What they take off your plate

  • Keyword research mapped to your services and locations
  • On-page fixes to titles, headings, internal links and content
  • Content briefs for writers, or writing when that's part of the role
  • Google Business Profile and local listing upkeep
  • Technical checks for broken links, indexing and speed issues
  • Monthly reporting from Search Console and Analytics
  • Competitor tracking for your most valuable searches

SEO is patient, specific work

Good SEO is less about tricks and more about doing many small things correctly and consistently: pages that answer real questions, titles that match what people search, a site Google can crawl easily, and listings that are accurate everywhere. It’s steady work that rewards a dedicated specialist.

Experience you can check

SEO is easy to talk about and hard to prove, so the portfolio review matters here. We ask for before-and-after evidence from Search Console, not just screenshots of tools, and our skills test asks candidates to prioritize, because a list of 200 warnings helps nobody. Our co-founder Bless works in SEO, and our founder Angela handled SEO alongside social media for years, so we know the difference between activity and progress.

Honest expectations

In month one you should see a clear baseline, a prioritized fix list and the first fixes live. Real traffic growth usually shows between months three and six, depending on competition. Local businesses often see movement sooner through Google Business Profile work.

How we vet for this role

The skills test

The skills test is an audit of a real website in your industry: the top five issues holding it back, ranked by impact, with the exact fix for each, plus ten keyword opportunities with the page each one belongs on. We look for prioritization, not a long list of tool warnings.

It is one of eight checks, alongside a portfolio review, a past employment check, a live English interview, a paid trial task, a background check and an NDA. You interview the shortlist at the end.

See all eight checks

Getting started

What the first 30 days look like

  1. Week 1

    Access to Search Console, Analytics and your site. A baseline report records where rankings and traffic stand today.

  2. Week 2

    Technical and on-page audit delivered with a prioritized fix list. Quick wins start going live.

  3. Week 3

    Keyword map finished and the first content briefs or page updates underway.

  4. Week 4

    First monthly report comparing results to the baseline, plus the 90-day plan.

Measuring it

Numbers worth watching

Agree on these in week one so you both know what good looks like.

Industries

Where this role often works

FAQ

Questions about hiring a seo specialist

How long does SEO take to work?

Usually months, not weeks. Fixes to existing pages can show results within a few weeks, but new content and a new domain take longer. A good specialist shows leading indicators along the way, like more pages indexed and rising impressions.

Can an SEO specialist guarantee first-page rankings?

No one can, because Google controls rankings. Anyone who guarantees them is guessing or using tactics that can get your site penalized. We agree on activity and progress measures instead.

Do SEO specialists write content?

Some do, and some focus on research, briefs and technical work. We define which you need in the solution map. For regular articles, pairing an SEO specialist with a writer usually works best.

Does SEO still matter with AI search results?

Yes. AI answers in search draw on pages that are clear, trustworthy and well structured, which is what good SEO produces. The work shifts a little toward answering questions directly and showing real expertise.

Related roles

Often hired alongside

Tell us what your seo specialist should own.

Book a 30-minute discovery call. Bring your task list and a budget range, and we'll show you what to delegate first.

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