The Importance of Hiring an SEO Consultant

If you do a quick Google search for “software firms in the Bay Area,” you’ll get over 46 million results.

Of course, only 10 of them show up on the first page of search results. And here’s the really sobering part: 75% of users never click past the first page.

Now imagine you’re the owner of one of the many software, consulting, AI, or biotech companies in the region. How can you stand out among your competitors and land on that coveted first page of search results?

Here’s a secret: You won’t get there on your own. There are over 1.87 billion live websites online, with thousands more going live every minute. Without a professional SEO consultant on your side, your website will simply vanish in a sea of competition.

So then, what can SEO consulting services do for your business? Here are four compelling reasons to hire an SEO consulting company today.

Improve Your Technical SEO

If you check any beginner’s guide to SEO, you’ll see a lot of tips about using keywords. To be sure, proper keyword usage is a vital part of SEO strategy. Years ago, keyword-rich content was more than enough to boost your site’s ranking in SERPs.

However, now keywords are just the tip of the iceberg. If you want your website to remain competitive, it takes a lot more than inserting a few keywords.

Google’s algorithms constantly update and evolve, with new trends emerging every year. For example, in 2021 we’re seeing a major emphasis on voice recognition, visual stability (Core Web Vitals), and user search intent. If your website hasn’t been optimized for a year or two, you’ve already fallen behind your competitors that are prioritizing SEO.

Recent Google Algorithm Updates

Since 2021, Google has rolled out several major algorithm updates that directly impact how your website ranks. The March 2023 Core Update transformed how Google evaluates content quality, rewarding sites with genuine expertise and depth.

Later that year, Google’s Helpful Content Updates in September and December 2023 created an even bigger shift. These updates specifically targeted content written primarily for search engines rather than people. Websites with thin, AI-generated content that lacked real value saw significant ranking drops.

The March 2024 Core Update continued this trend, further refining Google’s ability to spot and reward helpful, reliable content.

What does this mean for your business? If you’re not keeping up with these changes, your website could be losing visibility right now without you realizing it.

Each algorithm update creates new winners and losers – and only businesses with current SEO practices come out ahead.

An SEO consultant will begin with a full technical audit of your website. This will ensure your analytics are working properly and your site is visible to search engine bots. The audit will also reveal any factors that could harm your ability to be indexed by Google, Bing, Yahoo, and other search engines.

With this information, your SEO consultant can make back-end changes to your website to increase its visibility and ranking. This might include improving the HTML meta-data or creating a more search engine-friendly “crawlable” site structure.

Did you know Google now evaluates your website primarily through its mobile version? This mobile-first approach means that if your site doesn’t perform well on smartphones and tablets, your rankings will suffer – even if the desktop version is perfect.

Page Experience signals like Core Web Vitals are now key ranking factors too. These measure how quickly your pages load, how soon they become interactive, and whether elements jump around as the page loads. Poor performance in these areas directly leads to lower rankings.

A professional SEO consultant has the tools to measure these technical factors and fix problems before they hurt your business. Many site owners don’t even realize their websites have these issues until they’ve already lost significant traffic.

Off-Site SEO & Content Marketing Strategy

When you meet with an SEO consultant, you’ll quickly learn that it involves more than just optimizing your website. The best SEO services take a holistic approach and provide a range of options for increasing your site’s visibility.

Why is this important?

There are a number of things that need to happen “off-page” to improve your SEO. This includes strategic link-building and citation building. You need other reputable websites to link back to your site as an authority (hence the term “backlink”).

In addition, a talented SEO consultant will ensure your Google My Business account is verified, complete, and optimized for search. It’s especially useful to have a consultant with in-depth knowledge of the local area and current trends — for example, an SEO agency that specializes in Silicon Valley businesses.

Free up Your Time & Money

If you’re starting to feel overwhelmed by all this talk of SEO, that’s understandable. SEO can be enjoyable, but make no mistake: SEO is a full-time job, and trying to do it on your own will only pull you away from the core aspects of running your business.

SEO is a continuous process that takes hours of research, testing and upkeep. At best, it will suck up precious time that’s in short supply to busy business owners. At worst, you’ll spin your wheels using outdated practices that won’t help (or could even harm) your SEO.

The rise of AI content tools has added another layer of complexity to SEO. Google doesn’t automatically penalize AI-written content, but it does have strict requirements for all content regardless of how it’s created. Your content must demonstrate real experience, expertise, and trustworthiness (what Google calls E-E-A-T).

Many business owners make the mistake of using AI tools to mass-produce content without proper oversight. This approach can backfire badly. Google’s systems are getting better at spotting low-quality, generic AI content that lacks depth or expertise.

An SEO consultant knows how to properly implement these new tools while ensuring all content meets Google’s quality standards. They can help you use AI as an advantage rather than a liability that puts your rankings at risk.

When you look at it this way, it makes sense to partner with an SEO consulting company. They’re already experts who know the ins and out of their industry, leaving you free to focus on yours.

What about the money you’ll spend on SEO services? Don’t worry — you’ll more than make it back in ROI. Organic search (the end goal of SEO) drives 51% of all website traffic, which is more than five times more than any other type of advertising.

Better yet, a consultant will bring a fresh perspective to your website and marketing efforts. Their previous experience combined with an outsider’s perspective of your business can lead to exciting and profitable new marketing plans.

Bring in the Right Kind of Website Visitors

Improving your SEO is about more than just driving more traffic to your site. For example, if you’re hoping to find clientele based in the Bay Area, it won’t do you any good to get web visitors from Miami or New York.

SEO consultants focus on bringing in the right kinds of people to your site, not just boosting the number of visitors. This involves a lot of research to discover user intent and then tweaking your content to appeal to that intent.

Part of this research is finding the right intent-based keywords to use on your site. This helps to drive people to your site who are searching for your types of product or services, and often ready and willing to buy, not just users who are casually gathering information.

Consultants also understand (and know how to use) your website’s analytics to see what’s working and what isn’t. By continually updating your site content and marketing efforts, an SEO consultant will help to grow your sales — not just your traffic.

The Best SEO Consultant in the Bay Area

Mastering SEO is a full-time endeavor, one you may not have the time or desire for. After all, you need to focus on your efforts on running your core business.

If you own a company in the San Francisco Bay Area and you search for “SEO consultant near me,” Boomcycle Digital Marketing is sure to appear. We’re not only a professional SEO consulting company, but we also understand the entrepreneurial mindset and our region’s unique and often high-tech business landscape.

Let us help you in your efforts to build a successful website and online presence for your brand. 

Contact us today to schedule your consultation and find out more about our services.