SEO Consultant: What It Is, What They Do, and How Much It Costs

A man standing in front of a group of images and texts hanging on a wall. Above the purple lettering that reads "SEO Search Engine Optimization" by Factory Communication

This guide is for all entrepreneurs who want to understand who an SEO consultant is, what they actually do, and when it makes sense to hire a professional to improve their website’s ranking on Google.

The success of an online business—its organic visibility—depends largely on how the content of its website or e-commerce platform is structured. When the goal is to be found on search engines and attract new potential customers, the role of an SEO consultant becomes crucial.

In this guide, we’ll cover:

What, exactly, does an SEO marketing consultant do?;
what it’s for and when is the right time to call it;
How much does SEO consulting cost, and what factors determine the price?;
What questions should you ask him to determine whether he is truly an expert on the subject?

Let’s start by dispelling some false myths.

SEO Specialist Consultant: The Most Common Myths

Is it possible to buy a ranking on Google for specific keywords? No: Organic rankings have to be earned. With Google Ads, however, you can have your ads appear in the SERP, in a dedicated section labeled as “sponsored.”
Is a website with just a few pages enough to rank on Google? To be visible, you need websites rich in relevant content, built around the right keywords.
How important is the domain? The domain is your website’s address. Its age is one of the factors that affect search rankings: a newly registered domain takes more time and effort to become visible. If you haven’t registered it yet, consider including at least one strategic keyword.
Are product descriptions necessary for e-commerce? Yes, and they make all the difference: rich, detailed descriptions with specific keywords for each product or product family improve both the customer experience and search rankings.

SEO Consultant: What Do They Do?

An SEO consultant is a professional who analyzes a website or e-commerce site and develops a strategy to improve its organic ranking on Google. Specifically, they handle keyword research, content optimization, technical SEO, and link building, with the goal of increasing the site’s visibility and driving qualified traffic.

In other words, an SEO consultant conducts an analysis and develops a corresponding SEO strategy to improve a website’s visibility on Google. They are experts in the field of search engine optimization ( SEO ) and focus on promoting and optimizing a website or e-commerce site to improve its ranking and visibility in the SERPs.

What is a SERP?

The SERP (Search Engine Results Page) is the results page that Google displays after a user performs a search.

The SERP lists organic (unpaid) results and sponsored (paid) results, both of which are relevant to the query. Organic results are ranked by relevance and quality; sponsored results are ads that appear at the top or bottom of the page. The SERP may also include other elements, such as answer snippets, featured snippets, and knowledge panels.

We can therefore say that an SEO marketing consultant is a professional specializing in online marketing who provides strategic support to improve a website’s visibility on search engines.

What Does an SEO Consultant Do, and When Is One Useful?

An SEO consultant helps improve a website’s visibility and ranking in search results. Through content optimization, keyword analysis, building high-quality backlinks, and other activities, they help the website reach a wider audience.

It’s a good idea to consult an SEO consultant when you want to increase your website’s visibility, boost organic traffic, and achieve better search rankings. This is particularly valuable for businesses that rely on online traffic to generate sales or meet their marketing goals. In these cases, a structured SEO consulting service for businesses makes all the difference.

The support of an SEO consultant is also essential when you launch a new website or make significant changes to an existing one. In both cases, they can provide guidance and strategies to ensure that the website is optimized from the start, or that the changes made preserve the rankings you’ve achieved.

What does an SEO consultant do?

To help a website achieve better online visibility, an SEO marketing consultant performs various tasks:

keyword analysis;
optimizing published content, whether on a website or an e-commerce site;
the creation of high-quality links;
technical SEO optimization of the website;
data analysis to monitor and improve performance.

Keyword Analysis

The world of keywords is complex and consists of several types:

Short keywords: one or two words, very general. For example, “shoes” or “hotel.”
Long-tail keywords: longer, more specific phrases. For example, “marathon running shoes” or “budget hotels in New York.”
Navigation keywords: used to find a specific website, such as “Facebook” or “Amazon.”
Informational keywords: used to search for information on a topic, such as “how to lose weight” or “how to cook pasta.”
Transactional keywords: used by people who are ready to make a purchase, such as “buy shoes online” or “book a hotel in Rome.”

