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While most know what search engine optimization (SEO) entails, few feel as confident in implementing it. Compared to other popular digital strategies like social media management, SEO - at least to do it properly and correctly - is a whole different beast.
It involves much more than content creation. From link acquisition to user experience, there are various aspects of search engine marketing that you need to keep in mind and some are easy to miss.
As such, numerous companies turn to an SEO consultant to get them up to speed with how to rank on search engines. Instead of working with a one-man show, it can make more sense in the long run to partner with an agency that includes SEO consulting services in their offering from the start. As mentioned, there are many moving parts and by partnering with an agency that offers a range of SEO services, they’ll be able to continue where the consultant left off and implement the suggestions.
Here are 10 of the major players that include SEO consulting as a service. Most charge hourly rates, making it easier to budget for this essential service.
Top 10 SEO Consultants in the USA Whose Opinion You Can Trust:
What Does a SEO Consultant Do?
In short, SEO consultants help team members in charge of website optimization to evaluate if their SEO efforts are paying off. As most charge hourly rates, you can get support without having to sign a contract, making it a popular service.
If you’re already working with an SEO agency, you can also get a third-party consultant to give you a second, unbiased opinion about if the agency is moving the needle in the right direction. Many consultants are happy to offer this type of service too.
Alternatively, if you’re yet to start with an SEO campaign, collaborating with a consultant is also a good idea. This way, you’ll have a much better idea of where you should start.
10 of the Best SEO Consulting Services Available in the US
1. SmartSites
SmartSites is a leading digital marketing agency and rated as one of the best agencies for SEM marketing in New York City. While they offer a range of digital marketing services, as their name suggests, their focus area is websites. They’ve launched hundreds of websites and, as a Google Premier Partner and Microsoft Advertising Partner, they know how to keep the search engines happy.
SmartSites have worked with businesses of all sizes, including Fortune 500 companies, across several industries. Their award-winning team offers a range of best-in-class digital marketing services that help their clients to attract more organic traffic and land new customers.
Their organic SEO team stays up to speed with all changes to Google’s algorithm and offers comprehensive SEO consulting services. They can help you gain a deeper understanding of current trends, while at the same time help prepare for the next big anticipated trends.
In addition to embracing trends, they’ll also help you to apply best practices so that your website can climb Google’s search rankings as well as boost your site ranking on other popular search engines like Bing and Yahoo! They’ll also work with you to create a strategy that narrates your brand’s unique story using search.
Some of their other SEO services include:
- Content writing
- Digital PR
- Link building
- Blog development
SmartSites
Outsmart the competition with best-in-class digital marketing services. With over 1,000 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reviews online, SmartSites ? is America's #1 rated digital marketing agency. Get more traffic. Acquire more customers. Sell more stuff. SmartSites...
Best for:
Small and Medium Size Businesses
SmartSites
Outsmart the competition with best-in-class digital marketing services. With over 1,000 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reviews online, SmartSites ? is America's #1 rated digital marketing agency. Get more traffic. Acquire more customers. Sell more stuff. SmartSites...
2. SEO Brand
SEO Brand is an award-winning online marketing agency that has a number of offices across the United States. During the 15+ years that they’ve been in business, they’ve worked with the likes of BMW, Montblanc, and LG.
Included in their list of services is SEO consulting. They have a team of qualified consultants at hand that will teach you how to improve your website’s ranking on all the main search engines. From page layout to website design, they’ll train you about technical aspects. Once the website is sorted out, they can also help with the content, whether that’s to identify keywords or how to string them together to create high-quality content.
Some of their other SEO services include:
- Amazon SEO
- Off-page SEO
- Full technical audit
SEO Brand
SEO Brand is a digital marketing agency with a holistic, data driven approach connecting brands with their customers.
Best for:
Small Business, Midmarket and Enterprise
SEO Brand
SEO Brand is a digital marketing agency with a holistic, data driven approach connecting brands with their customers.
3. OuterBox
If you’re searching for an expert SEO consultant, you can reach out to OuterBox that’s headquartered in Ohio. They’re rated as one of the best SEO agencies in the USA and have consulted on hundreds of SEO campaigns during the 18+ years that they’ve been in business.
One of the benefits of turning to them for SEO consulting services is that they offer customized pricing. They’ll keep in mind your specific objectives, website history, and brand.
Then, depending on your goals, they can offer:
- An in-depth SEO audit
- Keyword research and planning
- Competitor analysis
- Link profile consulting (including an audit of your backlink profile)
- Website redesign
These services will help you to understand your current standing and where you can potentially go in the search results. And, to help you unlock your full potential, they’ll create a roadmap for you. This will include the actions that will give you the biggest impact the fastest.
In addition to these short-term tasks, they’ll also include long-term projects. Not only will they share strategies, but they’ll also offer implementation guidance. Plus, if you want to get your whole team on board, they’ll create resources, like guides, that can be used to teach other employees.
