If your website is not ranking you are not getting traffic. And if you are not getting traffic you are invisible. It does not matter how good your product is. If people cannot find you they will not buy from you.
Hiring an SEO consultant is one of the fastest ways to fix that. But not every consultant will get you results. Some will give you spreadsheets. Some will talk about backlinks without strategy. And some will just plug your site into tools and hope for the best.
If you want real growth you need someone who knows how to turn search traffic into leads. Not just improve your keyword rankings.
Here is how to hire an SEO consultant that actually helps your website rank and convert.
Start by defining what SEO success looks like for you
Before you hire anyone get clear on what you want. Are you trying to rank for competitive keywords. Are you launching a new site. Do you need local traffic. Are you trying to improve conversions from existing pages.
The more specific you are the easier it is to find a consultant who can actually help. Vague goals like “get more traffic” lead to vague strategies. But if you say “we want to rank top three for [keyword] in the next six months” or “we want to drive qualified leads to our product pages,” you can evaluate the consultant based on outcomes not activity.
Ask what strategy they would use for your type of site
A good SEO consultant will not offer a generic plan. They will ask about your industry your competitors and your content assets. Then they will give you a rough outline of how they would approach ranking.
Ask them what their first 90 days would look like. Ask them what they would fix first and what tools they use to audit. If all they mention is meta tags and keyword stuffing walk away.
SEO today is about user intent technical health and content quality. You want someone who can look at your entire funnel not just a few blog posts. If they understand how to match keywords to business goals they are worth listening to.
Look for proof not theory
A strong SEO consultant will have proof of results. Ask for examples. Not just of traffic but of leads and revenue. Ask how they improved rankings what actions they took and what changed because of it.
If they cannot explain how their work impacted business outcomes they might just be checking boxes. You want someone who can tie ranking improvements to real conversions.
Test their communication style early
SEO work takes time. You are going to be in regular contact for months. Pay attention to how they explain things. Are they clear or do they hide behind jargon. Do they send 10-page audits or a simple list of what needs fixing now.
The best consultants speak like operators. They explain things simply. They get to the point. They give you recommendations not just reports.
Ask about content and backlinks but do not let them lead with that
Too many consultants talk about backlinks and blog volume as the only levers. And yes both matter. But they are not the first place to start.
Your site needs to be technically sound. The architecture needs to make sense. Pages need to match what people are searching for. Backlinks only work when the foundation is already strong.
Ask how they evaluate content quality. Ask how they choose target keywords. Ask how they decide when to optimize versus create from scratch.
Understand their pricing and scope
Some consultants charge hourly. Some charge per project. Some offer monthly retainers. You do not need the cheapest. You need the one who gives you leverage.
Ask what is included. Do they do implementation or just strategy. Do they help with writing or only advise. Do they manage reporting or hand off recommendations for your team.
You need to be clear on what you are buying afterall you are not paying for deliverable but for outcomes. You want better rankings that lead to better leads.
Final thoughts
Hiring an SEO consultant is not about finding someone who knows how to use a tool. It is about hiring someone who knows how to diagnose what is broken and build a strategy that fits your business.
You do not need a giant agency or a monthly report full of graphs. You need a sharp operator who can tell you exactly what to fix and why it matters.
If you want help figuring out what kind of SEO work will actually move the needle for your site reach out at Inbound Marketer. We help businesses turn organic traffic into booked calls not just higher rankings.