tools they use and how they identify not just high-traffic keywords but also those that match user intent related to your business. Their strategy should reflect an understanding of your market and customer base.
What tools do you use to track the progress of your SEO work?
Preparing for an initial meeting with an SEO freelancer is about providing necessary details and asking them questions. By having detailed information ready, you help the freelancer with the tools they need to devise an accurate, effective strategy tailored to your business’s specific needs. Here’s a detailed checklist of the information you should have on hand:
What changes might you need to make to my website, and why?
Website modifications can range from simple content updates to more significant structural changes.
The freelancer should be able to explain the ‘why’ behind each recommendation, demonstrating how it ties back to improving your SEO performance.
If my business has a local audience, how can you help me reach them?
A strong local SEO strategy can make your business more visible in your community.
Look for an explanation that includes optimizing your Google My Business listing, garnering local reviews, and local keyword optimization.
How do you approach link building?
Link building should focus on quality over quantity, as poor-quality links can harm your site’s rankings.
The freelancer should explain their process for finding and securing reputable links and how these efforts will be tailored to benefit your specific business.
What will you do if my site’s search rankings suddenly drop?
Fluctuations in search rankings can happen, and the way they respond can tell you a lot about their problem-solving skills.
They should be able to conduct a thorough analysis to identify the cause of the drop and outline a plan to address it.
What are your payment terms?
Clear payment terms set the foundation for a good working relationship.
Understand their rate, whether it’s hourly or by project, how often invoices will be sent, and the expected payment timeline. This should include any upfront costs or long-term commitments.
Your SEO Checklist Before Meeting a Freelancer
Preparing for an initial meeting with an SEO freelancer is about providing the necessary details and asking them questions. By having detailed information ready, you help the freelancer with the tools they need to devise an accurate, effective strategy tailored to your business’s specific needs.
Here’s a detailed checklist of the information you should have on hand:
- Business Goals and Objectives
Be clear about what you want to achieve through SEO. Specific objectives such as increasing product sales, boosting sign-ups, or enhancing brand visibility can help the freelancer align the SEO strategy with your business outcomes. - Target Audience Demographics
Provide a detailed description of your target market, including age, location, gender, interests, and any other demographic factors relevant to your products or services. The more precise, the better they can tailor the content and SEO strategies to appeal directly to this audience. - Current Marketing Strategies
Share what marketing tactics you are currently using. Whether it’s social media advertising, email marketing, or offline methods like flyers and direct mail, knowing what’s in play helps the freelancer complement these efforts and not work in isolation. - Existing Content Assets
Compile a list or database of all your content assets, such as blogs, whitepapers, videos, and infographics. A freelancer can assess these resources to understand your brand voice and style and recommend enhancements or new content that could fill gaps. - Website Analytics Access
Be prepared to provide access to your web analytics tools like Google Analytics. These insights can help the freelancer understand your current website performance metrics such as visitor behavior, source of web traffic, and conversion rates. - Past and Present SEO Efforts
If you have previously implemented SEO strategies, sharing these insights is crucial. Discuss what has worked, what hasn’t, and any SEO audits or reports you might have. This history will inform the new strategy and avoid repeating less effective tactics. - Competitive Landscape
Identify your main competitors, particularly those whose online presence is notable. Understanding who you are up against helps in crafting strategies that can effectively compete in your industry. - Budget Constraints
Clarify your budget upfront to help manage expectations on both sides. The freelancer needs to understand the financial constraints to prioritize high-impact actions that align with what you can invest. - Decision-Makers and Points of Contact
Introduce the freelancer to key members of your team who will interact with them regularly. Identify decision-makers, technical support staff, or content creators they might need to contact. - Expectations and Key Milestones
Discuss your timeline and define clear milestones for the SEO project. Having a schedule helps both parties monitor progress and adjust strategies as necessary.
Conclusion
By asking these comprehensive questions, you’re doing more than just evaluating the freelancer’s expertise in SEO. You’re also getting insights into how they handle communication and manage tasks. These aspects are important because they significantly impact the success of your collaboration. Your aim is to identify a professional whose capabilities match your business needs and whose work approach dovetails nicely with how you operate your business.
It’s essential to pay close attention to how they explain their strategies and how they plan to adjust them to fit your business goals. A good freelancer should be able to break down complex SEO concepts into understandable chunks without resorting to industry jargon, making it easier for you to grasp the value of their work.