Why you should always test for SEO skills

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When you hire an expert, give an SEO test

An SEO test is a must for hiring your next SEO expert. Almost every facet of doing business is conducted online. It only makes sense to bring your marketing efforts to the digital world. This is where SEO, or search engine optimization, comes in. If done properly, SEO gives your business a much-needed online boost and brings you closer to a wider audience.

The question of why your business needs SEO has often been answered in numerous compelling ways. But the real question now is this: why isn’t your business doing SEO? It’s a must in your marketing efforts. It’s a way to stand above (or even reign supreme over) search results. And for small businesses, to establish themselves as a solid competitor among or even against bigger companies.

Everyone’s claiming to be an SEO expert

The concept of optimizing your website for search engines is simple enough to understand. Several steps are involved, but it basically includes the proper placement of keywords throughout the pages, growing links leading within and outside your website, and improving upon its user experience.

Such is the simplicity of the concept of SEO that many professionals have read several online materials on the topic. Others might even call themselves experts on SEO, and will undoubtedly be offering the skills they’ve learned to businesses in need. These individuals often take short courses online, as it is the simplest way of earning SEO skills. Soon, one of them might offer their services to your business.

Opting for an SEO specialist is a cost-efficient alternative to collaborating with a digital marketing agency. This is especially the case if you’re a startup business. This way, your business can benefit from a full suite of optimization services without the hefty costs associated with agencies. You can even opt to have this person as part of your team.

Still, as you would when hiring other people in your team, you must exercise care in hiring an SEO specialist and it might be problematic for you if you don’t test their skills first. First, you have to make sure that he or she actually knows the intricate and technical details involved. SEO may appear simple and straightforward on paper, but there’s actually more to it than keywords and link-building. That’s why you’ll need a professional who knows more than just the concept of conducting SEO. And assessments are one way of gauging their know-how. If the professional is well-versed with SEO, then any SEO test can be passed with a good conviction that he or she can do the job.

Checking the actual numbers

Taking the time to conduct an SEO test among prospective SEO specialists should be worth the trouble. It takes a long time and a lot of effort before your business can reap the benefits of SEO. So you really have to make sure that the person you hire actually knows the stuff. Think of the possible benefits, like how SEO can bring more visitors to your website: statistics show that 51 percent of all website traffic comes from organic search, while 10 percent from paid search, 5 percent from social, and 34 percent from other sources.

These online gains also translate to offline profits: according to Google, 76 percent of users who searched for a product or service online will visit a business within a day. 28 percent of these searches will end in a purchase.

Keep in mind, though, that these ideal results could only be possible through patience and by working with a capable SEO professional. Fortunately, you can find the right SEO specialist for your team by conducting assessments through Kandio. These tests are designed to gauge a candidate’s knowledge of on-page SEO and its set of rules. Through these assessments, you might end up working with a professional with the skillset of an entire marketing team. If the right professional or specialist passes your SEO test, you can be confident that he or she can transform your business into a competitive digital entity.