Updated October 2026. I first wrote this guide in 2017. This version adds what to look for in GEO (generative engine optimization), since most companies want help showing up in Google and in AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity.
Finding, selecting and hiring an SEO consultant you can work with for the long haul isn’t easy for a marketing leader or business owner. Unless you get a few good referrals from your network, you’re starting from scratch. I’ve been in SEO for over 20 years, both in-house and as a consultant, so here’s what I’ve seen work for clients and prospects going through this process.
How to Find an SEO Consultant
Expect to do some homework at this stage. Here are the ways I’d suggest finding candidates.
- Ask your professional network. Your network is your inner circle of trust. Look for at least a couple of SEO consultants that other marketing leaders or business owners have worked with and gotten good results from. LinkedIn is the best place to start, both with a public post and with private messages to people you know have hired one.
- Check review and directory sites. Sites like Clutch list SEO consultants and agencies with verified client reviews. Look at the types of clients each consultant has worked with, the work they did and the results they got.
- Read their Google reviews. For example, Kern Media has reviews on Google and a profile on Clutch. Specific reviews that mention results are worth more than a high star count.
- Read what they publish. Original research, case studies and detailed guides tell you how a consultant thinks. If their content matches the kind of work you need done, that’s a good sign.
- Ask AI tools for a shortlist, then check it. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity can give you a starting list of consultants for your industry. Treat it as a starting point, not a recommendation. Then vet each name the same way you would any other lead.
Note: I don’t list “search Google for SEO consultants” as a top method. A #1 ranking doesn’t always mean a great consultant. Plenty of good consultants are too busy with client work to chase their own rankings.
What Does an SEO and GEO Consultant Do?
A good consultant does more than you might expect. Here’s what the work usually covers.
- Audits your website. A technical SEO audit finds crawl, indexing, rendering and redirect issues, including whether AI crawlers can read your pages. A content audit decides which pages to keep, improve, consolidate or remove.
- Builds a content strategy. A content strategy makes sure you have the pages your buyers are searching for and asking AI tools about. It should fit your business model, whether that’s lead generation, eCommerce or publishing.
- Helps with on-page optimization. Titles, headings, internal links, schema and the content itself. Some consultants do this hands-on, and others guide your team, depending on your staff’s time and comfort level.
- Tracks AI visibility. A GEO consultant should track how often AI tools mention your brand, where you rank in their answers and which sources they cite. They should also fix how the web describes you, such as outdated directory and review profiles.
- Identifies link and mention opportunities. Be careful here. Avoid anyone who guarantees a number of links per month or leans on directory links and paid links. A good consultant finds relevant sites that link to or mention competitors but not you, plus places where your team can share real expertise.
- Sets up proper measurement. At minimum, that means Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools and Google Analytics 4 with AI referral traffic (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and others) separated out.
- Reports on what matters. Rankings are fine, but the metrics that count are organic and AI traffic, leads and revenue. Expect early signs of growth within three to six months of implementing recommendations (maybe a little longer). Growth usually starts small and builds over time.
Want to see how I handle this? Request a free consultation.
Should You Hire In-House, an Agency or a Consultant?
All three can work. The right choice depends on your budget, how much daily SEO work you have and who you want doing the work.
| In-house SEO hire | SEO agency | Independent consultant | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Salary, benefits and tools. A senior SEO lead often costs more than $120,000 a year in salary alone. | Monthly retainer, varies widely | Monthly retainer, usually less overhead than an agency |
| Who does the work | Your employee | Often a junior account team after the sale | The senior person you hired |
| Time to get started | Months to recruit and get up to speed | A few weeks | A few weeks |
| Range of skills | One person’s skills | A large team across many channels | Focused, with specialists brought in as needed |
| Best for | Large sites with steady daily SEO work | Companies that want one vendor for many channels | Companies that want senior strategy and direct access |
Many companies combine them: an in-house marketer who owns the work, with a consultant who sets the strategy and checks the details.
Talk directly with founder Dan Kern on a free 30-minute call. Engagements are month-to-month.
How to Select an SEO Consultant
Selecting the right consultant is tricky. Stay involved in the proposal process, know what to look for and ask the right questions.
What Makes a Good SEO Consultant
- They understand your traffic and revenue goals. Without these, it’s hard for either of you to measure success. “Start growing” is fine at first, but once you have traction, set specific goals.
- They find what makes your company different, and use it. Knowing your strengths helps a consultant choose keywords, write better titles and descriptions, and make your pages more convincing. It matters even more for AI tools, which tend to recommend brands that clearly state who they’re best for and back it up with specifics.
- They educate you and your team. You should understand why they’re recommending something. A good consultant links to documentation or data to back it up.
- They’re honest about your ranking potential. Many businesses can’t compete for the most competitive keywords yet. A good consultant will say so and help you target the searches and prompts you can actually win.
