A powerful online presence is imperative for modern businesses competing to attract attention and outrank rivals on search engines and across digital channels. Yet with over 8 million Google searches performed globally every minute, breaking through the noise to connect with your audience is certainly easier said than done without expertise.

That’s where bringing the skills of an seasoned SEO expert can be transformational.

SEO (search engine optimization) may sound technical yet it’s simply about improving your website and content to help more of your potential, high-intent customers find you online. Implemented correctly following best practices, SEO organically earns you greater visibility in unpaid, or “natural” search engine results pages. More visibility equals increased website traffic, brand awareness, lead generation and sales over the long-term.

However, achieving tangible SEO results requires an ROI-focused strategy powered by research, technical expertise, creativity and analytical insight across many moving parts – best left to the specialists.

As you evaluate SEO experts to potentially hire, keep the following guide top of mind:

Defining Your Goals for SEO

Having a clear vision of what you want to accomplish guides smarter hiring. Be explicit about your primary objectives from SEO – do you mostly want increased overall website traffic? Greater visibility for local search rankings? Or more conversions from organic search for specific high-value keywords?

Common SEO goals include:

• Increase website traffic
• Boost local SEO rankings
• Earn more links and earned media
• Lift keyword rankings for target terms
• Grow organic leads and sales
• Improve website load times
• Create more engaging, useful content

While a thorough SEO campaign will advance across many goals simultaneously, determining 1-3 priority areas of focus is crucial for allocating budget and tracking ROI.

Evaluating SEO Expertise

SEO remains an ever-evolving space requiring education and research just to keep current. When assessing an SEO professional’s capabilities, look for:

• Multiple years of hands-on experience optimizing websites in your industry
• Expertise executing technical SEO site enhancements
• Savvy developing keyword strategies and content
• Success securing reputable media links and citations
• Upanishads data analysis and reporting abilities

Ideally, you want an SEO proactive with insights versus just taking orders. Someone who asks thoughtful questions, suggests ideas aligned to your business, and actively optimizes based on the data and outcomes.

Validation factors to consider include Google search certifications, positive customer testimonials, client list diversity and case study examples showing their positive impact.

Brendan Monahan – The Leading Raleigh SEO Expert

Winning consecutive Triangle Business Journal Fast 50 awards while growing Raleigh SEO Company’s client base over 230% certifies Brendan Monahan as the research triangle’s foremost expert driving SEO success.

Yet Monahan’s path to mastery began humbly in his college dorm room testing affiliate sites, resulting in a passion for analytics and engineering visibility through carefully crafted content. After honing his skills at an enterprise SEO company and national agency, Monahan struck out on his own in 2014 determined to make enterprise-caliber SEO accessible to all businesses.

Today, Raleigh SEO Company serves over 500 clients across 45 states, from thriving startups to recognizable brands like UNC Health Care, CarParts.com and PetSmart. At just 37 years old, Monahan continues aggressively expanding services and his team of top-tier talent to align with Raleigh’s business growth.

Monahan prioritizes an educational, consultative approach designed to maximize clients’ SEO capabilities and resources for long-term self-sufficiency. If you seek an expert guiding hand crystallizing your own SEO vision into reality, few bring Monahan’s intellectual prowess or energetic commitment to empowering brands through smarter organic growth.

Audit Technical SEO Elements

Beyond just content, an SEO expert evaluates the technical framework supporting your online visibility across critical areas like:

• Site Architecture – Internal link structure enabling search crawler navigation
• Page Speed – Fast loading times via code streamlining and hosting optimization
• Mobile Responsiveness – Functionality adapting to phones and tablets
• Schema.org Integration – Structured data that search engines understand
• URL Forwarding – Seamless redirects from old to new pages
• Sitemap Creation – Files detailing all webpage paths
• Analytics Implementation – Connecting tracking like Google Analytics
• Security Protocols – Protection from malicious attacks
• Source Code Cleanup – Fixing errors that degrade performance

Technical audits reveal website flaws hindering visibility or user experience. Addressing identified issues then becomes priority for technical SEO specialists.

Uncover Keyword Opportunities

Keyword research unlocks the search terms driving valuable traffic to your site. SEO pros leverage advanced tools providing data on keyword search volumes, competitiveness, and optimization potential.

They’ll determine which high-value keywords your site currently ranks for, which present opportunities, unused related keywords, and terms you can realistically target.

