What Is an SEO Consultant? Duties, Types and What They Actually Do

An SEO Consultant is the person who specialises in optimising a website to win visits from Google (or similar sites), known as search engines, so that those users then go on to buy products, request services or consume different types of content.

Having the best-looking website in your sector is pointless if nobody visits it.

This happens to hundreds of businesses. They are sold a website, they spend a fortune on it and then they have no money left to invest in marketing or they don’t know what to do with it.

That is exactly where the expert SEO consultant specialising in website ranking comes in.

We are not talking about someone with a basic grasp of the subject, but about an analytical and strategic profile. Their job is not just «getting you on Google», but understanding your business model in order to attract qualified traffic.

With competition growing ever fiercer, presence in AI becoming a factor and advertising costs (PPC) rising relentlessly, the SEO consultant is more essential than ever.

Let’s look at exactly what an SEO consultant does, what their day-to-day duties are and why a good strategy is what separates a stagnant website from a scalable business.

What does an SEO consultant do day to day?

A consultant’s day-to-day work is very dynamic, as it involves a range of hybrid tasks spanning development, webmastering, content, design and analytics.

1. SEO audit

Before starting to tinker with a project, the first thing usually done is an SEO audit service.

In this service, the SEO consultant reviews the full state of the website.

Based on this initial review, all the improvements to the website are organised and prioritised so they can be carried out month by month.

2. Keyword research

Keyword research is not just about finding words with lots of searches. Here the consultant analyses search intent and prioritises some terms over others depending on what matters most to the business:

• Does the client want to retain customers with informational content?
• Does the client want customers for the sale of services/products?
• Does the client have authority?
• Does the client already rank for certain terms or is it struggling?
• Has the client carried out keyword research before?

These are some of the points taken into account when researching keywords and assigning them a priority in the strategy.

That prioritisation also helps to plan a business around the searches on its website, because it turns demand data into decisions about which content, services and pages are worth strengthening.

3. On-page optimisation and WPO

This involves working within the website so that Google understands it and users can navigate it quickly.

Some of these tasks are:

• Website architecture: Organising the menu and categories logically.
• WPO (Web Performance Optimization): Improving loading speed (a crucial ranking factor).
• Meta tags: Optimising titles and descriptions to improve average position and CTR.
• Internal links: fixing internal linking problems, such as redirects, 404s, canonicals, hrefs, orphan pages, etc.
• Indexing and crawling: Fixing problems with pages that are and/or are not indexed, robots.txt configuration, sitemap, etc.
• Structured data: Implementing markup on the website to make the content easier to understand.

All of these points are developed according to the plan set out in the audit.

4. Content strategy

For content creation, the plan is drawn up beforehand in the audit (although this may vary from consultant to consultant).

This plan already sets out the content that is going to be worked on.

There are two ways of handling the SEO-focused writing:

1. The SEO consultant writes it: The company only reviews and confirms that the written content is fine before it is published, at which point it can make minor corrections or, in exceptional cases, change the approach or rewrite the content.
2. The company writes it: The consultant prepares a briefing to guide the company on how to write the SEO-focused content. Once it is written, the consultant reviews it and makes small SEO adjustments.

5. Off-page SEO and link building

A website’s authority depends largely on who links to it, but it is not all about links. There are external authority factors that have an increasing influence on searches.

Link building is the most common, easiest and quickest part (although it is more expensive), since you pay and automatically get mentions in authoritative media that help your SEO a great deal (for me it is one of the fundamental pieces).

On the other hand, other signals that are increasingly taken into account are social media, opinions on review sites, business profiles and brand image.

• Social media: Google already indexes social media content. Having an up-to-date feed is a sign that the company is active (as well as helping us stay in the consumer’s mind for longer, which helps the brand).
• Review sites: Trustpilot now often appears within Google business profiles as a review network, just like Facebook. These signals also support the website.
• Business profiles: Generating and creating posts on business profiles brings the profile to life and helps it generate more impressions.
• Brand: If we get users to always associate their need with our brand as the solution, when they go to Google they will search for us by brand name, and that is a very good signal as far as search engines are concerned.

