Key Attributes Of An Expert SEO Specialist

[Maximilian]

Key Attributes Of An Expert SEO Specialist...

Search engine optimization is considered both an art and a science. Making the uphill battle of learning how to promote your website URL to the top of search query results become months or even years of trial and error, only to see minor improvements. More often than not, your journey of SEO enlightenment is strewn with website optimization horror stories, leading to complete frustration and possible hopelessness.

Before throwing in the towel permanently, you may wish to employ the service of an "SEO specialist". However, anyone can capriciously boast of their own pedigree of expertise at optimizing websites for top keyword search engine placement. Therefore, aside from researching their resume of websites and putting the SEO specialist's own site to the test, their philosophy of site optimization can alone tell you if they are really up to the challenge of your website. Below is a simple, yet powerful list of the philosophical attributes of a proficient SEO specialist. Feel free to use it as your guiding light in the selection of your own website's SEO specialist.

<u>Top 5 Key Attributes Of An Expert SEO Specialist</u>:

1.) Supports optimization of ALL of your pages for ALL the major search engines.

2.) Analyzes pages for search engine compliance saving you from penalties...and the feared search sandbox.

3.) Pinpoints all possible and existing search engine visibility problems (blindspot avoidance plan).

4.) Provides the complete breakdown of problems pinpointed by the exact area of each page.

5.) Recommends changes to be made so that your site is found by maximum amount of qualified prospects.

I hope the above list, although not comprehensive, will aid you in your choice of an expert SEO specialist. Please feel free to add to this list what you feel is an important attribute of an expert SEO specialist.

Cheers!
Max

[themissy]

For me, it's important for someone to be able to explain clearly how and why their recommended changes will work, and they should be able to provide supporting documentation about those techniques -- articles, discussion fora, whatever.

I'm currently wrangling with an SEO firm that's asking a site to make changes without giving reasons for those changes ... and when questioned, the only response is "that's what you have to do". When asked if something they were asking the site to do was considered gray-hat, the contact at the SEO firm replied, "my tech guy says he doesn't think so."

[coder]

For me, it's important for someone to be able to explain clearly how and why their recommended changes will work, and they should be able to provide supporting documentation about those techniques -- articles, discussion fora, whatever.

That's the difference between talking to the sales people and the people actually doing the work.

In defense of the SEO companies out there, if they gave away all their secrets they wouldn't be in business very long. Even though I personally think most web designers and programmers should be handling the seo work in their day-to-day jobs.

Of course if you're interested in how SEO really works, just read through the post on this website and it will all be explained.

[rlrouse]

For me, it's important for someone to be able to explain clearly how and why their recommended changes will work, and they should be able to provide supporting documentation about those techniques -- articles, discussion fora, whatever.

In many cases supporting documentation doesn't exist. SEO isn't a hard science like physics or biology with textbooks to study and go by.

Most successful SEO practices are the result of personal experience (mainly trial and error), not published articles, and different SEO's are successful with different strategies.

That being said, you can educate yourself enough to be able to recognize when someone is blowing smoke. You can also ask for references from satisfied customers. And be sure to check out the SEO's own site. If it doesn't rank well don't expect your site to do any better after being "optimized".

[incrediblehelp]

Most successful SEO practices are the result of personal experience (mainly trial and error), not published articles, and different SEO's are successful with different strategies.

I agree here. I find that in every site I work on I seem to develop a new or unique path to successful optimization of their website. There are no one set of SEO rules that can apply to each web site, rather SEO guidelines or checkpoints that we must look at for each website.

[themissy]

I understand that not every technique is documented somewhere, and that there's a lot of trial and error and personal discovery involved. And I'm always willing to try new things on my own sites to see if they work.

However, when working with a client's site, my point was that an SEO pro should at least be able to communicate WHY they're doing something -- even if the reason is just "this has worked for me in the past," or showing the client a site where that technique has worked successfully. I've been dealing with an established SEO firm lately, and it's like pulling teeth getting them to clearly explain or give examples of anything.

[coder]

I've been dealing with an established SEO firm lately, and it's like pulling teeth getting them to clearly explain or give examples of anything.

In this situation or really any situation where I'm paying money for services and am not satisfied with what they are doing or how they are doing something. I'd look elsewhere, there are plenty of other companies, individuals and freelancers that would go out of their way to help you and answer any questions about they are doing and why they are doing it.