Isn’t SEO dead?
Doesn’t basically everyone know it?
Far from it!
The SEO of today is much different than in years past. It’s about a million times more complex – too much for one person to do.
And while everyone knows the basics, only a few know it to a truly deep level that consistently gets you amazing results. As a profession, SEO has only existed for 15 years or so, and 80% of its professionals have started within the last 2-8 years.
When are some specific times you should hire an SEO expert?
Here’s a few that come to mind:
- If You’ve Gotten Penalized
Using Google Disavow works to get rid of bad links, but it’s hardly a straightforward process. Google wants to see you’ve contacted the site’s owners a couple times before they consider removing those bad links (even if you didn’t post those links yourself).
Or maybe the issue is the links you do have are optimized to exactly match your keywords. Your content could also be too simplistic – basically stating the obvious.
What you did to rank well a year ago may now ruin your search rankings.
A penalty takes an awful lot of work to identify and get out of.
- When You Start a New Website or Redesign One
Web designers are great at what they do – designing your website. But remember, even though they may do SEO too, that doesn’t mean they’re as good as a specialist.
For example, they might change the categories in your WordPress blog. They might create new pages. They might use different URLs and not 301 redirect the old ones properly.
There are horror stories of websites losing a chunk of search traffic after redesigns.
- If You Don’t Understand Anything about Digital Marketing
Should you use paid ads or would you be better off trying to rank in organic search?
Do you need social media profiles? Which sites? There’s about 8-10 popular ones worth choosing from.
Who should host your website?
Should you use one of those template designs that let you click 3 times and go live?
If not, who should design your website?
Oh, and don’t forget you need a blog too.
Speaking of content, should you add a content marketing campaign and newsletter?
There’s a ton of moving parts in digital marketing.
A seasoned SEO pro understands them all and knows which you do and do not need.
Remember: You Get What You Pay For…
Keep in mind SEOs are contracted professionals. Some charge cheap rates, while others charge much more.
At the end of the day, you get what you’re willing to pay for. Experienced SEOs know their market value and charge accordingly.
So the ball’s in your court. Now you know some good times to ask for help, and why to hire the best SEO for the job.
