14 Key Qualities to Look for When Hiring an SEO Specialist

To help business owners identify the key qualities to look for when hiring an SEO specialist, we’ve gathered insights from fourteen industry professionals, including founders and CEOs. From valuing curiosity in SEO specialists to recognizing project management as an overlooked SEO quality, these experts share their top tips for making the right hire.

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Curiosity 

As a business owner and someone who spent years as an SEO specialist, the best quality is curiosity. When hiring An SEO Specialist It’s important to have someone who is eager to learn, someone who wants to understand a competitor’s content and link strategy, and someone who will read industry websites to learn as much as possible.

Isaac Hammelburger, Founder, Search Pros

Adaptability

The overlooked attribute business owners should prioritize on hiring An SEO Specialist is adaptability. In my 15+ years, I’ve witnessed seismic shifts in SEO: from the early efficacy of doorways and cloaking to the sophisticated algorithms we navigate today. 

An adaptable specialist can pivot strategies based on real-time data and unprecedented changes—like the COVID-19 pandemic, where we reoriented towards local SEO for small businesses, yielding significant ROI.

This quality is invaluable. I’ve consistently found that adaptability outperforms traditional metrics and helps companies stay ahead of curveball tactics like emergent black hat methods.

Roman Borissov, CEO, SEOBRO.Agency

Communication Skills

I think communication skills are often the most underrated qualities in most industries, especially SEO. The ability to communicate is not just about speaking, but also listening and understanding. 

The really great SEO specialists can understand a business and what it is trying to achieve, and “translate” this into great SEO campaigns. I certainly think resilience and flexibility are great qualities, but the ability to communicate and understand a business is rarer and takes SEO campaigns to another level.

Gresham Harkless Jr., Founder, Blue16 Media

Analytical Thinking

One key quality that business owners should look for when hiring an SEO specialist is analytical thinking.

Analytical thinking is crucial in the field of SEO because it involves dissecting data, identifying trends, and making strategic decisions based on insights gained from various analytics tools. An effective SEO specialist should be able to interpret data, metrics, and performance indicators to continuously optimize and improve a website’s search engine rankings.

SEO specialists need to analyze data from tools like Google Analytics, search console data, keyword research tools, and more. They should be able to identify patterns, spot areas for improvement, and make data-driven decisions to refine the SEO strategy. Effective SEO often involves troubleshooting issues that affect a website’s visibility. Analytical thinkers can diagnose problems, conduct root-cause analysis, and develop solutions to improve search rankings.

Harsh Verma, SEO Head, CodeDesign

Initiative 

Can they work under their own initiative?

This is the most important quality when hiring An SEO Specialist in order to be successful. SEO requires you to not only know the best practices but also to constantly test these within your own niche.

As SEO is constantly changing with new algorithm updates, techniques, and tools, it is essential that SEOs are able to use their initiative to incorporate these new developments into their campaigns.

Luke Glassford, Marketing Director, Gambit Partners

Trend Awareness and Clarity

Trying to find a marketer to help boost your business’s footprint and generate more traffic is not easy. There are so many different types of marketing specialists to choose from. However, if you are looking to boost your business’s SEO metrics, there are a few things that you need to consider when hiring An SEO Specialist. 

The first is how they leverage current trends in the industry and the results they receive from it. For example, generative AI is the talk of the town in marketing circles, but you need to know how AI affects SEO metrics and how the specialist you choose uses AI in optimizing your website. 

What is also important is how they make you understand the processes of what they are doing. SEO has a lot of fancy jargon that can dazzle you, but being dazzled is not going to make you understand how the company you are hiring is going to get you your desired results. They need to be able to explain how each thing they implement will aid the optimization process.

Amit Raj, Founder, The Links Guy

Ethical Practices

Business owners should look for when hiring An SEO Specialist who follows ethical practices and avoids any black-hat techniques that could harm the website’s reputation in the long run. Ethical SEO specialists prioritize sustainable, long-term strategies that align with search engine guidelines. 

