If you’ve ever tried to hire an SEO consultant, you already know the problem: everyone online sounds the same.
- “Data-driven.”
- “Ethical SEO.”
- “Results-focused.”
- “10+ years of experience.”
On paper, every SEO consultant looks qualified.
In reality, the difference between a good one and a bad one is night and day — and the cost of choosing wrong is months of momentum you never get back.
I’ve seen this from both sides.
I’ve worked in-house inside an SEO agency where we handled around ten retainers at once — global manufacturers, SaaS companies, care agencies, local service businesses.
I’ve also worked independently as a freelance SEO consultant where the responsibility (and pressure) sits entirely on your shoulders.
That experience makes something very clear:
Most businesses don’t actually know what to look for when they hire an SEO.
They look at the wrong factors — awards, jargon, price — and miss the things that actually determine whether the consultant can move the needle for their business.
This guide fixes that.
I’m going to walk you through how to vet an SEO consultant in a simple, straightforward way.
The questions, checks, and red flags that tell you whether someone can genuinely help you grow, or whether you’re about to sign a slow, expensive mistake.
By the end, you’ll know exactly how to:
- separate real expertise from recycled talking points
- spot red flags before you waste a single month of retainer fees
- ask the questions that reveal how someone actually works
Let’s get into it — starting with the biggest mistake people make when hiring an SEO consultant.
What type of SEO consultant do you actually need?
Most businesses skip this step.
They jump straight to comparing prices or looking at case studies, but the real filter — the one that saves you months of wasted budget — is knowing what type of SEO work you actually need in the first place.
SEO isn’t one job. It’s a collection of disciplines.
Technical. Content. Strategy. Local. Ecommerce. B2B.
Recovery work. Growth work. Maintenance work.
Most consultants are strong in two or three areas — not all of them.
And that’s normal. SEO is deep. Nobody is world-class across every layer.
If you’re trying to rank for a local keyword like plumber in sheffield, you need someone who lives and breathes local SEO — Google Business Profile optimisation, review systems, citations, proximity factors, and local intent.
If you’re targeting content-led B2B queries like best crm for manufacturing teams, you’re in a different universe. Now you need someone who understands editorial SEO, topical depth, bottom-of-funnel content, internal linking structures, and conversion behaviour.
And if your site has tens of thousands of URLs?
Now you’re in technical SEO territory.
Crawlers, indexing logic, canonical strategy, log-file analysis, page templates, and site architecture.
That is not the job for someone who “mostly writes blog posts.”
Knowing the type of problem you have is how you avoid hiring the wrong person to fix it.
The right consultant is the one whose strengths match what your business actually needs over the next 6–12 months — not the person with the flashiest proposals.
Red flags that matter (and what they tell you)
The SEO industry is full of noise.
Guarantees. Secret algorithms. Magical “systems.”
Most of it means nothing.
Here are the red flags that actually matter:
They refuse to explain their process
If they can’t explain how they work in simple language, they don’t understand it well enough to be responsible for your growth.
They pitch before learning your business
If they don’t ask about margins, funnels, seasonality, sales cycles, your ICP, or your business economics — they’re operating blind.
They offer reports instead of insights
Dashboards are automated. Strategy isn’t.
They talk rankings, not revenue
A ranking without commercial value is nothing but a pretty number.
Green flags worth paying attention to
These are the signs a consultant is competent — and genuinely understanding your business:
They ask about your margins and economics
SEO only works when it supports profitability.
They explain trade-offs clearly
Every move has an opportunity cost. Good consultants tell you the truth upfront.
They talk about compounding work
Internal linking, evergreen content, and optimisation compounds — if you want that, read my internal linking guide.
What a good SEO consultant should be able to show you
This is the checklist that filters real operators from surface-level freelancers:
- KPIs you can understand — tied to revenue, leads, or conversions, not vanity metrics.
- A strategy you understand — not jargon, not templates, not vague promises.
- No long-term lock-in contracts — if they need a 12-month contract to keep you, that’s a red flag.
- A website that actually ranks — if they can’t rank their own site, why trust them with yours?
- Proof of work — audits, improvements, content workflows, internal linking systems.
- Evidence of progression toward your goal — not just reports, but movement.
If an SEO consultant can tick this list, you’re speaking with someone serious.
What to ask before you hire them
These questions cut straight through fluff and force clarity:
“Walk me through your first 30 days if we start tomorrow.”
You want structure, not improvisation.
“What does your strategy look like for a business like mine?”
If they answer without understanding how you make money, that’s your sign.
“How do you measure success?”
Look for specifics: conversions, leads, CPA, revenue — not “more traffic.”
“What doesn’t SEO fix?”
Good consultants draw boundaries. Bad ones promise miracles.
The honest conclusion
A good SEO consultant makes your life easier.
They remove uncertainty. They tell you the truth even when it’s uncomfortable. They build a system that strengthens your business every month.
A bad one drains your budget and your time.
Now you know how to spot the difference — and how to pick someone who can actually move the needle for you.