Another important factor is competition, which indicates how difficult it is to rank for a keyword: a high level means that many competitors are targeting it.

Keyword selection should be based on the industry and marketing objectives, without getting carried away by the numbers. Generic keywords drive more traffic, but they’re also the hardest to rank for. Often, the best strategy is to focus on long-tail keywords, which drive qualified traffic with lower competition.

Keyword Analysis: What Activities Does It Involve?

an audit of the current website or e-commerce site to understand how it ranks;
analysis of the keywords used by competitors;
analysis of users’ actual search queries, to understand how they search for information;
development of a comparative report that compares your website’s ranking with that of your competitors and with user search queries;
creationof the keyword tree; mapping the keywords on which to base the content revision.

SEO Optimization of Content

Whether it’s a website or an e-commerce site, every element is SEO content: text, titles, meta tags, descriptions, and images. For e-commerce sites, this also includes optimizing product pages. In this context, we refer to on-page and off-page SEO.

On-page and off-page SEO

SEO strategies are divided into on-page and off-page factors.

On-Page SEO: What Is It?

On-page SEO refers to all the factors that can be optimized directly within a website to improve its ranking in search results: content, meta descriptions, title tags, and the HTML source code of the pages.

Some common steps for optimizing a page’s internal structure:

divide the text into paragraphs;
Optimize keywords in heading tags (H1, H2, H3);
Optimize the title tag and meta description;
optimize internal links and the URL structure;
check the page speed;
Optimize visual elements (images, GIFs, videos) for Google Image Search.

On-Page SEO: Why It’s Important

On-page optimization increases both the quantity and quality of traffic to a website. Good, well-structured content is what makes a website appealing to users and search engines: it addresses a problem, provides a concrete solution, and is easy to link to.

Off-page SEO: What Is It?

Off-page SEO encompasses all marketing techniques that take place outside the website, with the aim of improving search engine rankings. Unlike on-page factors, it involves external elements such as backlink strategy or link building from other sites.

The goal is to strengthen thesite’s popularity andauthority by building connections, links, and relationships online.

Key Off-Page SEO Factors

number and quality of backlinks;
landing page;
article marketing and press releases;
quotes, interviews, and reviews on blogs or industry websites;
social media presence.

The number and quality of backlinks are the most important off-page factor: the more authoritative sites that link to yours, the higherthe domain authority Google assigns to you, which has a positive impact on your SERP ranking.

One example is guest blogging: being mentioned in industry publications related to your products or services. If you own a restaurant and your menu is reviewed by an industry blog or a guide like Gambero Rosso, you gain visibility, authority, and reputation in the eyes of both customers and search engines.

Link-Building Strategy

Link building is a strategic activity that every good SEO consultant must consider. It is divided into internal and external link building.

Internal link building

Link the pages of your website together to make it easier for users to navigate and for content to be indexed. One of the factors Google evaluates is the number of clicks required to reach a piece of content: it’s best to keep this number low, because a short path benefits both the user and indexing. That’s exactly what internal links are for.

External link building

It involves creating valuable content that attracts natural links and implementing targeted strategies to strengthen the site’s authority. If your site still lacks visibility, an external link-building strategy involves:

Identify websites, blogs, and portals related to your service or product;
check its SEO ranking;
Consider the possibility of publishing content that includes a dofollow link to your site.

Technical SEO

The SEO consultant performs a technical analysis of the website to identify factors that affect search engine rankings: site structure, page load speed, redirect management, and HTML tag optimization.

It is one of the most difficult and important steps—and often the most overlooked. An analysis of numerous SEO plans reveals thatthe technical aspect —all those technical details that enable a website to perform at its best—is rarely taken into account.

Speed is a good example: a slow website loses users after just three seconds, and Google penalizes slow websites in its search rankings. To measure your website’s performance, you can use the free PageSpeed Insights tool.

Data analysis and performance monitoring

The SEO consultant constantly monitors the website’s performance using data analysis tools. As we’ll see, there are several platforms that allow you to track technical performance over time.

