Your best attempts to figure out search engine optimization (SEO) have ended in failure, and you’ve decided to enlist the efforts of a professional to improve the profile of your company’s website.

As explained in “New Careers That Are Coming Of Age,” social media strategists figure out optimal ways to get messages out to the masses using the latest community tools online. This could involve blogging, tweeting, and using sites like Foursquare and Facebook to find and communicate with customers.


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How can you tell if your SEO consultant is steering you in the right direction?

Big Promises

An early sign that your SEO consultant may not be all that he or she is cracked up to be is a claim that the project can be completed in a short period of time and will produce lasting benefits.

SEO isn’t about a quick fix but rather a continuing commitment to producing fresh content that will attract a loyal following and generate a demand for your products or services.

No Map to Follow

While an SEO consultant can get you headed in the right direction, he or she must provide a road map that you can follow to continue to reap the benefits of SEO after they are gone. If yours is a complex operation and website or even multiple websites, the consultant may need to return periodically to ensure that you are taking the steps necessary to maximize the benefits of your online presence.

Guarantees

Be extremely wary of any SEO consultant who claims he or she can generate copy guaranteed to attract plenty of new visitors to your website. Unless he is an expert in your line of business in addition to his supposed SEO expertise, the copy he supplies may attract more visitors but generate less actual business.

Zero Knowledge of Your Industry

You and your in-house staff are those most knowledgeable about your business and therefore should be producing the copy the site publishes, while the SEO consultant should be supplying guidelines that will help to ensure your site’s content gets read.

In order to work his magic in conjunction with your website’s unique message, your SEO consultant needs to ask plenty of questions so that he understands the nature of your business and the goals that you’ve set for your website.

If the consultant exhibits little or no understanding of your business and asks few questions, he may have you headed down the wrong road.


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Subpar Track Record

A reputable SEO consultant should be able to offer references that can testify to his or her abilities to drive meaningful traffic to former clients’ websites.

The absence of a verifiable track record may mean that your consultant is in over his head and will likely be unable to deliver on his overly ambitious promises.

Search Engine Submissions

Some less than reputable SEO consultants make a lot of noise about submitting your website to thousands of search engines. If that was all it took, you could use one of several free services to do the job for you.

However, the value of mass submissions to search engines has been called into question and may be more damaging in the long run that it is helpful.

Your consultant should focus on making your site as attractive and compelling as possible within the framework of SEO. Such a site will get picked up by the major search engines in due time. Trying to rush the process is probably a mistake.

Poor-Quality Links

Beware of SEO consultants who focus on link-building with little or no attention to the quality of the links.

Getting links from low-quality websites or blogs is counterproductive and probably will cost you business in the long run. Google and other search engines may penalize your site if they find you’re driving traffic to your site through links on other websites that have absolutely no relevance to your business.

If you’ve noticed some of these warning signs in dealings with your current SEO consultant, it may be a good time to start looking for a replacement.

I’m probably leaving out some information. What other tips can you provide about this issue?

About the Author: Jay Fremont is a freelance author who has written extensively about personal finance, corporate strategy, social media, and mobile payments.

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