Hiring An Internet Search Consultant

What You Need To Know When Thinking About Hiring An Internet Search Consultant

Not Everyone Is Internet Savvy

The technological age is leaving some people behind. The reason for this is that the rules and regulations that govern internet activities are constantly changing. It takes a lot of time to stay current on all the changes.

That is time you may not have. All of these changes may have you thinking about hiring an internet search consultant. It is a good move because your time is better spent on running your company and managing its day-to-day affairs than trying to learn all the rules that change every 2 to 6 months.

Keep reading to get all the important information you should know about before you take the time to hire one of these search consultants.

Is It Necessary To Hire A Consultant?

In most cases, yes it is. The internet and the rules governing its use change very quickly. Having someone who can stay current with all those changes will help your business and its website stay current and be able to take advantage of different trends.

Here are some other good reasons why you should hire a top search consultant:

1. They Have The Technical Expertise And The Resources To Use Those Capabilities– The experts have been in the game for a very long time and know what needs to be done and how to get it done.

If you are new to this system of marketing, etc., then you will fall behind your competitors or you may get penalized by the search engines. That is not a good situation to be in. The experts can avoid those penalties and keep you ahead of your competitors and the game so your business earns more money.

2. Can Optimize Your Website Easily– Getting your website optimized for different search engines takes a lot of time and a lot of know-how. It is not something that can be done in a night or two if you do not know what you are doing.

Plus, you may spend a lot of money learning how to do this or to train your employees to do it. That would be money better spent elsewhere. A consultant can do the job cheaper and faster than you can. There are just too many SEO areas that need optimizing and you may not learn them all before they change again.

3. Better Customer Support– Your consultant can keep the technical side of the website up and running so your customers do not have any hassles. They can navigate the website better making them happy and satisfied visitors to your website and turning them into paying customers.

The consultant will have the expertise and the experience to identify problems before they take place and have your website avoid business damaging downtimes.

4. Improved Business– This is another reason why it is necessary to hire an internet search consultant. Your business will improve because your website is optimized which means you get more traffic to your content and products.

Because the website is running smoothly, your visitors will be happy with their experience and possibly turn into paying customers. It is just a better deal for both your business and your customers.

Also, your consultant will keep your website very visible, helping it to attract more traffic to your doorstep.

Why Do Businesses Hire Consultants

The above reasons are fairly good. A consultant will help with the technical side of business life and make sure your website is seen and not penalized by the search engines.

But there are other reasons why a company will hire a search consultant and they are very good reasons as well. To stay in business, you need to cover all your bases to make sure you remain competitive as well as attract new customers. Here are some additional reasons why companies hire consultants:

1. They Need A Fresh Perspective– This is important as in-house techs and employees can get a little jaded. They may be so used to the way things are they may miss a problem or if they find it, they do not have a solution.

An outside consultant comes in with new eyes and a new point of view. They may be able to spot the problem quicker or provide the solution faster. Saving you a lot of time and money trying to fix the problem.

Their experience may also provide solutions as they have already seen what will work and what does not work

2. They Need More Manpower– This is an issue for many smaller companies. They just do not have the extra employees to assign these internet tasks. Bringing in a consultant allows the company to add staff and get that needed manpower on a temporary basis.

Hiring new employees won’t make sense as some of the projects involved are simply a one-time-only deal and having more employees on staff will only cost you more money while not bringing more in.

Contract work solves both problems and keeps your budget intact.

3. Some Projects Take Specialized Skills– These are skills your regular employees may not have. A consultant will have them as they have spent years in the business and know the ins and outs of internet life.

They also have developed their skills by working on these same types of projects full time. Your employees may not have any experience in those projects and using them slows everything down.

Hiring consultants allows you a little flexibility as you may not have enough work to hire a specialist full-time. They come in, do the job and then move on.

4. The need for objectivity- There may be some projects or problems that are complicated. Not in the way of technology but in emotions and controversy. Having in-house employees working on it can cause emotions to rise, heated debates to take place and decision making becomes very difficult.

