How can you tell whether SEO is worth investing in for your website and whether you need a consultant?

To decide whether SEO is worth investing in for your website, first clarify how visibility in search could benefit your business. Then assess what changes the website needs and whether your team has the budget and staff to implement them. Consider hiring a consultant when you need expert assessment or guidance. SEO being worthwhile does not necessarily mean you need to outsource it. Google notes that small local businesses may be able to do most of the work themselves. Although hiring an expert may save time and improve visibility, it also carries risks to your website and reputation. (S1, S5)

Start with your business needs, rather than buying services right away

Google advises that a suitable SEO provider should be interested in what makes your business unique, who your competitors are, how customers find you, and how search results could help. Business owners can also work through these questions before contacting a consultant. (S1)

In a 2016 article, Harris suggested that SEO may not be essential if channels such as pay-per-click advertising and social media are already generating satisfactory profits. This is advice about evaluating an investment based on a business’s operating model—not a general rule that profitable advertising eliminates the need for SEO, nor a basis for concluding that a particular website is necessarily unsuitable for it. (S5)

The budget includes not just consulting fees, but also the staff needed to modify the website

In the same article, Harris noted that a well-structured website might need only minor adjustments, while one requiring more substantial structural changes could need modifications to product categories, URLs, the front end and back end, or navigation menus, taking several months. This was an observation from practice at the time, not a fixed timeline for every project. (S5)

• Have an expert assess the current state of the website and the likely scope of changes first.
• Confirm whether in-house engineers or an external website development provider can support the changes.
• Include implementation staffing in the costs, rather than comparing consulting quotes alone.

If the issues require technical changes but no one is available to implement them, consulting advice alone will be difficult to turn into improvements. (S5)

Choose between learning to do it yourself and project-based help according to the work you need covered

Google recommends learning the basics of SEO first. Even if you ultimately outsource the work, this will help you recognize techniques that are not recommended. If you are launching a new website or redesigning an existing one, it is a good time to involve an expert early so the site is designed to be easy for search engines to crawl. Existing websites can also seek improvements. (S1)

A 2024 Backlinko article notes that if you only need short-term guidance on a specific task, such as improving site structure to help with indexing, you can consider a project-based engagement rather than committing immediately to long-term support. A 2023 Semrush article gives the example of a consultant developing a plan and sample article briefs for an internal team to reuse. However, consultants still need time to understand the business, and their recommendations may not fit the brand or implementation constraints. (S6, S9)

Ask about results, methods, and how you will work together during interviews

Based on Google’s hiring guidance, you can ask candidates to explain: (S1)

• Past projects and their experience in relevant industries and regions.
• Expected results, the time needed, and how results will be evaluated.
• What they would change and the reasoning behind their recommendations.

A guaranteed number-one search ranking is not a reliable promise. Google recommends looking for someone else if a provider makes such a guarantee. If an initial audit requires Search Console access, grant only read access at this stage, not write access. (S1)