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What Is SEO Consulting (and Should You Hire an SEO Consultant)?

By: Allison Kirschbaum

Published: September 22, 2025

SEO consulting is the practice of helping businesses become more visible in search results (think Google, Bing, etc.). The better your website ranks, the more people find you, and the more customers you can get—that’s where an SEO consultant can help.

If you landed on this article after typing “what is an SEO consulting?” into Google, chances are someone recently suggested that you consider hiring an SEO consultant. And now you’re probably asking yourself:

  • Do I actually need one?
  • Who are these SEO consultants, anyway?
  • What do they really do?
  • Can they actually help grow my business?

In this article, we’ll answer all those questions and more. You’ll learn what an SEO consultant does, the signs that indicate it’s time to hire one, how a consultant can benefit your business, and how to choose the right fit.

What is an SEO Consultant?

An SEO consultant is someone who specializes in helping websites show up higher in search engine results, like on Google. They’re usually independent experts who understand how search engines work and offer advice to help businesses get more visibility online. Instead of doing everything a full marketing agency might do, an SEO consultant focuses specifically on improving search rankings in a way that fits your business goals.

The Role of an SEO Consultant

What Does an SEO Consultant Do?

An SEO consultant takes a deep dive into your website, your goals, and your competitors to build a custom strategy that helps your business grow through search. Instead of guessing what works, they rely on data, experience, and proven tactics to improve your visibility and increase the number of people who find (and convert on) your site. 

Here’s what an SEO consultant typically does:

  • Set Up Tracking and Analytics – They make sure tools like Google Analytics and Search Console are working properly so that everything from pageviews to lead form submissions is properly tracked. 
  • Identify Growth Opportunities – They analyze your competitors and content gaps to find quick wins and long-term SEO opportunities.
  • Research the Right Keywords – They find high-value keywords your ideal customers are actually searching for, matched to their intent and your business goals.
  • Fix Technical SEO Issues – They improve site structure, indexing, and loading speed to make sure Google can find and understand your website.
  • Optimize Pages for Better Rankings – They fine-tune titles, meta descriptions, headings, internal links, and more to make sure every page is search-friendly and conversion-ready.
  • Support Content Creation – They help plan content calendars, build detailed briefs, and guide your team to create content that drives results.
  • Build Authority With Backlinks – They develop a link-building strategy using digital PR, partnerships, and outreach to increase your site’s authority in Google’s eyes.
  • Ongoing Reporting and Strategy Adjustments – They provide regular updates, track performance, and tweak the strategy based on what’s working and what’s not.

7 Signs You May Need an SEO Consultant

Not sure if it’s time to bring in outside help? Here are 7 clear signs your business could benefit from working with an SEO consultant:

1. Your in-house team isn’t delivering results

You’ve got a team. You’ve got tools. Maybe you’re even publishing content regularly. But somehow… you’re still not showing up on Google. If it feels like you’re spinning your wheels with nothing to show for it, an SEO consultant can step in, spot what’s missing, and turn things around.

2. You’ve been hit by a Google penalty

Woke up to a sudden drop in rankings? Or worse, vanished from the search results altogether? It’s likely a Google penalty (algorithmic or manual), and no, it won’t magically fix itself. A consultant can dig into the data, figure out what went wrong, and get you back on track.

3. Your Google rankings have dropped dramatically

One day you’re ranking on page one, the next you’re buried where no one clicks. Rankings can drop for a lot of reasons—algorithm updates, competitors stepping up, or unnoticed technical issues. An SEO consultant can figure out the “why” and put together a plan to fix it.

4. You’re too busy to handle SEO internally

You’ve got a business to run. Customers to serve. Emails to answer. But SEO keeps falling to the bottom of your list. If you’re nodding your head right now, it’s time to bring in someone who can focus on this full-time, so you don’t have to.

5. Technical SEO issues are holding you back

Site speed, broken links, weird redirects—you know there are problems, but you’re not sure what they mean or how to fix them. Instead of trying to DIY your way through it, let an SEO consultant handle the nerdy stuff and make your site work for both Google and your visitors.

6. You’re preparing for growth or a big launch

Launching a new website, product, or campaign? SEO should be part of that rollout plan. A consultant can help make sure your content, pages, and structure are ready to attract the right audience from day one.

7. You’ve never invested in SEO before

You’ve grown through word of mouth or paid ads—and it’s worked so far. But now you’re thinking long-term. If SEO has always felt like this big, mysterious thing you’ll “get to someday,” an expert can help you finally get started the smart way.

What are the 5 Key Benefits of Hiring an SEO Consultant?

Benefits of SEO Consulting

When you hire an SEO consultant, things start changing fast and in all the right ways. Here’s what that can look like for your business:

1. Save time, budget, and a lot of headaches

No need to hire five different people to figure out content, keywords, site issues, and strategy. One consultant can cover all that. You skip the endless hiring process, avoid training costs, and start seeing progress faster—with way less stress on your team.

2. Recover lost rankings and traffic

If you’ve been penalized or your traffic has tanked, an SEO consultant can help you bounce back. You’ll understand what went wrong and more importantly, how to fix it and keep it from happening again.

3. Get agency-level support without the agency bloat

You’ll work directly with someone who actually knows what they’re doing—no passing you off to a junior team. That means faster responses, better strategies, and a direct line to the person driving your results.