How much does an SEO consultant cost?

The cost of an SEO consultant in Italy varies depending on the professional’s experience, the complexity of the project, and the type of website. As a general guideline, rates range from an hourly fee for one-time consultations to ongoing monthly collaborations for structured projects. The investment depends on the objectives and the level of competition in the industry.

There are three common collaboration models. Hourly consulting is suitable for those seeking advice on a specific issue. A fixed-price project covers a defined task, such as a comprehensive SEO audit. A monthly retainer provides ongoing support to the company, with continuous optimization and monitoring.

Three factors influence the quote: the website’s current state, competition in the industry, and ranking goals. Would you like a customized quote? Learn more about our SEO consulting services for your business.

What Questions to Ask an SEO Consultant to Determine If They Are an Expert

To assess an SEO consultant’s expertise, you can ask a few questions:

What is your experience with search engine optimization?
Do you work on both websites and e-commerce sites (is the work very different)?
Do you work on both new and existing sites (does the work differ in this case as well)?
What results have you achieved in improving a website’s visibility?
Do you have experience with local and international search engine optimization?
What tools and techniques do you use?
How do you stay up to date on the latest trends and search engine algorithms?
Can you provide case studies or testimonials from satisfied customers?

What Answers to Expect

A skilled SEO consultant demonstrates their expertise in several areas. Here are the main ones.

SEO Strategy. This is the key element. Before creating content, it’s essential to understand your competitors’ SEO rankings and users’ actual search queries: only then can you build an effective strategy. A good consultant will provide you with a report that, for each keyword, shows the current ranking, competitors’ rankings, search volume, competition level, and historical trends (upward, steady, or downward). Essentially, the report indicates which keywords to target and which to avoid. They’ll also ask if Google Analytics and Google Search Console—or similar tools like Matomo—are set up on your website.

SEO Experience. At least three years of experience is helpful, because there are no set rules in this field: Google doesn’t provide specific guidance on what to do or how to do it. In most cases, consultants develop their own expertise through hands-on experience—they test keywords, set up the site architecture, analyze the results, and start over. They conduct these tests on their own website, never at the expense of clients: that’s why you only need to analyze the SEO ranking of their website to gauge their worth. If you found an SEO consultant by clicking on their ad on Google, evaluate them carefully.

What tools does an SEO consultant use?

There are many tools available, some of which are free and others that require payment.

Among the free ones:

Google Analytics and Google Search Console: The former tracks website traffic, while the latter shows SEO rankings, traffic, and the search queries used by users.
Matomo Analytics: a suite similar to Google Analytics and Search Console.
Google Trends: shows the most searched keywords, which are useful for providing relevant content.
Google Keyword Planner: Built into Google Ads, it analyzes the traffic for each keyword, the competition, and search trends.

Among the paid tools, at Factory Communication we also use:

Semrush: one of the world’s best platforms for SEO analysis, comparisons, competitor analysis, and search trend analysis. It requires a significant investment, but it remains a go-to tool.
AnswerThePublic: Accurately tracks search trends by topic.

Frequently Asked Questions About SEO Consultants

What does an SEO consultant do? Analyze the website, identify the right keywords, and optimize the content and technical structure to improve Google rankings and drive qualified traffic.

How much does an SEO consultant cost? The cost varies depending on experience, objectives, and industry. It ranges from hourly consulting rates for one-time assignments to monthly fees for ongoing projects.

What is the difference between an SEO consultant and an SEO agency? The consultant is a specialist who oversees the strategy; the agency assembles a team that also handles the operational execution across multiple areas.

How do you choose an SEO consultant? Check your website’s search engine ranking, ask for specific examples, and make sure they always start with a competitor analysis and user research.

How long does it take to see results? SEO is a medium-term effort: the first results typically appear after a few months, depending on the competition and the website’s starting point.

Do you want to grow your business with SEO?

Factory Communication specializes in SEO audits, on-site optimization, and search engine ranking for websites and e-commerce sites. If you’re looking for a structured service tailored to your business, learn more about our SEO consulting for businesses and request a personalized consultation.

SEO Consultant: What It Is and What They Actually Do