Last updated: 2026-10-12
To find a reliable SEO (Search Engine Optimization) expert, follow the steps Google sets out in its own documentation: an interview with precise questions, a check of references and, if the candidate offers one, an audit with read-only access to Search Console. Rule out anyone who guarantees the first position: Google writes that no one can guarantee it.
How do you find an SEO expert?
To find an SEO expert, put the candidates through three steps: an interview, a check of references and an audit. These are the steps that Google's page "Do you need an SEO?", updated on 10 June 2026, gives to anyone who has to choose one. Google does not number them: we put them in this order because each one prepares the next.
- Hold an interview. Ask for examples of previous work, what results the candidate expects, on what timeline and how they measure success. Google also suggests finding out whether the candidate is interested in you and your business.
- Check the business references. Talk to the companies the candidate names and ask what changed on their site after the work.
- Evaluate the audit, if one is offered. For this stage Google recommends granting only read access to Search Console, not write access, and comparing the advice you receive with its official guidance.
Timing matters too. According to the same page, a great time to bring in an SEO expert is a site redesign, and the earlier the better. If, for example, you have a rebuild planned, choose the expert before you approve the new structure: that way the design is easy for Google to crawl from the start.
What skills should an SEO expert have?
An SEO expert should be able to improve a site's visibility, analyse web data, write and manage content and know the keywords of digital content. These are some of the essential skills that ESCO (European Skills, Competences, Qualifications and Occupations), the European Commission's classification of occupations, assigns to this role in the search engine optimisation expert profile. The profile lists 8 essential skills and 5 essential areas of knowledge.
The profile describes the job like this: the SEO expert raises the ranking of a company's pages for targeted queries, creates and launches SEO campaigns and identifies areas for improvement. They may also run pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns. Google, in its list of the services an SEO expert can offer, adds technical advice and optimisation for generative AI (artificial intelligence).
What you need, as the person choosing, is proof: the table sets each skill next to the source that names it and what you can ask the candidate to verify it.
| Skill | Who names it | What proof to ask the candidate for |
|---|---|---|
| Performing online data analysis | ESCO, among the essential skills | A report from a past project, with the metrics tracked and the decisions that came out of it. |
| Writing content | ESCO, among the essential skills | Two pages they wrote or edited, with the goal each one had and the result it achieved. |
| Knowing and researching keywords | ESCO, among the essential knowledge, and Google, among the services | The research done for a client and the pages that came out of it. |
| Giving technical advice on hosting, redirects, error pages and JavaScript | Google, among the services | A technical problem found on a site and how they got it fixed. |
| Optimising for generative AI | Google, among the services | The method they use to check whether a site appears in AI answers, and for which questions. |
ESCO's essential items also include sales strategies and customer relationship management software. The European profile therefore describes someone who connects search to customers, and developing SEO content is only one part of the job.
What questions should you ask an SEO expert in the interview?
The questions to ask an SEO expert are the ones Google itself suggests on its page about choosing one, and they cover results, experience and ways of working:
- Can they show you examples of their previous work and share some success stories?
- Do they follow Google Search Essentials, the Google guidelines formerly known as the Webmaster Guidelines?
- What kind of results do they expect to achieve, on what timeline and how do they measure success?
- What experience do they have in your industry, your country or your city?
- What experience do they have developing international sites?
- How long have they been in business?
- How will you be able to communicate with them?
- Will they tell you about every change they make to the site, with the details of their recommendations?
Not all of them carry the same weight for you. If you only sell in one country, the question about international sites is of little use, and if you run an e-commerce site in several languages it is the first one to ask. The question about measuring success applies to everyone: a useful answer names the metrics, the comparison period and who checks them.
During the interview, also make two checks that Google ties to the audit. See whether the candidate cites Google's official documentation in support of their advice, and whether they use tools that are in line with Google's guidance. Advice without a source remains an opinion, and in a meeting with management an opinion is hard to defend.
Which warning signs should make you wary of an SEO expert?