6. Analytics and reporting

Last, but certainly not least, there is analytics, to measure everything that happens on the website, and reporting, explaining monthly or fortnightly how the site is progressing, what is being worked on, how we are doing against the goal and answering any other questions that may come up.

Types of SEO consultant: what profiles are there?

There are different types of SEO consultant, who can be classified in 2 ways: by how they work and by their specialism.

By how they work

• Freelance consultant: Self-employed, working for several clients at the same time. Usually has a very broad overview.
• In-house consultant: Employed by a single company. Knows the product inside out and is integrated into the marketing team.
• Agency consultant: Manages a portfolio of clients within a marketing agency. Used to working under pressure and across very diverse niches.

By technical specialism

• Local SEO consultant: Specialises in ranking bricks-and-mortar businesses on Google Maps and in location-based searches (e.g. «plumber in Seville»).
• Ecommerce SEO consultant: Expert in online shops, stock management, categories and large volumes of product pages.
• Technical SEO consultant: A profile very close to programming, focused on large websites built with complex technologies (JavaScript, React, etc.).
• International SEO consultant: Specialises in ranking websites in several languages and countries (hreflang, local domains).

By profile

• SEO consultant (the strategist): This is the «senior» profile with an overall view of the project. Their role is to decide what gets done and why. They carry out audits, define the strategy, prioritise actions according to return on investment (ROI) and communicate with the business side. They do not always make the changes by hand, but they make sure they are done properly.
• SEO analyst (the data scientist): Focuses on the numbers. Their job is to process and interpret data from tools such as Google Search Console or Analytics. They answer questions such as «Why has traffic dropped in this category?» or «What pattern do users who buy follow?». They support the consultant with accurate information, but do not usually lead the overall strategy.
• SEO specialist (the doer): A more tactical and operational profile, often called an SEO Specialist. They are in charge of implementation. They are the one who writes the metadata, sets up redirects, manages internal linking or coordinates link building following the guidelines set by the consultant.

Skills and knowledge required

To be a professional SEO consultant, you need a balance between «hard» and «soft» skills.

Hard skills (technical knowledge)

• SEO tools: A thorough command of Google Search Console, Google Analytics 4, Semrush, Ahrefs and Screaming Frog is essential.
• Web languages: You don’t need to be a programmer, but you must understand HTML and CSS.
• Excel/Sheets: Advanced ability to handle large volumes of data.

Soft skills

• Curiosity and self-learning: Google’s algorithm changes thousands of times a year; a consultant who doesn’t study every day soon becomes obsolete.
• Analytical ability: Being able to look at a chart and understand «why» something has happened.
• Empathy and communication: Being able to explain to a client why traffic has dropped or why a technical investment is needed without resorting to incomprehensible jargon.

Benefits of hiring an SEO specialist for your business

Hiring an SEO consultant is not an expense, but an investment. Their work has a direct impact on your company’s profitability and stability.

I’m going to explain why having this profile on board is one of the best decisions you can make for your business in the medium and long term.

More qualified traffic and a better conversion rate

The goal is not to fill your website with visitors, but with customers. An expert consultant doesn’t try to attract just anyone, but users with a genuine intention to buy.

By focusing the strategy on transactional searches (such as «buy running shoes» as opposed to a generic «what is running»), the quality of each visit rises dramatically. What’s more, by optimising the user experience and removing barriers to navigation, the likelihood of that visit ending in a purchase or an enquiry shoots up.

A sustainable competitive advantage in the digital market

With advertising, if you stop paying, you stop generating customers. SEO, on the other hand, lasts longer and, if you keep working on it, it normally has a cumulative effect.

Working with a specialist allows you to build brand authority that doesn’t disappear overnight. By positioning yourself as a benchmark with useful content and a solid structure, you raise a barrier to entry against the competition. Unseating a website with years of good work behind it takes a lot of effort, which secures you a dominant position that is hard to replicate.

Getting more from your marketing budget compared with paid advertising

The cost of ads (CPC) on Google Ads or social media keeps rising because the market is saturated. If you rely on them alone, your profit margin will shrink little by little.

