According to Internet Live Stats, Google alone processes 1.2 trillion searches per year, worldwide. This goes to show how a higher search engine visibility can contribute towards increasing website traffic - and in turn, sales. If your page sits at a lower rank, it means your competitors are making more effort. This means you are missing out on potential customers.

To improve your website’s search engine ranking, you need to constantly develop, implement and improve your SEO strategies. However, for any startup, the complexities of the SEO world can be overwhelming. If you are one, you might have thought of hiring a professional.

But with the huge number of sources out there, you need to make sure you are putting your money in the right place.

Here are a few questions you should ask prospective SEO consultants:

Can you guarantee me a number one-ranking in search results?

This is a tricky one. Any candidate that says ‘yes’ to this question is making bogus claims. Promising number one ranking or claiming to have inside relationship with search engines are marketing tactics that are used by thousands of SEO consultants. Make it a rule of thumb; if anyone promises you a number one spot on search engine rankings, save your time and money, and find someone else.

Can I see your list of past and current clients?

While it is unethical to ask for a complete list of clients, some reputable SEO consultants would openly share a short list of former and current clients themselves. Doing so, helps them establish credibility and trust. For you, analyzing this list would help gauge the effectiveness and experience of the candidate in your particular niche.

How much experience do you have in improving local search results?

According to a study by Google, more than 50% mobile users visit a store within a day of their local search. If you are a business that operates locally, you need to make sure the consultant you are hiring can optimize your website for ‘local SEO’. There are number of ways to go about this; but the most widely used practices involve the addition of city name in the website title tags, meta description, and listing of the website in local search directories.

Do you follow search engine’s webmaster guidelines?

Any company that claims they can outsmart search engines to deliver prompt results is someone you should avoid working with. We doubt the candidate can bring anything that Google experts are unaware of. Of course there are loopholes; but sooner or later, search engine algorithms may identify it. If your webpage is found breaking the rules, you’ll end up at the bottom of the rankings, or may even get banned altogether.

What strategies will you be using?

Legitimate and authentic consultants usually share information as to what strategies they would use and how long it would it take them to show results. Just make sure the candidate’s offered proposal of strategies includes an initial website review, realistic and well defined goals, and on page optimization services. Also ask if the consultant provides off page optimization to increase awareness using blogs, press releases, social media, etc.

Which tools will you be using?

Some consultants will ask you to buy paid SEO tools to complement their services. While professional tools offer a lot, they don’t always come with a price tag. Some great SEO specialist companies like Page Locus offer free to use online SEO tools that utilize the latest industry trends to offer insightful results.

These include the keyword generation tool, website review tool, social search engine tool and more. Make sure your consultant is making use of such excellent tools.

You can use these and much more on Page Locus’s website.