It’s funny that we use terms like “expert” to describe an SEO. When looking for someone to help us get us top search engine rankings, we often look to see who the experts are. Last time I checked, we don’t look for “expert lawyers” or “expert doctors” or “expert plumbers”. No, we look for professionals.
However, we do often look for experts at certain subsets. Such as lawyers that are divorce experts, doctors that are cancer experts, plumbers that are… um, clog experts, and so on. So why do we look for SEO experts? Can anyone truly be an expert in all things related to SEO?
Perhaps. Just like doctors can be experts in multiple areas, lawyers can be experts in multiple fields of law, and plumbers can be experts in multiple types of… um, clogs, SEOs can be experts in several areas as well. But an expert in all of them? Hmmmm, not likely.
So when you’re looking for an SEO expert, what do you expect to find? Someone who is an expert at on-page optimization? Someone skilled at link building? Someone who knows usability, analytics, and testing? Do you want a social media guru or a copy writing artist? There is a lot to know about SEO and none of that knowledge comes easy.
The really good SEOs are extraordinarily knowledgeable about a lot of stuff, but their expertise is in only a few. They know enough to guide others through the processes and strategies of about almost anything SEO related, but they are not necessarily the ones that you would turn to to do it themselves.
A good example is copywriting. I KNOW SEO copywriting, but I’m not an SEO copywriter. Could I do it? Yes. But not as well as someone who lives and breathes copywriting. With a copywriter, I can teach them, train them, edit them, and improve them in the realm of SEO… but I don’t want to do it unless I have to.
That’s because it’s not my strength. There are a lot of aspects of SEO and online marketing that are not my strength. That’s why I employ a team of people. They have strengths where I don’t.
So, that begs the question, what do you expect your SEO expert to be an expert in?
The answer to that should depend on what exactly you need. If you are looking for a full-scale optimization package, you need more than a single SEO. You need an SEO team. But, if you’re looking for some overall SEO consulting, a single, highly knowledgeable SEO should do the trick.
However, if you are looking for specific consulting, copywriting, analytics, etc., you need to find someone who knows that skill in great detail. That can be an SEO, but it may not always be.
I think businesses get into trouble when they expect their SEOs to have all the solutions. They look at the SEO as the magical ranking provider. They want better rankings, more traffic, increased conversions, and expect an SEO to be able to provide it all… within a few hours of paid time.
Not. Gonna. Happen.
Again, just like any other field, you get what you pay for. You find the cheaper expert you’ll get cheaper results. You find a plumber that charges less per hour he’ll likely take twice as long as the guy who charges a few dollars more per hour. You hire the cheaper lawyer, you may not like the results. Just sayin’.
When you’re looking for your “SEO expert” you gotta know what you want and what you expect. Don’t expect real magic on a clown budget. If you know what you want, then you can select the person, firm or group that will best be able to give you what you expect.