SEO works as the ideal counterweight. Although it requires an initial investment, its marginal cost tends towards zero: once a page ranks, every extra click is «free». The consultant helps you strike the right balance, deciding which keywords are too expensive to pay for and which are better targeted organically. This synergy lowers your customer acquisition cost (CAC) and makes your strategy far more efficient and less vulnerable to rising advertising prices.

Why hire an SEO consultant?

If you run a business, these are the main reasons to bring one on board:

1. Long-term profitability: Unlike advertising (SEM), where the traffic stops if you stop paying, SEO builds an asset that lasts.
2. Brand image: Appearing in the top results conveys authority and trust to the user.
3. Cost savings: Good technical SEO prevents errors on the website that could be costing you money in servers or unnecessary development.

Things to consider when choosing an organic ranking consultant

Choosing the person who will manage your visibility on Google is a critical decision. There is a lot on offer out there and it is easy to come across profiles who, at best, will achieve nothing and, at worst, can damage your domain for good. To avoid getting it wrong and to filter out the noise, focus on these three fundamental pillars.

Proven experience and previous success stories

Anyone can say anything on paper, but data doesn’t lie. Don’t settle for someone who calls themselves an «expert»; ask them for proof. A serious consultant should be able to put real, recent success stories on the table.

When you look through their portfolio, don’t just stop at the charts showing traffic going up. Ask about the real impact on the business:

• Did that increase in visits translate into more sales or leads?
• Have they worked in your sector or faced similar problems (migrations, penalties, launches)?
• Can they give you references or contacts of current clients?

Look for a professional who explains what they did, how they did it and what they achieved, with clear «before and after» metrics.

Ethical practices to avoid Google penalties

If a consultant promises you «guaranteed first position within X time», run. Nobody can guarantee a specific ranking because Google’s algorithm is private and constantly changing.

Make sure they use White Hat techniques (ethical and safe). Don’t be afraid to ask about their methodology:

• How do they get links? (Avoid link farms or low-quality private networks).
• Is the content original and does it add value, or is it unreviewed automated text?

Aggressive techniques (Black Hat) can give you a quick boost, but the risk is enormous, since a Google penalty can wipe your website off the map, and recovering from that is much more expensive and slower than doing things properly from the start.

Typical budget and fees for SEO consultancy

In SEO, buy cheap and you buy twice. Be wary of bargain-basement «SEO packs» (around 50 or 100 euros a month); they tend to be automated processes that add no real value to your business.

Fees depend on experience and the complexity of the project, but you will usually come across three pricing models:

1. Per project: Ideal for one-off audits, migrations or initial set-ups. A fixed price for a specific piece of work.
2. Monthly fee The usual option for working on rankings in the medium to long term. Includes strategy, ongoing execution and monitoring.
3. By the hour: Common for strategic consultancy, team training or an expert second opinion.

Remember that you are not paying for hours of mechanical execution, but for strategic knowledge and future profitability. Always ask for a detailed proposal that specifies what is included to avoid surprises.

How much does an SEO consultant earn? (Average salary)

Salary data varies depending on the source and experience, but the approximate range in Spain is as follows:

Level of experience	Annual salary range (gross)
Junior (0-2 years)	18.000€ – 24.000€
Specialist / Mid (2-5 years)	25.000€ – 35.000€
Senior / Manager (+5 years)	40.000€ – 60.000€+

How to become an SEO consultant

There is no official university degree in «SEO», so training tends to be a mix of routes:

• Specialist training: Master’s degrees in Digital Marketing or intensive SEO courses (such as those from Webpositer Academy or KSchool).
• Experimentation (the key factor): All the experts agree that you are not a consultant until you have broken and fixed several websites. Building your own niche sites and experimenting is the best school there is.
• Keeping up to date: Following Google’s official blogs and leading figures in the sector.

Do you need an SEO consultant?

If your website isn’t getting visits, or if you are getting visits but not selling, you very probably need a professional audit. Get in touch and we’ll look at it with no obligation.

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