Here are 3 questions that you should ask your prospective SEO consultant and, like any other interviewee , if you aren’t entirely satisfied with the answers then you need to move onto the next candidate.

1. What are your top 3 linking methods. Link building is more art than science and many SEO consultants , quite understandably, like to keep their exact methods pretty close to their chest, especially if they are getting good results with them. However, you should still expect a general answer, for example they might say ‘I like to get links from relevant directories in your business vertical’ or maybe even ‘I like to write and syndicate high quality articles to blog owners’. Of course, if they hum and hay or if they even so much as mutter profile links and Xrumer then politely show them the door before your site hits rock bottom.

2. What would you do to my site to increase its rankings? On-page SEO is even more important than it used to be following the Panda updates of 2011, so its vital that your SEO consultant recognises what works and, just as important, what doesn’t. Keyword stuffing, obfuscating code using Javascript or even just writing poor quality content are all cardinal sins in this new quality-driven era. Your website needs to appeal to the search engines but, of course, it also needs to appeal to your customers as well. Badly written content, poor grammar and, of course spelling mistakes are a turn off for both the bots and your readers.

3. Are you working for any of my competitors? Now you can’t always believe the answer you will be given to this question but you should ask it nevertheless. Beware of unscrupulous SEO consultants who pitch one client against another, collecting a fat cheque from them both at the end of the month. The internet is a huge place so theres really no need for any reputable consultant to be employed by two competing companies. In my mind its unethical and casts a serious doubt on the honesty and integrity of the person involved. After all, if you can’t trust them to work for you exclusively, then how can you trust their other working practices?

So, hopefully you will now have a better idea what to ask when hiring your next SEO consultant. It might seem, from this article at least, that the SEO industry is full of sharks and con-men but, to be honest most SEO consultants are actually reputable and trustworth individuals. However, like most things in life, it doesn’t hurt to check.

Mobile SEO

This is going to be huge! Last year over 5.9 billion people had access to a mobile phone, or internet tablet and they are all desperate to start using them online to make buying decisions, where to eat, where to travel and even who to hook up with! If you haven’t given some thought to how your site is accessed via a mobile device – now’s the time to do it. Mobile SEO – my term, don’t Google it – is also evolving quickly and no doubt Big G will throw some Googlies (so to speak) into the works. Again, I’ll be blogging about it when they do. One thing is for sure, if your not focusing at least some time on mobile internet in 2012 you will be leaving money in the table.

Quality vs Quantity

The age of mass link spamming is now well and truly over. Big G has refined its Panda algorithms almost continuously during 2011 and it shows no signs of letting up as we march on into 2012. Your website will need to provide fresh, relevant and linkable content is you want to get ahead of the pack. If you don’t blog – get started, if you can’t write – hire someone who can, if you can’t be bothered – well, you deserve the rankings drops that will surely follow. I believe that 2012 will be the year when Google finally cracks the problem of thin affiliate and low quality sites appearing at the top of the search rankings ,although I doubt it will stop my inbox being flooded daily with *cough* – ‘male enhancement’ products.

Social Media Finally Takes Off

I know what your thinking, social media has been with us for years – but in 2012 its importance, certainly in its impact on search engine rankings, will really start to be felt. Google+ may have been a damp squib at start but its turning into a slow burner. I don’t think its going to take over from FB any time soon, but Google’s somewhat out-dated reliance on links as a measure of importance and authority is starting to undergo a sea-change. ‘Social signals’ – SEO guys do like their buzzwords – in other words the number of people talking about your product or service is set (I believe) to be a more important long term influence on your overall search engine rankings. After all its a lot harder to get people talking about you than it is to build out an artificial link profile. If you don’t have a Facebook, LinkedIn or even Google+ profile, then its time to get one made.

This Time Its Personal!

Ok, this is quite an easy one because we’re only just into January and a big change has been made here already – search plus your world. Last year saw big changes in..well just about everything.. but especially Google Places, and the impact of personalised search for people logged into Google. This year will continue that trend making things even harder for hard working SEO’s like us. Ah well, I never started this profession because it was the easy option.

So, there you have it, my take on 2012 – now if only I could figure out who was going to win the FA cup final and the 200m freestyle swimming at the Olympics !! Remember and check back, even if its only to say – ha! shows what you know