There are tons of search engine optimization (SEO) consultants out there. Obviously, we think we do a better, more effective, and more affordable job than them. Here, we’ll take a minute to explain why and explain what you should be looking for in SEO consultants, even if you don’t choose us.

What Is SEO Consulting?

SEO refers to the different web practices that increase a website’s chance of being seen and ranked high by search engine algorithms. Often confused with paid ads, SEO is the practice of getting organic results in search engines like Google without paying a dime. Every company defines SEO consulting differently. Here are the services we offer as part of our SEO consulting services: 

Detailed SEO Audit

Our team of SEO specialists, who have been trained and continue to educate themselves on the latest trends in SEO, will dig deep into your website to see how well, or poorly, it’s currently being optimized. Our audits include examining SEO on a page, looking at the structure of most pages, the quality of quantity of backlinks, site structure, and more. We’ll discuss this all with you during a complimentary phone call. 

Keyword Research & Planning

Your overall goals probably include increasing where you rank in Google search engine results pages (SERPs), getting more website traffic, and getting people to do certain things on your site (like buying something, reaching out, and more). If you like what we discuss in our free call, our SEO consultants will then conduct in-depth keyword research to determine what keywords would make the most sense to target in your website content. Our past experience, highlighted in our case studies, shows we’ve taken companies that were struggling to make ends meet to great successes. 

SEO Implementation Guidance

Our team doesn’t just leave you hanging after we gather this information. We can start you off with building an SEO strategy or we can manage the plan for you. As part of our SEO consulting service, SEO Design Chicago can create new content for you, redesign your site, revise existing pages, develop guides and resources, and provide training to your team. We will also suggest, or handle for you, how to increase your company’s profile online with third-party tools like reputation management software. Our goal is to help your marketing team do everything from improving SEO to managing user-generated reviews. We always keep your key goals in mind. Increasing sales is of course one of those goals, but we’ll explain the importance of secondary goals like getting people to inquire about services, spending more time on your site, and sharing content. 

Competitor SEO Analysis

Our SEO specialists will also delve deep into the SEO performance of your rivals’ websites. We will look into their on-page SEO tactics, what keywords they are targeting, the type of content on their site, and more. We then see how you can do similar things, but just a little bit better. And when you do things a little better, you rank higher in SERP.

Website Redesign Consultation

If you are planning on redesigning your site, you need an SEO consultant. Redesigns aren’t just about making a website pretty. That matters, but so does usability and most importantly, making the backend of your site easy to use. This will allow you to incorporate SEO best practices when you build any page. Without SEO specialists, you could still design a website. But pre-designed templates don’t make SEO easy. Without considering SEO, a website redesign could take you backward in traffic and rankings. 

Monthly Data Reporting

You’ll never know if your SEO campaign is working if you don’t look at and understand the data you can access through analytics reports. These reports can be hard to understand at first, so we help clients digest them until our clients feel comfortable doing it on their own. The reports remind you what your key performance metrics were, what we accomplished for you, our observations, and a new plan for the following months. 

Does SEO Really Work?

Yes, SEO works. Here’s the proof:

• 68% of online experiences begin with a search engine. 
• Just 0.63% of Google searches click on results from the second page. 
• 53.3% of all website traffic comes from organic search. 
• 92.96% of global traffic comes from Google Search, Google Images, and Google Maps. 
• SEO drives 1,000%+ more traffic than organic social media. 

And organic traffic that you get through SEO is free. Well, sort of. You may need to pay content creators (we do that affordably), or you can do it yourself (but your time costs you money too). 

But unlike paid Google Ads or social media ads, SEO costs nothing once you learn the tricks. Experienced professionals, such as us at Seo Design Chicago, understand the ins and outs of an SEO campaign. We use proven methods, which change all the time, ensuring your SEO campaign will work. You’ll see an increase in traffic, an increase in rankings in SERP, and ideally, increased sales. 

What Top Thought Leaders Say About SEO

Some of the biggest names in digital marketing and technology have said this about SEO.

“Impactful SEO is rarely executed by a lone wolf.” – Jes Scholz, International Digital Director at Ringier AG

In other words, you need experts, and a team, to really make sure your SEO strategy is spot on and working. 

“No matter how niche or mainstream your market is, great content remains a significant focus for SEO.” – Kristopher Jones, Founder of LSEO

In other words, for SEO to work, you need to post regular, strong content that contains keywords. We offer content creation services too. 

“Ensure you’re writing content the way that you’d explain it to someone over the phone.”- Carolyn Lyden, Lead SEO at Search Herm

Don’t overstuff your content with keywords. In fact, when you do that, Google dings a webpage and ranks it lower in SERP. So with SEO, you want to use keywords in the title, alt tags, subheadings, and of course, the body. But you shouldn’t just write the same word over and over again. You should aim to write the same way people talk.

“One of the often-overlooked SEO opportunities has to do with images.”- Mindy Weinstein, Founder of Market MindShift

A lot of times, people think SEO is all about words. However, images play a role too. Images should be compressed, i.e. have a lower weight (or resolution), so they load faster on websites. When images load too slowly, Google dings the webpage. You also want to make sure each image has an alt tag that contains at least one keyword. 

“A good SEO professional not only understands the searcher but the competitive landscape as well.”- Ryan Jones, SEO Group Director at Razorfish

At SEO Design Chicago, we don’t just audit your website’s SEO. We look at what your competitors are doing. If they are ranking for keywords that you are not ranking for at all, we’ll give you ideas on how to create content around those keywords. We analyze what they’re doing right, and what they’re doing wrong. We make sure your content does both better.

“Remember, search engines have about a 6th grade reading/understanding level.”- David Harry, Lead SEO Consultant at Verve Developments

In other words, avoid fancy words. People enter simple words into Google’s search engine, which are called keywords. Those are the words you want to build content around. Have you ever searched for “best new automobile.” No. You haven’t, but you may have searched for “best new car.” 

What to Consider When Hiring SEO Consultants

Even though we hope you hire us, you don’t have to. of course we hope you do). We always encourage getting multiple bids to find the right company for you. That’s why we want you to make sure you do the following things when evaluating SEO consultants.

Verify Their SEO Experience

The SEO landscape is complex and constantly changing. When hiring an SEO consultant, ensure they have a proven track record of success in different industries and a comprehensive understanding of Google’s latest algorithm updates. Ask to see case studies and talk to clients they’ve worked with to verify they are as good as they say they are.

Ensure They Offer Customized Plans

Avoid consultants who offer standardized SEO packages. We can’t include an exact price in this post because we tailor each plan for each client. Some people want us to help them get started while others want our continued support. That all factors into our plan and that should be the same for any SEO consultant.

Evaluate Their Technical Knowledge

Even if you don’t know the answers, ask them to define page speed insights, website migration options, the best e-commerce platforms, image alt tags, and enriched snippets. If they stumble, they’re not the people you want to work with. If they’re able to explain these terms in language that you understand, that is a good sign.

Assess How They Communicate

Clear and regular communication is crucial to working with someone, especially people who aren’t in-house. Your consultant should be transparent, articulate, and prompt with replies. 

FAQ:

• What do SEO consultants do?
• What is an on-site SEO audit?
• Why does competitor analysis matter?
• Why aren’t SEO packages standardized?
• Does SEO really work?