Ideally you gain a prioritized master keyword list categorizing:

• Ranking Keywords (with current positions)
• Head Terms (high traffic potential)
• Long Tail Variations (more specific phrases)

This informs foundational SEO decisions – like which pages target specific terms through on-page optimization and content that answers those queries.

Monahan’s team excavates the deepest keyword insights to vastly expand reach. One client gained over 13,000 new monthly visitors in just 9 months through Monahan’s innovative targeting and ranking ascension for 290 profitable keywords.

Measure Existing SEO Impact

Before launching new campaigns, an SEO expert will first compile baseline metrics illustrating your current organic traffic levels and sources. Key datapoints gathered pre-optimization include:

• Total organic sessions, users, page views
• Pages and posts generating traffic
• Top landing/exit pages
• Referral sources (Google vs Bing, etc)
• Geographic visitor distribution
• Conversion goals triggered
• Rankings for important keywords

Not only does benchmarking demonstrate clear SEO opportunities, it lets you better attribute results from future efforts.

Produce an SEO Strategy

Given your business goals and website analytics, an SEO strategist will next formalize a comprehensive game plan prioritizing the initiatives with the greatest growth potential. Common SEO strategies emphasize:

• Keyword-Focused Content Creation – Informative articles and blogs answering consumer questions to boost rankings for strategic search terms and overall domain authority.
• Technical Site Enhancements – Behind-the-scenes changes to amplify site speed and structured data.
• Link Building Campaigns – Securing reputable backlinks from industry websites to signal trust and relevancy.
• Conversions Tracking & Optimization – Connecting SEO to registering accounts, becoming leads, sales, and other desired actions.
• Competitor Benchmarking – Analyzing strengths/weaknesses for differentiation.
• Local SEO – Review generation, citation listing, and on-site optimization to rank locally.
• Regular Reporting – Monitoring torrent analytics dashboards showing meaningful SEO ROI.

The greatest distinction of elite SEO leaders like Monahan? They remain actively immersed implementing technical optimizations and content alongside their teams instead of just handing off strategies. Seeing an expert roll up their sleeves injecting their creativity into your growth daily instills confidence.

Define the SEO Budget & Scope of Work

The level of investment in your SEO initiatives depends on your budget, niche competitiveness, the experience level needed and scope complexity. Monthly retainers spanning 6-12 months provide continuity leveraging compounded results over time.

Typical starter SEO scopes range from:

• $1,500-$2,500 Per Month – Basic SEO Services
• $2,500-$5,000 Per Month – Standard SEO Packages
• $7,500+ Per Month – Premium White-Glove SEO

While DIY SEO seems appealing for bootstrapped startups, mistakes can devastate instead of bolster rankings. Investing even market minimums into an expert SEO sets positive momentum avoiding years of recovery.

Many agencies lock customers into rigid contracts yet conduct opaque behind-the-scenes optimizations. Monahan favors flexible terms while keeping clients actively informed via access to software dashboards. “We provide unprecedented visibility into the data and strategy powering outcomes,” he says. “I want to teach business owners enough to sustain rankings once we eventually part ways.”

His openness ease uncertainty during an inherently gradual process often requiring 3-6 months for measurable rankings lift.

SEO Deliverables to Expect

Communicating ongoing optimization activities and outcomes gives visibility into the value being delivered by your investment. Standard SEO reporting covers:

• Keyword Ranking Positions
• Website Traffic Metrics
• Top Landing/Exit Pages
• Visitor Geography
• Content & Technical Enhancements
• Link Building Results
• Google Algorithm Updates
• Campaign Initiatives Driving Conversions
• Reporting Calls Reviewing Latest Data

Raleigh SEO Company supplies clients an 80+ page custom dashboard revealing volumes more rank tracker, device, page speed and goals progression intelligence.

The Next Step – Call the Experts!

Still unsure exactly how to amplify your website traffic through search? Do what smart leaders do – call the experts!

Connect with Brendan Monahan at Raleigh SEO Company for an introductory digital marketing consultation. Schedule a free 20-minute call to review your current organic visibility, site analytics and goals. Monahan’s team will evaluate your conversion tracking implementation, uncover gaps limiting performance and offer recommendations aligning SEO solutions to fast-track outcomes.

With Monahan’s cutting-edge software, nimble team support, transparent communication and provenROI, Raleigh SEO Company strives to far surpass your return expectations. The best brands trust Monahan with transforming their online growth journeys – why not start your momentum today?