4. See a better ROI from organic search

Your website starts ranking for the keywords your ideal customers are actually typing into Google. That means more of the right people are landing on your site—people who are ready to take action.

5. Get a strategy that fits your business

You’ll get a plan that’s made specifically for your goals, your audience, and the resources you have to work with. You’ll know what to focus on, what’s driving results, and where to go next—without wasting time on things that won’t make a difference.

How to Find a Good SEO Consultant

Hiring an SEO consultant is a smart move, but only if you find the right one. You don’t want someone who just talks the talk. You want someone who’s walked the walk, driven real results, and knows how to build a plan that fits your business. Here’s how to find them:

1. Check their track record

A great consultant will show you real wins. Ask for proof—metrics, case studies, or examples of how they’ve helped other businesses grow. If they can’t clearly explain what they’ve done and how it helped, that’s a red flag.

2. Ask for referrals or recommendations

Good SEO consultants often get passed around by word of mouth. Ask fellow business owners, marketers, or industry peers who they’ve worked with and who actually delivered. 

3. Check how they rank themselves

Would you hire a personal trainer who’s never worked out? Same logic here. If someone claims to be an SEO expert, their own website should show it. Look at how well their site ranks, how fast it loads, and how helpful the content is. If their own presence online is weak, they might not be the right person to grow yours.

4. Ask smart questions

When you hop on a discovery call, go beyond the basics. Ask:

  • Have you worked with businesses in my industry or size before?
  • How do you track and report progress?
  • Can you give examples of real results you’ve achieved?
  • If we work together, what would the first 30–60 days look like?

5. Watch for red flags

If they promise #1 rankings overnight, guarantee results, or claim to have an “inside line” to Google, run. Real SEO takes work, testing, and time. Shortcuts often backfire more than they help.

6. Compare a few options before committing

Don’t stop at the first person you talk to. Have a few conversations. Pay attention to how they communicate, how clearly they explain things, and how genuinely interested they are in your business, not just closing the deal.

6 SEO Consultant Skills to Consider When Hiring One

Once you’ve found a few promising candidates, go deeper. Here’s exactly what to look for in a consultant’s skill set and how to tell if they actually know their stuff.

1. Technical SEO proficiency

They should be able to:

  • Run a full technical audit using tools like Screaming Frog, Ahrefs, or Sitebulb.
  • Fix crawl errors, broken links, redirect chains, and duplicate content.
  • Improve site speed by optimizing images, scripts, and server response time.
  • Ensure proper indexing in Google Search Console, and handle robots.txt, sitemap.xml, and canonical tags.

2. Strong analytical and data skills

A good SEO consultant needs to:

  • Interpret data from GA4, Search Console, Ahrefs, or SEMrush to guide decisions.
  • Set up goal tracking (like form submissions or demo requests) in Google Analytics.
  • Build reports that highlight KPIs like organic traffic, keyword movement, click-through rate, and conversions.
  • Spot negative trends early and explain what’s causing them. 

3. Strategic planning ability

They should be able to:

  • Build a roadmap that includes technical fixes, content, link building, and timelines.
  • Prioritize SEO actions based on your budget, goals, and team capacity.
  • Map keywords to funnel stages and align them with your products or services.
  • Adjust strategy when Google rolls out major algorithm updates.

4. Ethical link building and digital PR skills

You want someone who:

  • Builds relationships with relevant sites for guest posting, mentions, or backlinks.
  • Uses digital PR, outreach, or content marketing—not shady link farms or PBNs.
  • Audits backlink profiles and disavows toxic links if needed.
  • Tracks domain authority and referral traffic from backlinks.

5. User experience (UX) and on-site SEO awareness

Your SEO consultant should:

  • Recommend improvements to page structure, CTAs, and navigation for better engagement.
  • Optimize for mobile-first indexing, Core Web Vitals, and time-on-page.
  • Audit internal linking to strengthen authority flow and help search engines crawl your site.
  • Focus on both ranking and conversion—getting users to take action once they land. 

6. Clear communication and reporting

This is non-negotiable. They must:

  • Send monthly (or bi-weekly) reports that clearly show rankings, traffic, conversions, and actions taken.
  • Explain SEO changes in a way that makes sense to non-technical team members.
  • Set expectations honestly—what’s realistic, how long it will take, and what resources are needed from you. 

Outrank the Competition with Cleo’s Expert SEO Consulting Service

Now that you actually know what an SEO consultant is… I might be the first one you’ve come across. And that means you can start with me.

Let’s hop on a strategy call. I’ll walk you through exactly what I’d do for your site, how we’ll get you ranking, and how we’ll turn that traffic into actual business.

And if you want to talk to other SEO consultants after that? Go for it. I encourage it—I even told you to compare options earlier. But I’m confident you’ll come back.  I’ve already helped countless businesses like yours grow fast, rank smarter, and stop wasting time on SEO that doesn’t work. 

Contact Cleo today, and let’s book that call. Outrank the competition, or keep falling behind. Your call.

About the Author
Picture of Allison Kirschbaum

Allison Kirschbaum

Allison is a B2B and B2C SEO content writer and copywriter with eight years of experience in multiple types of web and digital copy. She specializes in driving rankings and leads through content in verticals such as SaaS, B2B2C, MarTech, FinTech, financial services, insurance, and manufacturing.