12 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
12 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

How to Check the Work of an SEO Consultant?

by jplot
10 replies
  • SEO
    • |
Hi all,

My brother hired an SEO guy to do some SEO work for his business, and every time I meet with the guy I get a bad feel from him. When I ask him about tools he uses, or strategies that he uses to build backlinks he gives defensive, non-informative answers veiled in secrecy. I asked him if he uses a tool like Market Samurai and he said he built his own... despite not coming from a programming background.

He has gotten some increased traffic, but considering where the site was before I think even a charlatan could've pulled it off.

What I want to know, how can I check the work hes done? How can I check the backlinks that he's built?
#check #consultant #seo #work
  • Profile picture of the author cpkc
    Well surely you (or your brother) could just ask him to provide you with a list of the links he has built. There are free tools like backlinkwatch.com that you can use but the links take a while to show up there so you can't hold him to account using that for a while yet.
    It is possible that he got his own tool created even though he's not from a development background, he may have outsourced the coding. Of course it's also possible that he is just outsourcing the SEO work for $10 then charging your brother $100 or whatever it is. Difficult to say really but he should be able to give you a list of backlinks or a good reason not to provide them, like a private blog network or something.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7301222].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author SuperiorRestoration
    Seems pretty simple to just be straightforward and ask him for a list of links he's built. Backlink Watch takes a bit of time to update but ahrefs and Webmaster Tools are good places to start. If he's doing article marketing those get added pretty quickly and you can just ask him to provide a link to the approved article. Same for directories, as long as it's not one of the backlogged ones.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7301294].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Mike Grant
    Yeah, just ask for a report of work completed.
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7301345].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author mcatt
    Typically you can get a complete list of work he's done to date. Maybe ask for monthly or even weekly updates
    Signature

    Family Time Cleaning
    8723 Huntfield st
    Tampa, Fl, 33635
    (727) 742-5677
    http://familytimecleaning.com/

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7301378].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author kimseo
    Originally Posted by jplot View Post

    Hi all,

    My brother hired an SEO guy to do some SEO work for his business, and every time I meet with the guy I get a bad feel from him. When I ask him about tools he uses, or strategies that he uses to build backlinks he gives defensive, non-informative answers veiled in secrecy. I asked him if he uses a tool like Market Samurai and he said he built his own... despite not coming from a programming background.

    He has gotten some increased traffic, but considering where the site was before I think even a charlatan could've pulled it off.

    What I want to know, how can I check the work hes done? How can I check the backlinks that he's built?
    Keyword ranking and traffic comparison would give the ultimate measure of his work, You can also ask him for monthly link building / Or SEO activities report
    Signature
    SEO Expert in Canada
    Article Rank : A premium article directory.
    Vancouver wedding photographer
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7301748].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author eurekapsycrille
    You don't have any way except for asking for his accomplishments on the work. Most often, the results will define the quality of work done.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7301779].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Hardy Chou
    ahrefs, open site explorer, majestic seo.

    Originally Posted by jplot View Post

    What I want to know, how can I check the work hes done? How can I check the backlinks that he's built?
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7301798].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Paul Gram
    Any good SEO will be able to give you a report on what they have done. Make sure he isn't building a bunch of bad spam links etc.
    Signature
    Click Here For My Exclusive WSO
    Kindle Self Publishing Supersite - Kindle Templates, Book Covers & Trailers, Marketing Tips, & More
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7301869].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author ronnieavelino
    Originally Posted by jplot View Post

    Hi all,

    My brother hired an SEO guy to do some SEO work for his business, and every time I meet with the guy I get a bad feel from him. When I ask him about tools he uses, or strategies that he uses to build backlinks he gives defensive, non-informative answers veiled in secrecy. I asked him if he uses a tool like Market Samurai and he said he built his own... despite not coming from a programming background.

    He has gotten some increased traffic, but considering where the site was before I think even a charlatan could've pulled it off.

    What I want to know, how can I check the work hes done? How can I check the backlinks that he's built?
    Asked for daily or weekly report to see what types of link he is building. This is to avoid the penalization of your site.

    Regards,

    Ronnie
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7302755].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author ProSence
    If the seo conulstant is on any freelance site or any forum then you can check the rating of that person. It would help, it is better if you hire from any freelance site or forum as well.
    Signature

    three great FREE tools - www.sitebeak.com, www.GAtective.com and www.impersonal.me

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7303574].message }}

Trending Topics