4. Straight North
Straight North was founded in the late 1990s and over the 25 years that they’ve been operating they managed to grow their presence to all over the USA. Included in their long list of marketing-related services is SEO consulting.
What makes them such a great choice is that all the consulting work is entrusted to their senior, in-house SEO employees. This means that you can rest assured that you’ll be dealing with experienced consultants.
However, they’re not the cheapest. They charge $300 per hour for SEO consulting and you need to book at least 10 hours. This works out to a minimum spend of $3,000.
As such, they’re also upfront that their services aren’t suitable for everyone. They prefer to work with companies that:
- Have internal resources like website designers/developers and copywriters, but lack experience or an SEO strategy
- Have SEO experience, but not enough internal resources for all the monthly SEO-related work
- First need to assess the results of a single SEO campaign before they’re ready to enter into a longer commitment.
Even if you’re currently working with another SEO agency, their consultants are willing to do an audit to see if you’re, in fact, receiving a good service. Their on-site SEO audit can also identify current website problems and share suggestions for how to fix them.
As for services, they can help with:
- Identification of your target market and user persona creation
- Keyword research and strategy
- Backlink profile analysis (they can also analyze the backlink profile of your competitors to uncover any opportunities).
5. Delante
For brands operating in eCommerce, there’s Delante. They’re rated as one of the best eCommerce SEO specialists along with names like SmartSites and Straight North. That said, their expertise isn’t limited to just eCommerce as they also work with various other industries.
They currently have a team of five SEO specialists at hand to consult with you and share their knowledge. After analyzing your website carefully, they’ll identify where there’s room for improvement. In other words, the knowledge that they share won’t be general, but will be tailored to help with your specific requirements. Plus, they’ll also create a custom plan in which they summarize their findings and suggestions for which areas can be improved and how you can go about it.
Here are some of the questions that they can answer during the consultation:
- Which improvements can you make regarding internal linking?
- Why does your site rank for irrelevant keywords?
- How can you set yourself apart from competitors?
- Should you change your website structure?
- Which type of content should you create for your site?
They’re very flexible and can meet in-person at their office in New York City, online, or telephonically. In addition to NYC, they also have offices in Canada, Poland, London, and the UAE.
As for costs, their price range is more accessible to smaller businesses and you’re looking at about $130 to $200 per hour. Though, keep in mind that there’s a minimal consultancy time of three hours.
6. Sure Oak
Sure Oak is a full-service SEO company that’s on a mission to empower their business clients to reach their full potential. In addition to delivering an array of marketing services, including content marketing and lead generation, they’ll also work with your in-house marketing team as an SEO consultant.
It’s through a lot of trial and error that the founder, Tom Casano, became one of the most sought-after SEO consultants. He’s joined by a team of consultants with a wealth of industry experience and a proven track record to back that up.
If you specifically need help with your SEO strategy, you can reach out to them for strategy consulting. Their team will work with your team to identify the best marketing strategy based on your unique business goals which your team will then implement. When creating your strategy, they’ll also keep in mind current weaknesses in your website. This way, they can focus on changes that will have the greatest impact on the performance of your site.
One of the benefits of working with one of their consultants is that they’ll also share suggestions based on data. This means that you’ll get more than simply a list of SEO best practices to implement.
Some of their other SEO services include:
- On-page optimization
- Advanced keyword research
- Conversion rate optimization
- Paid marketing
7. Bruce Clay Inc.
For those companies in search of guidance, there’s Bruce Clay Inc., founded by the author of two books. In fact, the founder, Bruce Clay, is also credited as one of the first to have popularized the term “search engine optimization”.
Bruce Clay Inc. describes their consultants as at the level of masters. On average, their employees have more than 20,000 hours/10 years of industry experience behind their name. Add to that the fact that they’ve completed “mission-critical SEO projects” and you can rest assured knowing that you’re dealing with an SEO expert who will get to the bottom of issues.
Their consulting is available as a retainer program and will be tailored according to your requirements, goals, and in-house resources. It’s ideal for companies that can do with some external expertise. Through collaboration, they’ll equip your company with the knowledge needed to create and maintain a website that the search engines will notice.
Alternatively, you can also check out their SEO training course. It’s available online to those that have signed up for their comprehensive training membership program. While it won’t be tailored like their consulting services, it’s another valuable resource for those that want to expand their knowledge.
In addition to the United States, they also have offices in India, Japan, Australia, and the Middle East.
Some of their other related services include:
- PPC management
- Site audits
- Social media marketing
8. Infront Webworks
Based in Colorado, Infront Webworks uses an extremely thorough selection process when adding consultants to their team. All candidates undergo an initial interview, comprehensive test, and final interview after their references have been checked and cleared. This approach has helped them to put together an experienced team that boasts over 120 years’ experience collectively.
