Hiring someone to handle your SEO isn’t a decision to rush. Getting found online can have a big impact on how many people visit your website, pick up the phone, or walk through your door. But picking the wrong person might do more harm than good. Investing in a professional SEO consultant should be about long-term growth, not guesswork or generic plans.
It’s easy to be caught off guard by fancy words or promises of fast results, especially if you’re not sure what to ask in the first place. That’s why it helps to go into that first conversation with the right questions in mind. Knowing what to ask means getting clearer answers, spotting red flags early, and finding someone who actually understands the needs of your business.
What Services Are Included in Your SEO Packages?
Not all SEO services are built the same. Some consultants offer a full package that covers everything from fixing errors on your website to writing blog articles. Others might only focus on one small piece, like building backlinks. Before getting too far in the conversation, you’ll want to ask what’s actually included in their service.
Start with questions like:
- Do you provide keyword research for my specific industry or location?
- Will you optimise existing pages, or just suggest changes for me to make?
- Do you handle content creation, or is that something extra?
- Do you offer monthly reports, and if so, what’s in them?
These might sound like small details, but they’ll make a real difference once the work begins. For example, one local shop thought they were getting expert support, but it turned out the consultant only gave general advice and didn’t touch the website at all. A few months in, traffic hadn’t changed one bit.
Also, ask if their approach changes based on your business goals. Someone offering the exact same plan to every client might not fully understand how SEO impacts different industries. A plumber and a clothing shop won’t have the same search habits from their customers, so their strategy shouldn’t be identical either.
Knowing exactly what you’re paying for upfront saves stress later. It clears up expectations and helps you compare different consultants properly.
Can You Share Examples of Success with Similar Businesses?
You wouldn’t hire a decorator without seeing their previous work. The same goes for SEO. Asking to see examples of their past projects helps you spot red flags early and gives you a sense of how much difference their work has made for other clients.
Here’s what to look for when asking this:
- Have they worked with businesses your size or in your industry?
- Can they point to results like improved rankings for key terms?
- Are they confident explaining what they did and why it worked?
You're not just checking that they’ve done SEO before. You’re trying to work out whether they understand businesses like yours. If they’ve helped a similar client grow their online visibility, that adds a bit more trust to the conversation.
It’s also a good sign if they’re happy to talk you through their process. If their answers are vague or full of buzzwords without examples, that might be a warning sign. A solid consultant will explain what they did to improve a website, and how those changes helped more people find it.
Clear examples do more than impress. They give you an anchor point, so you can picture what their SEO work might look like for your business too.
What Is Your Approach To Local SEO?
Local SEO is its own thing. What works for a national firm won’t always make sense for a local shop or service-based business. You’ll want a consultant who understands how to target customers in your area, not just fill pages with general keywords. That starts by asking how they go about boosting local visibility.
A good SEO consultant should be able to walk you through their plan for improving your presence in local searches. Ask about:
- Google Business Profile optimisation.
- Use of local keywords that match how people really search.
- Getting listed accurately in local directories.
- Strategies for earning quality links from nearby sources.
- How they track local rankings and results.
Let’s say you own a hair salon in Leeds. Your potential customers aren’t searching for “best hair salon UK” – they’re typing things like “Leeds hairdresser near me” or “fringe trim in Headingley.” If your consultant doesn’t know how to capture that kind of traffic, their approach might miss the mark.
Also, check if they take the time to understand your neighbourhood or region. Knowing how people behave and search in your area matters. It helps customise your SEO plan in a way that’s much more likely to connect you with real leads rather than just online clicks.
Local SEO is often where smaller businesses can stand out most. If done well, it helps people nearby find you over someone farther away or less relevant. Without a clear plan for local visibility, your business could be lost in search results, even if your wider SEO looks fine.
How Do You Measure And Report On Progress?
Once things are up and running, you’ll want to know how it’s all going. That’s where reporting comes in. Some consultants provide detailed updates, while others might just offer vague summaries. To stay in the loop, make sure you know how progress will be measured and what’s being tracked.
A proper SEO report should show:
- Movement in keyword rankings.
- Increases in organic traffic.
- Changes in click-through rates.
- Engagement on key pages.
- Leads or sales from organic searches.
Ask how often you’ll get updates – is it monthly, fortnightly, or on request? And when they do share results, is the data explained in a way that makes sense? You don’t want to be staring at charts with no idea what they mean.
Some consultants use dashboards you can log into any time. Others prefer emailing a summary with highlights. Either’s fine, as long as it keeps you informed and gives you a solid picture of what’s working, what needs tweaking, and how things are shifting over time.
If they can’t explain why some pages perform better than others or how efforts have led to growth, it might leave you guessing whether it’s worth the spend. Clear, honest communication helps build trust and makes sure the plan stays on course for your business goals.
Asking the Right Questions Builds the Right Partnership
Knowing what questions to ask puts you in control. It shows that you’re ready to take your business growth seriously and expect the same from anyone you hire. Instead of hoping for the best, you're looking carefully at what a person brings to the table and whether they'll actually help deliver results.
Working with a professional SEO consultant should be a partnership. One where both sides understand the goals, check progress regularly, and aren’t afraid to adjust plans when needed. It’s not about perfect answers – it’s about finding someone who listens, responds clearly, and knows how to put real strategy into action.
Taking a bit of extra time now, can save a lot of stress and confusion later. When you know exactly what to ask during those first chats, you’re more likely to land someone who fits your business and gets it growing from the ground up.
To make sure your business gets the online visibility it deserves, working with a professional SEO consultant could be a smart move. At Small Business Superpowers we understand the ins and outs of SEO and are here to help your business thrive. Whether you're looking to optimise your local reach or improve overall search rankings, having a specialist on your side can make all the difference. Feel free to reach out and discuss how we can tailor our strategies to meet your unique needs.