- They’re upfront about timing. SEO takes time. In my experience, it can take three to six months (even nine) to see noticeable organic growth, depending on your competition, authority, content and technical issues. AI tools that search the web can pick up changes faster, but changing how AI models describe your brand takes longer. Be wary of anyone promising fast results.
What to Ask an SEO Consultant
Listen for confidence, specific processes and real examples that back up their claims.
- “Do you work with any of my competitors?” Most people forget to ask. I always mention it if a current client could be a conflict. You don’t want a conflict of interest, and neither do I.
- “How long will it take to see results?” If they talk about big results in the first month or two, they’d better have a concrete reason. And results depend on your team implementing the recommendations on time.
- “Can you guarantee rankings or AI recommendations?” This is a test. If the answer is yes, end the conversation. Nobody controls Google’s algorithms or what ChatGPT says.
- “How do you measure AI visibility?” A good answer includes tracking a set of real buyer prompts across each AI tool, separated by buyer type, plus AI referral traffic and revenue in analytics. In my AI search citation study, visibility swung by up to 80 points depending on who was asking, and the four AI engines we compared never agreed on the #1 brand. One blended “AI score” hides most of that.
- “Can AI crawlers read my site?” Many AI crawlers don’t run JavaScript. A good consultant will know how to check whether your key content shows up in the raw HTML.
- “What tools and processes do you use?” Make sure their way of working fits your team, from how they share recommendations to how often you’ll meet.
- “What parts of SEO and GEO do you focus on?” You want someone who covers technical SEO, content strategy and optimization, AI visibility and measurement. If they mostly talk about link building, that’s a red flag.
How to Tell If Someone Understands AI Search
Lots of SEO providers have added “GEO” or “AI SEO” to their websites. Here’s how to tell real experience from a new label on old services:
- They track AI visibility by prompt and buyer type, not one blended “AI score.”
- They can explain how AI tools pick sources. In my AI search citation study, 84% of citations went to company websites, and brands were recommended 96% of the time when their own site was cited vs. 18% when it wasn’t. A good consultant knows which of your pages and outside profiles AI tools are using.
- They check whether AI crawlers can reach your site, including robots.txt rules, CDN and firewall settings, and content that only loads with JavaScript.
- They talk about off-site mentions and profiles, instead of only rewriting your pages with more keywords.
- They never promise placement in ChatGPT or any other AI tool.
- They can show their own research or client examples, rather than a slide about how AI search is changing.
Red Flags in an SEO or GEO Proposal
- Guaranteed rankings, guaranteed traffic or guaranteed placement in ChatGPT
- Long lock-in contracts with no way out if results don’t come
- Link packages that promise a set number of links per month
- Vague deliverables, with no clear list of what gets done each month
- Reporting that stops at rankings and traffic, with no leads or revenue
- Setting up your Search Console, GA4 or tag manager under their own logins instead of your company’s
- A senior expert who sells the deal, then hands you to someone you never met
How to Hire an SEO Consultant
Once you’ve found a consultant you want to work with, settle these details.
- Start with an audit, or go straight to ongoing work? Some companies like to ease in with an audit and strategy. Others need ongoing help to audit, plan, train their team and implement. If you know you’ll need help implementing, ongoing consulting usually works better.
- What’s the contract length? Some consultants ask for a six- or twelve-month commitment. Many (including me) work month to month. Either way, give it about six months to judge how well things are working.
- What’s the cancellation policy? Have an exit plan in case the relationship doesn’t work out or your budget changes. Thirty days’ notice is common.
- What are the payment terms? Some consultants bill in advance and some offer Net 15 or Net 30. I bill monthly in advance, which lets me focus on client work instead of chasing payments.
How Much Does an SEO Consultant Cost?
Pricing varies a lot by experience and scope. Many consultants and agencies work on monthly retainers rather than hourly billing. For reference, Kern Media’s SEO and GEO retainers typically range from $1,500 to $5,000 per month, with enterprise programs from $5,000 to $10,000 per month, month to month.
When Is Kern Media the Right Fit?
I’ll be upfront, since a bad fit wastes time for both of us.
A good fit: an established website, a team (or developer) who can make changes, and leads or sales from Google and AI tools that matter to your business. You want senior strategy and to work directly with me.
Not a good fit: you want link packages, high-volume content writing or guaranteed rankings, you need white-label work for an agency, or you need someone in your Slack or Teams channels every day.
See Working With Kern Media for how communication, reporting and billing work, or learn more about Kern Media. Switching from another agency? Read my guide to switching SEO agencies.
Why Hire an SEO Consultant?
SEO and GEO are hard to handle in-house without an expert on staff. Most marketing teams aren’t set up to cover technical SEO, keyword and prompt research, on-page optimization, AI visibility tracking and offsite profiles all at once.
And when traffic drops (or spikes), your team may not have the experience to dig into the data and explain why.
Google is still the top traffic source for most companies, and AI tools are a growing place where buyers ask for recommendations.
If you’d like to talk it through, send me a question or request a free consultation. I have my own criteria for taking on clients, so let’s see if we’re a good fit for each other.