A consultant can remain objective and remove a lot of office politics and personal emotions from the problem. They provide an unbiased viewpoint to handle difficult situations better than in-house or senior staff can do it.

Key Reasons Why You Need To Hire A Consultant

You know your business backwards and forward. The internet search consultant knows his or hers in the same way. They have special knowledge, like you in your business, that helps them create solutions for those businesses wanting to have a top internet presence.

Some of the following reasons may be duplicates but they are so important that they need repeating.

1. They Are Experts In Their Fields

There are people who are great in business but cannot function to the best of their ability when it comes to internet searches, SEO requirements, and so on. It is best to hire people to cover your weaknesses. That is what all successful businessmen do.

You hire those people who are strong where you are weak to make sure all aspects of your business are covered with the right people. The consultant knows SEO and search requirements along with trends, marketing, and so on. It is a good idea to hire the best

2. They Have The Experience

Unless you are hiring a complete novice right out of college, most consultants have been active in this field for years. They have been challenged by many of the problems your business is facing and can provide solutions a lot quicker than if you and your IT department go it alone.

Having experienced help makes sure your website does not suffer from downtime or other internet problems that turn your customers to your competitors. Experience trumps youth any day of the week and they can get the task done quicker.

3. They Know How To Handle Different Projects

The reason they have that skill is that they faced these same projects and challenges before. They know the steps you need to take, the requirement that needs to be met as well as calculate the time it takes to get the job done right.

They will be of great assistance to completing the project and can teach your employees what they need to do when the problem arises again. Plus, they can save you money by getting the task done sooner than later.

4. A Built-In Trainer

One thing a consultant can do for your company is train your IT people in techniques, solutions, and information they may not have learned in technology school. What this means is that you can save money and time in the future because your IT people have been trained by a top-notch consultant.

Plus, they can provide good tips, tricks, and advice to make sure your IT department people are up to speed and ready to go. Having well-trained employees makes your business more attractive to your customers and other top professionals.

5. You Get A Better Picture Of Your Company

And how it is performing in different areas. You may have thought your company was holding on to a good internet presence but the consultant can analyze your company’s efforts and give you a true picture of where it stands.

This information is needed as it will help you correct errors, make better decisions, and change directions if need be. The information a consultant provides will be vital in improving your company and how it operates on the internet.

6. Save Money And Time

Without the aid of a consultant, your IT people may not catch the mistakes or learn from them. They just do not have the expertise to make these adjustments. But by using a consultant, you get someone who is highly trained to spot these issues and what lessons can be derived from them.

In turn, you can make the corrections faster saving you both time and money. If you left this issue up to your own people, they may take days, etc. thinking up new options to try. This slows everything down costing you money.

7. You Get Better Growth Options

That is one key aspect of hiring a search consultant for your business. It is possible that you or your IT department overlooked something that would help your business. A consultant can come in and spot those opportunities quickly and know how to take advantage of them

Without noticing these opportunities, your goods and services may be limited causing you to not be able to expand and grow as you would like. These missed opportunities can hinder your business from becoming a better success than it already is.

8. Change Can Be For The Better

This is not changing for the sake of change. Instead, it is identifying key areas that need something to change so that they can go to the next level. A good consultant can spot those problem areas and either suggest good ideas for what needs to be changed or help make those needed changes quickly.

Not only will this help your business but your employees will get more insight, knowledge, and skills making them more efficient. Plus, your consultant can help your people make smooth transitions allowing your business to thrive.

The Questions To Ask Prospective Consultants

When you are thinking of hiring a search consultant, you need to have the right questions on hand when you make the decision to hire one. Here are some great questions you can ask when you start vetting the candidates that showed up:

1. Why do companies need consultants? The answers to look for:

1. Applicant’s understanding of how consultants can push companies forward
2. Overall interest in consultancy work
3. Industry experience or expertise

While any company may benefit from hiring a consultant, some companies might not have the budget, or it won’t be practical. You have to make that determination yourself.

2. How would you make our company more profitable?

The answers to look for:

1. Applicant’s willingness to critique company decisions and processes
2. Logic, reasoning, and problem-solving skills
3. Knowledge of your company and its mission

Not only does this test the critical thinking power of your candidates, but it also lets you know if the candidate did some research or not in your company or industry.

