What does an SEO consultant actually do?
An SEO consultant works out why a site isn't earning the search traffic its pages should, then fixes it or says exactly how. For me, that starts with my WordPress SEO audit service, which reads your Search Console data and crawls every URL to find what's costing you clicks, and it ends with a short list of fixes ranked by what each one's worth. The label covers a lot of different jobs, though, and that's the first thing I'd pin down before hiring anyone.
Google's own page on hiring an SEO lists what people sell under the name, from a review of site content or structure and technical advice on redirects and JavaScript, to content development, keyword research, SEO training and optimizing for generative AI. One person rarely does all of that well. So I'd decide which job the site needs before comparing anyone's price, because a content writer and a technical auditor can both call themselves SEO consultants and deliver nothing alike. Before either, decide if SEO is still worth paying for at all.
It's also worth knowing what nobody can sell you. Google says it never accepts money to include or rank a site in its organic results, and that advertising with it has no effect on them. Anyone who hints at a paid shortcut into the rankings is describing something that doesn't exist.
One more line I'd draw early: SEO isn't the same job as building the site. I don't design or build websites, and that work belongs to a developer. What I'd want from an SEO hire is the search side: what Google can crawl and index, which pages earn clicks, and what's stopping the rest. That's what I do as a WordPress SEO consultant.
Which questions would I ask before I hire an SEO consultant?
Finding a good SEO consultant mostly comes down to the interview. Google suggests interviewing any SEO you're thinking of hiring, and its list of questions is a good place to start. These are the ones I'd ask, roughly in this order, with what I'd listen for in each answer.
- i.
Can you show me past results in Search Console?
Screenshots are easy to crop. I'd ask for a live screen share of a past client's Performance report, shown with that client's permission, with the date range visible and the dates of the work pointed out. A written case study that names the change and the date is the next best thing. You can hold my own case studies to the same test.
- ii.
Can I speak to two past clients?
I'd ask for two references from the last year and actually call them. Ask what changed on their site, whether the dates in the scope held, and how bad news was reported. Reviews count too, as long as they sit on a platform the consultant can't edit, with the contract behind each one on record.
- iii.
What will you look at first?
The answer I want is my own Search Console data. A plan written before anyone's read it is a template. Google's page makes the same point: a good SEO asks what makes your business different, who your competitors are and how your customers find you.
- iv.
What exactly will I get, and by when?
I'd want a written scope with dated deliverables: an audit report by a set date, a ranked list of fixes, a change log. Ongoing optimization with no named output is very hard to hold anyone to.
- v.
Who actually does the work?
The person on the sales call and the person changing your site aren't always the same. I'd ask for the name, and what happens to the work when that person's away.
- vi.
What do you need access to?
For an audit, read access is enough. Google advises granting only read access to Search Console at the audit stage. WordPress admin can come later, for fixes you've agreed to, ideally on a staging copy.
- vii.
How will you tell me what you changed?
Google's list asks whether an SEO will share every change they make and the reasoning behind it. I'd want that as a log: the date, the URL, what changed and why.
- viii.
How will you measure success, and against what?
The right answer names a baseline from before the work starts, in your own Search Console, and the pages that are expected to move. A number with nothing to compare it to tells you nothing.
- ix.
What won't you do?
Someone who can say what's out of scope has thought about the job. I'd be warier of a yes to everything than of a clear no. And ask whether their advice traces back to Google's Search Essentials, since Google's page asks that too.
Ask me the same questions. A consultant who gets defensive about being vetted has already told you something useful.
Which red flags would end the conversation?
Some answers wouldn't just lower my opinion of someone, they'd end the call. Most of them come straight from Google's own warnings on its hiring page, so none of this is my taste alone.
| What they say | Why it ends it | What I'd want instead |
|---|---|---|
| A promised #1 spot or a fixed position by a date | Google says nobody can promise a #1 ranking in its results | The expected outcome, the reasoning behind it and how it'll be measured |
| A special relationship with Google, or a priority submit | Google names both claims as ones to be wary of | Plain work in Search Console, the same tool you can open yourself |
| A secret method they can't explain | Google says to be careful of anyone who's secretive or won't say what they plan to do | A change log you can read line by line |
| A link to their site from yours, as a condition | Google says you should never have to link to an SEO | No strings attached to your own site |
| Submission to thousands of search engines, or a link package | Google calls link popularity schemes and mass submission typically useless, and its spam policies cover link spam | Pages that are worth linking to, and patience |
| A cold email about your rankings | Google says to be wary of SEOs who email out of the blue | Someone you found and chose, who's read your data |
The last flag isn't on Google's list, but it's the one I'd weigh most: a plan that doesn't start with your data. If someone quotes a monthly package before they've opened your Search Console, they're selling the package, not fixing your site.
Set a budget before the first call, too. Knowing roughly how much SEO costs for the job you need makes a cheap offer that skips the audit easy to spot, and it keeps the conversation on scope rather than on a monthly figure.
Google's page is blunt about this. You're responsible for the actions of anyone you hire, and deceptive content created on your behalf can get a site removed from Google's index entirely. Vetting someone costs an afternoon. A cleanup costs a lot more.
Rather have me do this? One person, whole job.
Book a call on UpworkFreelancer or agency: what changes?
Less than the sales pages on either side suggest. The questions above work for both, and good and bad work comes from both. What changes is who does the work, who you talk to, and what happens when someone's away.
| Question | Solo consultant | Agency |
|---|---|---|
| Who does the work | The person you spoke to | Ask by name, since it may be someone you haven't met |
| Capacity | One person's hours, so ask about their current load | More hands, which helps when a big site needs work in parallel |
| Cover for time off | Ask what happens during a holiday or an illness | Often built in, but ask who picks up your site |
| Range of skills | Deep in a few jobs, so ask which ones | Wider, often across content, links, ads and development |
I'm a solo consultant, so read that table knowing where I sit. I'd pick one person when the job is specific, like a technical audit or the search side of a platform move, and a larger shop when the job needs several skills at once for a long time. You can read who I am and how I work and judge the fit yourself.
Whichever you choose, start with a small, fixed piece of work before signing a long retainer. A written audit is a fair test: you'll see how someone thinks, how they write and whether they hit the date they gave you. I book through Upwork only, so the contract and every message sit in one place either of us can read back later.
How do you check the work after you hire an SEO consultant?
Once someone's working on the site, you shouldn't have to take their word for anything. None of these checks needs any SEO knowledge.
- Step 01
Stay the owner of your Search Console property
Only an owner can add or remove people in Search Console, so keep ownership yourself and add your consultant as a user. A restricted user gets view rights on most data, which fits Google's advice to grant only read access for an audit. If they verified as an owner with their own token, remove them and delete that token when the work ends.
- Step 02
Export a baseline before the work starts
Export the Performance report by page for the months before the start date, and keep the file. It's the first step of my own process too, because every later number gets judged against it.
- Step 03
Ask for a dated change log
Every change should come with its date, the URL, what changed and why. If the log's empty, the work isn't happening, whatever the monthly report says.
- Step 04
Compare the changed pages with their own past
Take the URLs from the log and compare their clicks and impressions with the same pages before the change. Site-wide traffic moves for plenty of reasons, like seasons and Google updates, so on its own it can't tell you whether a fix worked.
- Step 05
Give it a fair window, then ask direct questions
Search results don't settle overnight, and anyone who names the exact date they'll move is guessing. But a month with no log entries deserves a direct question.
If you'd like the first job to be a small, fixed piece of work you can judge, a written audit of your WordPress site is where I'd start. Every finding comes with the Search Console number behind it, so you can check each line yourself.
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