To those unfamiliar with SEO, from a distance, it can seem as complicated as the wiring inside a passenger jet. Firstly, it is not, and secondly, it is a lot easier to learn SEO than the electrics which keep an aircraft flying.

Nevertheless, there are lots of valid reasons why rather than learning to do SEO for yourself, you would want to outsource to someone else with the knowledge required to get websites higher rankings in the search engines.

If your company is big enough, the first possibility might be to employ someone within your business. This position would give someone the job of assessing, updating, and taking the action required on an ongoing basis to keep the company’s website ranked as highly as possible.

It is likely not everyone reading this will have a company big enough to go through the process of recruitment, employment contracts and payroll to add their own SEO expert to the staff so what are the options?

Well, you can still recruit an SEO expert to work on behalf of your business. The difference is they are not actually employed directly by the business but act as a consultant with an agreement in place in the same way contractors operate in the construction industry for example.

Prior to starting, you will obviously consider the SEO consultant’s track record in respect of any testimonials and recommendations they have. Being willing to allow you to contact previous clients is a great sign in terms of their openness and you should take up this offer whenever it is presented to you. Hearing from someone who has already used their services will give a great insight into their ability and how easy it is to work with them.

It is essential you agree with any potential SEO consultant what their objectives are in advance. It may be the case that what you want to achieve may take some time or in some cases may not even be possible. If the SEO consultant is open and up front, they will let you know what can and cannot be achieved for your site.

Always be wary of anyone who says yes to everything you ask for. It might sound impressive at the time but when they start coming up with excuses down the line you’ll soon realise they were spinning you a line simply to get the work from you.

With freelance SEO consultants, the fee can be structured in several ways. There can be a single fee for the whole job, with half paid upfront and then the final amount upon completion. Another way is for an initial fee to be payable and then equal monthly payments for the length of time they work for you. This can either be agreed for a fixed period or open until you both decide to end the contract. Some consultants might also work for the monthly fee alone without any upfront fees.

Instead of a single consultant and if your budget will allow you could employ an SEO agency which will have staff with a number of specific skills and expertise. They will tend to be more expensive but the opportunity to have several experts with in-depth knowledge of all aspects of SEO working on your website is one that should be taken if possible.