What’s more, their SEO consultants have also been featured in the likes of Entrepreneur, The New York Times, and The L.A. Times. They’re also an Semrush Agency Partner.
As for the process they use when consulting with their clients, here’s what you can expect…
After assessing which services are required and how many hours the project will need, they’ll send you a proposal within two business days. Once you’ve approved the proposal, they’ll need another two working days to come up with a marketing strategy.
They can take care of virtually all aspects involved in SEO. Whether you need one-on-one consulting or want to get your whole team involved, they can help.
Depending on the service selected, consulting rates range anything from $85 to $300 per hour.
Some of their other related services include:
- Training and workshops
- Content marketing strategy
- Website design and development
9. OpenMoves
Small to mid-sized businesses can check out OpenMoves that’s headquartered in Huntington, a short drive from NYC. Their team of digital marketers have been in business for over two decades and, on average, each team member boasts over 10 years’ of experience.
Like several of the other consulting firms, OpenMoves also boasts the title of being a Google Premier Partner and they’re experts in all aspects relating to SEO. When signing up for their SEO consulting services, they’ll do a one-time website audit that includes actionable recommendations. If you need a second opinion regarding the actionable recommendations that another SEO firm shared, they’re happy to give their objective opinion.
The results that they’ve achieved for some of their clients are proof that you can take their opinion seriously. For example, when an online garden supplies directory turned to them, they managed to increase their growth in organic visits by a massive 200%. For more social proof, you can simply head on over to online review sites like Clutch and DesignRush where they have dozens for five-star reviews.
Some of their other SEO services include:
- Link building
- Content optimization
- Local SEO
10. Ignite Visibility
If you specifically need help with Amazon SEO, be sure to check out Ignite Visibility that’s rated as one of the best Amazon SEO agencies for SMBs. In addition to Amazon, they’re also versed in a wide range of other SEO services and have worked with names like Tony Robbins and Experian to help grow their digital presence.
As for their SEO consulting services, they’re a great partner if you target a global audience or want to expand your reach to markets outside of the United States. While they might have only one office in California and not all over the world like some of the other SEO consultants on this list, multilingual and multiregional websites are one of their specializations and they can adapt a website to a specific language and location.
Another reason why they’re a great choice for consultancy is that they teach a course about SEO and analytics at the University of California San Diego. After all, to be a consultant involves a lot of teaching.
Some of their other SEO services include:
- Keyword optimization
- Link building
- Digital PR
Wrapping Things Up
Sure, there’s a wealth of information available on the internet about SEO. In fact, you don’t even need to leave yours truly’s website to find valuable resources about top tips, tools, and training opportunities. However, one thing that all these resources have in common is that they can’t give you the time needed to make the changes to your current SEO strategy.
As SEO is a lot more technical than other types of digital marketing, it’s also more laborious. Plus, by delaying it, you’re running the risk of dropping down further in the SERPs. This means that when you finally do have the time to implement your newly learnt tricks, you’ll possibly have to invest more time into improving your ranking.
Hiring a consultant who specializes in SEO, on the other hand, can give you the insight and time needed. Instead of having to spend hours online teaching yourself about all the ins and outs, a consultant can summarize what they’ve learned. What’s more - and this is a big benefit - you’ll end up having someone to keep you accountable. Considering that it’s easy to give up on SEO when you don’t see results immediately (which you won’t), this type of support can make all the difference.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is SEO important?
SEO remains one of the most important marketing strategies. It offers several huge benefits and can help you to:
- Generate more qualified leads
- Boost organic traffic
- Improve your ranking on Google
- Build your authority and credibility in your niche
What services do SEO consultants typically offer?
An SEO consultant can offer various types of services. The services that are usually included in their offering are:
- Technical audits
- Keyword research
- Competitor analysis
- Customer persona creation
- Content optimization
- SEO strategy
How do you find the best SEO consultant?
To help you hire the best SEO consultant for your business and speed up the process, here are key questions to ask yourself beforehand:
- What’s my budget?
- Do they have the qualifications needed for my project?
- Have they worked with my specific industry before?
- Do they have a proven track record that include positive customer reviews?
- Do they use up-to-date, acceptable strategies?
Who are the top SEO consultants in the USA?
There are several marketing agencies in the US that offer first-class SEO consultancy. You can, for example, reach out to:
- SmartSites
- SEO Brand
- OuterBox
- Straight North
- Delante
How do I know if my business needs an SEO consultant?
Even if you rely on other types of marketing on top of search engine marketing, it’s a good idea to work with an SEO consultant from time to time. The following are also key indications that you’re in need of professional SEO help:
- Your website traffic has decreased (or you haven’t managed to increase it).
- Google has penalized your website.
- You don’t have a dedicated in-house team or your current team is overwhelmed.