3. How do you adapt to a company’s culture when working on a project?

The answers to look for:

1. Applicant’s method for adapting to new company cultures
2. Opinion on the value of teamwork
3. Ability to build trusting relationships

The answers you get will help you determine if they are going to be a good team player or someone that may eventually cause some problems.

4. How should consultants set prices for projects?

The answers to look for are:

1. Applicant’s understanding of the consultancy industry and what drives pricing
2. Ability to calculate and track work expenses and profitably price a project
3. Negotiation and communication skills

Pricing is always going to be part of the interview and you need to know how the candidate views pricing in their industry and if they have any good negotiation skills.

5. How do you size a market?

The answer you should be hearing is:

1. Applicant’s critical thinking skills
2. Commitment to research and data-driven approaches
3. Ability to identify market opportunities

These answers should tell you how much the candidate understands your market and what methods they use to help with growth and other key factors.

6. How would you respond if you presented your suggestions to a business leader and they were sceptical about getting their desired results?

The answers you should be hearing include:

1. Strategic thinking
2. Ability to extrapolate based on data
3. Negotiation skills

Can they work with people who disagree with their ideas and suggestions/ Also, the candidate should know how to assess a company’s system and develop changes to improve the system?

What To Look For When Hiring A  Internet Search Consultant

Now that you have the reasons, the importance, and the questions for hiring a search consultant, you now need to learn about what to look for. Not every consultant will be the same, have the same experiences or body of knowledge. You need some key factors to help guide your decision-making process.

The following guidelines should help you come to a clear candidate that will be best for your company.

1. Track Record

The candidate you will hire needs to have some sort of winning track record to show you. Their history should be one of verifiable and proven success so you know they can do the job for you.

There will be those rare occasions where you will find a great consultant who does not have that track record so be a little flexible and open-minded here. Sometimes, some consultants just need one chance to get their foot in the door and prove their worth.

2. Experience

Some of the lesser consultant firms may show you their senior staff just to get you signed up and locked in. Once the paperwork is assigned, they provide low-level employees to handle the workload.

This is not good and you should expect to have the people presented to you as the actual workers on your project. You will want those consultants who have the experience to handle your projects or problems, not someone who is fresh out of college and doesn’t know that much.

Also, you will need to know if you can choose a team of consultants or one. You may not have the budget for a team and this option is vital if the consulting firm wants the job.

3. Pricing

The bottom line is always important to any business and you need to know the cost of hiring each consulting candidate. The rates should be equal to the level of service provided.

You may want to hire a cheaper firm because they will cut initial costs. But over the length of the project, they may be more costly due to other factors. You will have to determine which is going to work best for your company.

The experienced person who charges more but gets the job done quickly, or the inexperienced person who saves on initial costs but costs you more money due to their inability to solve problems quickly. It is a business decision on your part and you need to weigh the consequences carefully.

4. Value To The Company

A specialist may be good in certain areas of IT and search functions, etc. However, a consultant who has worked in several different industries can draw from innumerable experiences that will design more creative solutions.

The generalist, as these people are called, will add more value to your IT department and company making the expense worth the cost. This extra knowledge and skill help your department find better solutions faster and keeps your company moving forward.

A specialist may have more specific knowledge but their value may not be as great as a generalist who has a wider range of experiences to work with.

5. Communication Ability

You do not want a consulting firm that is condescending or uses words you or your employees do not understand. You want one that can communicate clearly in understandable terms and who will listen to you and your employees.

Plus, you will want a consultant that pays attention to the needs of your company and employees as well as one who will provide you with honest and unbiased opinions or assessments. They should also give you clear, concise solutions to problems your company is facing.

Some Final Words

Our company understands what your company wants and needs. At SEO.London, we have the experience, the talent, and the expertise to make sure your projects are handled in the best way possible.

We have been in the business for over 20 years now and have developed strategies as well as a winning track record. Give us a call and check out our packages to see which one will provide you with the answers to your needs. Call today to get a free estimate.