Be wary of an SEO expert who guarantees you a given ranking, who claims a "special relationship" with Google or who does not clearly explain what they intend to do. Google says so on its page about choosing an SEO expert, and the spam policies for Google Search, updated on 2 September 2026, say what the site risks. The table sets each sign next to the Google statement that covers it.
| Sign you notice | What Google writes | Google page and update |
|---|---|---|
| They guarantee you a given ranking. | No one can guarantee the first position in Google's results. | "Do you need an SEO?", 10 June 2026 |
| They claim a "special relationship" with Google. | Google advises you not to trust anyone who says so. | "Do you need an SEO?", 10 June 2026 |
| They propose link schemes to increase visibility. | Creating links mainly to manipulate rankings is spam, and the site may rank lower in results or not appear at all. | Spam policies, 2 September 2026 |
| They are secretive or do not clearly explain their intent. | Google advises caution. | "Do you need an SEO?", 10 June 2026 |
| They imply that advertising on Google improves organic results. | Advertising with Google has no effect on the site's presence in search results. | "Do you need an SEO?", 10 June 2026 |
Google warns that if an SEO expert creates deceptive or misleading content on your behalf, the site can be removed from its index: the one that pays the consequences is your site. On the same page it advises wariness of firms, consultants and agencies that send unsolicited email, and says you should never have to link to the SEO expert's site. If you receive an unsolicited email promising the first page, you have two of these signs in the same message.
What are an SEO expert's qualifications and certifications worth?
In Italy, an SEO expert's qualifications, certificates and association memberships are voluntary indications, if the profession falls among those without a professional order or board governed by Law no. 4 of 14 January 2013. The law does not list individual professions and does not mention SEO: that it applies is our reading, not a sentence in the statute.
For these professions the law establishes that practice is free and based on autonomy, competence and independence of judgement. Article 2 provides that those who practise them may form private professional associations, on a voluntary basis and without exclusive representation. Article 6 promotes voluntary self-regulation, and bases the qualification of the service on conformity with the technical standards of UNI (the Italian national standards body).
For you this has two practical consequences. A certificate says that the professional chose to be assessed, and it does not replace references and an audit. The law also requires anyone practising one of these professions to cite it in every document and written dealing with the client. When you receive a quote from an Italian consultant, check whether the reference is there.
Should an SEO expert also handle AI answers?
In part: Google now includes "optimisation for generative AI" among the services an SEO expert can offer. Google writes, however, in its guide to AI features in Search updated on 31 December 2025, that appearing in AI Overviews or AI Mode involves no additional requirements and no other special optimisations. A page must be indexed and eligible to appear in Google Search with a snippet, the text excerpt shown under the result's title.
This gives you one more question for the interview. If a candidate proposes a package for Google's AI answers that is separate from SEO, ask what it adds to the basic work. The same guide lists practices that still hold: allowing crawling in the robots.txt file, making content easy to find through internal links and keeping important content in text form.
Google's guide covers only Google's products. ChatGPT, Perplexity and Claude are different engines and Google's documentation does not describe them, so ask the candidate how they measure your site's presence there as well. To get your bearings, see the differences between GEO and SEO, where GEO stands for Generative Engine Optimization, and a guide on how to get cited by ChatGPT.
How long does it take to see results from an SEO expert's work?
Google's page on choosing an SEO expert, updated on 10 June 2026, does not give a time range: it suggests asking the candidate what results they expect, on what timeline and how they measure success. Get a written estimate, with a deadline and the metrics you will use to check it on that date.
How much does an SEO expert cost in Italy?
We have no reliable figure to report: among the pages that surface online, from agencies, listing portals and training sites, we did not find a source that describes its sample and method, so we do not report their rates. Ask for at least two quotes and compare what they include, not only the total.
Can you do SEO yourself, without an expert?
Partly yes, if you run a small local business: Google writes that in that case you can probably do much of the work yourself. If your site is larger or your market more crowded, weigh how much time your team can give to organic search each week and who checks the results.
Are there SEO tools approved by Google?
No. Google writes that it does not evaluate or endorse third-party SEO tools and advises wariness of those that call themselves "acceptable" or "approved" by Google Search. When a candidate shows you their tools, ask whether they are in line with Google's guidance and what data they get from each one.