The following are just a few example of when hiring an SEO expert can save you hundreds of hours, thousands of dollars, and maybe even a headache.
1. When Making Major Changes To Your Site
Search Engine Optimization strategy should always be taken into consideration when adding, changing, or removing anything from your website. Even if you are just doing some basic URL changes or a CMS change, you can severely damage your rankings and cut off traffic to your site.
Neil Patel, the co-founder of KISSmetrics, Crazy Egg and Quick Sprout, recommends hiring an SEO expert when doing any of the following tasks:
- Crawling your site
- Provide SEO recommendations on early-stage design mockups or wireframes
- Conduct development site reviews
- Consult with developers on the use of Java
- Conduct an inbound link analysis
- Create a 301 redirect map
- Provide page title recommendations
- Provide H1 recommendations
- Perform a content audit
- Monitor response codes post launch
2. When Working Through A Penalty
Google is still slamming people with manual and algorithmic penalties – probably hundreds of people a day. Since Google still rules the search world, sites must adapt to its demands.
If and when a manual penalty comes down the pipe, the damage can be devastating. Depending on what got you into the penalty box, Google can and will completely remove your site from some – or even all search results.
Recovering from a penalty can be a hugely daunting task for someone has has never been there before. Although it is possible to get a manual penalty lifted while working from your kitchen table, your efforts may either take forever, or be totally ineffective. In the end, you might save more time and money by actually hiring a professional to get your business… back in business.
3. When Starting A Digital Marketing Campaign
Leveraging a website as a part of a digital marketing campaign is not as simple as “if you build it, they will come.” There needs to be more than just four walls and a roof. Like a house, a website built for conversions is made up of many small and very important pieces. A house is not a home without a staircase to the second floor, a hot water heater, or light switches. To keep with the same line of thinking, a website is not an effective marketing tool without an SEO’s tasklist, and they can be completely foreign to business owners and even some web-developers.
4. When You’re a Local Business
Without local listings – you don’t exist.
There are plenty of statistics out there proving that local listings and Local SEO are well worth the investment. BUT, according to Neil Patel, “Few local business owners, especially small business owners, have the time to implement all the local SEO best practices on their own. To do it [themselves], and do it right, requires a level of time and effort that few business owners can afford.” These are a few small details that under certain circumstances can quickly squash Local SEO mojo:
- Variations in abbreviations of punctuations
- Changing your phone number
- Any inconsistencies across profiles
- Failing to classify your business correctly
Conclusion
I think it’s fair to say that you wouldn’t hire the guy down the street to build a house for your family and you wouldn’t pay someone you found on craigslist for business advice.
Don’t do the same for your digital marketing strategy. Just winging it, or giving the keys to all your digital assets to a novice is a sure fire way to destroy an online business. If you are looking for online marketing advice, contact Clix. We like tough questions!