Being a consultant is difficult for every industry or skill level. While it may be challenging, the rewards of the job are also extremely satisfying. You may have realized by now that there is no cheat code to prove your expertise as an SEO consultant. You have to work hard, stay dedicated, and constantly learn to improve yourself.
There are some things you can do to prove yourself as a great consultant. Certain elements and characteristics can help you set yourself apart from the other consultants of the industry. However, the lack of these factors can prove severely detrimental to your consultancy business. So let us look at some of these aspects.
Define Your Goals
We are not referring to your personal or business goals. We are talking about the goals you should set up in the beginning while consulting for a client. That way, you and your client will have a clear understanding of the obtainable targets. It will also help you hold yourself accountable to achieve those targets.
It can be almost impossible to prove the value and success of your project as an SEO consultant. Therefore, you should predetermine the key metrics and ensure that you track them regularly. That way, you will be able to produce a comprehensive report on the progress of your project. It will also help you evaluate the success rate that you can advertise to your future clients.
Leading freelance SEO consultant Daniel Foley states that you should display an accurate track record on your website for prospective clients. You should also highlight the key metrics that you often excel at on your site. Some examples of these key objectives are:
- Achievements in boosting organic traffic
- Significant improvements in brand and keyword visibility
- Impressive reductions in advertisement costs
You need to highlight honest records because your future customers may contact your previous clients to cross-check these details.
Educate Your Clients
Educating your clients can have a significant impact on your relationship with current or future clients. It also provides an opportunity to establish your knowledge and expertise in the field.
As an SEO consultant, you know that it is not possible to become an expert in every facet of the digital marketing business. Even in SEO, there are several paths to consider, such as content optimization, keyword research, building backlinks, internal cross-links, technical SEO, and many others.
On top of that, the landscape of search engine algorithms is constantly evolving. Your clients may not be able to understand all of these aspects unless they have been involved with SEO for at least a few months. You have to know your client’s position and experience to begin with, so you know the areas you will need to nurture.
It will also help you understand the level of education where you need to start. For example, you would not want to throw SEO terminologies at novice clients. You will also understand how to establish the value of your knowledge in SEO in front of your customers.
When you start working with a new client, you will slowly understand the bigger SEO picture for the company and its industry. You may need to subscribe to some of the top publications and set up Google Alerts to read recent news of the industry.
That way, you can check in regularly with your client to show them that you are aware of the key business aspects and areas to focus on. You can also demonstrate your knowledge of the key competitors and elements that are less of a priority.
You can use the knowledge acquired to demonstrate your expertise. Instead of taking directions or instructions from your clients all the time, establish your position as an expert.
Take the Necessary Action
As a consultant, you may not have direct control over the actions based on your recommendations. However, the success of your goals is mostly dependent on these actions.
So you may end up wondering what you should do in case you do not see any immediate actions. These are some of the necessary actions you can take in such scenarios:
- Prioritize the urgent recommendations and ensure that everyone focuses on taking the actions to achieve immediate results.
- Emphasize the importance of your recommendations and signify the need for urgent action to prevent potential repercussions.
- Consider alternative approaches to achieve the desired results. You can also evaluate if you can help with the execution of the required actions.
Taking timely actions is not just crucial to establish your expertise as an SEO consultant. It will also help you to maintain a valuable relationship with your clients.
Choose the Right Tools
A major part of any SEO consultant’s job is to use the right tools. Therefore, you need to establish your knowledge of the right tools and resources to complete the job. But keep in mind that the scope of the chosen tools should match the size and needs of your consulting business. These are some of the types of tools that you would need for your projects.
- Digital marketing tools like Google Console, Google Analytics, Google Pagespeed Insights, keyword research tools, etc.
- Communication tools like Google Hangouts, Google Docs, teams, etc.
- Project management tools like Trello, Basecamp, OneDrive, etc.
Every professional Seo consultant has a preferred set of tools. So you need to choose the ones that work for you.
These are just a few ways to set yourself up as an expert SEO consultant. However, constant improvement and keeping yourself updated with the latest industry changes are some of the most crucial aspects of moving forward.
Always remember that seeing happy clients and establishing long-term business relationships is the key to gain referrals and being a great consultant.