For example, they focus on creating valuable content, improving user experience, and building organic backlinks. By avoiding shortcuts and manipulative tactics, they safeguard the website’s credibility and ensure its visibility and rankings are maintained consistently over time.

Ben Lau, Founder, Featured SEO Company

Hiring An SEO Specialist with Good Understanding Your Industry

As someone who has both purchased SEO services and run an SEO agency, I can attest that a crucial quality to look for when hiring An SEO Specialist is the effort the agency makes to understand your industry. The more questions they ask to gain insights into your field, the more reliable they are likely to be in delivering effective results.

Jason Vaught, Director of Content, SmashBrand

Industry-Specific Experience

When hiring an SEO specialist, it’s crucial to focus on candidates who have demonstrated success in a similar industry or business. This is because SEO strategies can be highly industry-specific, and what works for one sector may not necessarily be effective for another. 

A specialist with a track record in your niche will already be familiar with the target audience, key search terms, and common challenges, allowing them to implement effective strategies more quickly. They’ll hit the ground running, saving you time and potentially increasing your ROI faster.

John Cammidge, Freelance Google Ads Consultant, JCammidge

Well-Rounded Knowledge

One key quality that business owners should look for when hiring an SEO specialist is well-rounded knowledge. A mistake that many business owners tend to make is looking for someone with specific knowledge of a small niche and, while this is great, it limits your SEO capabilities. 

There are plenty of excellent benefits that you can get for your company by hiring an SEO specialist with broad knowledge of different industries, techniques, and more. Of course, they do need to understand your industry too, but don’t disregard someone just because their knowledge seems “too broad.” They might apply that knowledge to your business, boosting it as a result.

Michael Maroney, Marketing Director and Lead Biologist, Infinite Outdoors

Link-Building Expertise

When hiring an SEO specialist, definitely make sure that the candidate has link-building expertise, and doesn’t just produce content. High-quality, SEO-informed content won’t increase traffic to your website unless your site’s “Domain Authority” improves. 

The primary way Google infers Domain Authority is by the number of other websites linking to yours. SEO specialists should be able to summarize the link-building process, and also research the backlink situation of competitor businesses. Ideally, the SEO specialist can place some backlinks themselves, even if the most important links will need to be achieved by the business owner or their internal team.

Alec Lindsay, Founder, Baxter, Inc.

Continuous Learning

SEO rules can change overnight. Hiring An SEO Specialist that is committed to continuous learning. Whether it’s Google’s ever-changing algorithm or the latest in voice search, they should be updated and ready to adapt. The digital world waits for no one. A proactive approach to learning and the flexibility to adapt are key attributes you should look for in an SEO specialist.

Dilruba Erkan, Consultant, Morse Decoder

Realistic Timelines

Someone who sets realistic timelines for ranking results. When hiring an SEO specialist, business owners should look for someone who sets realistic timelines for ranking results. SEO is a marathon, not a sprint, and instant results are a red flag. 

A good specialist will provide a general time estimate based on similar past campaigns, keeping in mind that search engines frequently update. This level-headed approach ensures that your business is investing in sustainable, long-term growth rather than quick, unstable wins.

Matías Rodsevich, Founder&CEO, PRLab

Project Management

The best SEO specialists also have a good grasp on project management, so check that when hiring An SEO Specialist. SEO experts must handle different aspects when managing online digital marketing campaigns for their client’s businesses. They must study and plan which marketing strategies best suit their client and their goals. 

Then, they have to coordinate each aspect of the marketing campaign, like link building, assigning tasks to different team members, etc. They also coordinate with the business owner about their SEO requirements for overall website optimization. Since there are many stages that SEO specialists must focus on, check that they prioritize project management well. Check how they plan their work processes and manage the whole team while meeting deadlines on time.

Loretta Kilday, DebtCC Spokesperson, Debt Consolidation Care

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