Why hire a Freelance SEO Consultant

By: Justin March at Justin March

Submitted on Tue, Mar 31st, 2009 12:41 pm

What are the main benefits of hiring a freelance SEO and what other points should you consider during your selection process? Search Engine Optimisation or (SEO) refers to the process of improving the results of a given web site / page in the Natural (Organic or Algorithmic) search results, using both onsite and offsite elements. SEO is by nature rather an instinctive art that lends itself to being undertaken by an individual rather than individuals in a larger company. This article covers the main benefits of hiring a Freelance SEO Consultant and also touches upon other points that you may wish to consider during the selection process.

But First a Warning (or Why SEO Comes First)

It is simply incorrect to assume that SEO is something that can happen after a site has been designed; SEO (if done well) should be considered during and after the design process as the SEO process will often dictate the navigation and structure and certainly the content of your site.

Another Warning (or Beware of Dishonest or Black Hat SEO)

Search engines attempt to provide relevant results to their users in order to encourage the user to come back again and re-use the service. An SEO will optimise on page and off page elements to place the pages of the sites that they work for high up in the search results. Most SEO’s employ techniques that conform to the guidelines laid down by the search engines (this is sometimes called White Hat SEO); others attempt to trick the search engines with Black Hat SEO techniques. Unsurprisingly the search engines object to being tricked and black hat techniques can result in your site being banned.

Other so called SEO’s simply attempt to dishonestly trick their clients into spending money on services that are essentially unhelpful or useless.

You can normally spot a dishonest or Black Hat SEO when they:

Guarantee a #1 ranking, other than by employing Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising
Claim that submitting to search engines still matter
Claim to have a "special relationship" with Google, Yahoo or MSN
Focus on Search Engines that no one uses any more
Focus on keyword phrases that no one searches for, or those which you should achieve listings for anyway (like your company name)
Refuse to let you know what they are doing, or how there efforts should help you
Suggest SEO techniques such as doorway pages, domains with deceptive redirects, free-for-all links, link popularity schemes, or mass submitting your site
Offer to sell you ownership of certain keywords

My No1 rule, is if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is, but now, back to the reasons why you should hire a Freelance SEO over an SEO Company:

A Freelance SEO Consultant costs less than a SEO Company

There are a number of reasons why its more cost effective to hire a Freelance SEO rather than a larger company, these include:

A Freelance SEO has low overheads compared to a traditional SEO company.
A large SEO company is less able to scale down services to cope with smaller projects, where as a Freelance SEO needs smaller projects to survive.
A large SEO company is likely to charge a standard monthly fee, a Freelance SEO can offer a bespoke service defined by the needs of the client.

The other reasons to hire a Freelance SEO Consultant

Aside from the financial considerations there are a number of other reasons to hire a Freelance SEO over a SEO Agency:

A Freelance SEO has to be good to survive and must achieve results to retain your business.
A Freelance SEO is more likely to; care about your project, treat you with respect, return your calls and deliver the work on time.
A Freelance SEO is not a small cog in a large wheel, they are less likely to be confined by outdated company guidelines, or made board by being handed the umpteenth link building project this week.
A Freelance SEO is more likely to strive to leave a good impression, after all its their reputation that’s in the balance.

About the Author

Justin March
Justin March

Justin March is a freelance Web Designer & SEO working in Bristol, Gloucestershire and throughout the UK.

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