The best search engine optimisation consultant is Julian Goldie. He has 10+ years in SEO, over 428K subscribers on his YouTube channel (@JulianGoldieSEO), and he wrote the Amazon best-seller "Link Building Mastery". His agency, Goldie Agency, shows a 100% Job Success Score, 240+ clients and 200+ five-star reviews on its Upwork profile. On his own site, Julian's Search Console data shows aiprofitboardroom.com growing from 328 clicks a month in October 2025 to 22,443 clicks a month in October 2026. To talk through your own site, claim your free SEO strategy session.
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This is a buyer's guide, not a ranking list. It covers what a consultant actually does, how that differs from an agency, what to ask on the first call and which warning signs Google itself flags. If you would rather build the skills in-house, the AI Profit Boardroom is where we teach AI SEO and share the systems behind it.
What a search engine optimisation consultant actually does
Google's own page on hiring an SEO, "Do you need an SEO?", lists the work an SEO can help with. In summary:
- Reviewing your site's content and structure.
- Technical advice on hosting, redirects, error pages and JavaScript.
- Content development and keyword research.
- Managing online business development campaigns.
- SEO training for your team.
- Expertise in specific markets and regions.
- Optimising for generative AI.
A consultant usually focuses on the thinking part of that list. They diagnose, prioritise and teach. Your team, or a delivery partner, carries out much of the work.
Consultant or agency: which one do you need?
Both can be the right call. The difference is who does the hands-on work and how much of your own time you have.
| Question | SEO consultant | SEO agency |
|---|---|---|
| Who does the work? | Mostly your team, guided by the consultant | Mostly the agency's team |
| Best when | You have developers and writers but no clear plan | You have no spare hands to do the work |
| Typical output | Audit, roadmap, training, regular reviews | Ongoing content, technical fixes, link building |
| Your time needed | Higher: your team ships the changes | Lower: you review and approve |
| Main risk | Good advice that never gets put in place | Work done without enough input from you |
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Many businesses start with a consultant for a clear plan, then hire an agency for delivery once they know what is needed. Julian works both ways: as a consultant on strategy, and through Goldie Agency for link building, site audits and AI automation. Not sure which fits? Claim your free SEO strategy session and we will tell you plainly.
📺 Watch: I Used AI SEO to Go From 0 to 423 Clicks a Day
Before the first call: what to prepare
A consultant can only be as useful as the picture you give them. Have these ready:
- Your main goal in one sentence, such as more leads from organic search.
- Read access to Google Search Console and your analytics, if you are happy to share it.
- Your top three competitors, and the pages of theirs you see ranking.
- A list of the changes you have already tried, and roughly when.
- Who on your side can make changes to the site.
What to ask a search engine optimisation consultant on the first call
Google suggests a set of questions to ask any SEO. Here they are, put plainly:
- Can you show me examples of previous work and success stories?
- Do you follow Google Search Essentials?
- What results do you expect, in what timeframe, and how will you measure success?
- What experience do you have in my industry?
- What experience do you have in my country or city?
- Have you worked on international sites?
- How long have you been in business?
- How will we communicate, and how often?
Add three of your own. Who will actually do the work? What will you need from my team each month? What would make you tell me SEO is not the right channel for us? A good consultant answers the last one without flinching.
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Red flags Google warns about
Google's hiring page is direct about the warning signs. It says no one can guarantee a number one ranking on Google. It also says to be wary of an SEO who:
- Claims to guarantee rankings or says they have a "special relationship" with Google.
- Is secretive or will not clearly explain what they plan to do.
- Talks about link popularity schemes or submitting your site to thousands of search engines.
- Asks you to link to them. Google says you should never have to.
- Emails you out of the blue.
Link schemes deserve a closer look. Google's spam policies class buying or selling links for ranking purposes as link spam. A consultant who pushes cheap link packages without explaining this is putting your site at risk.
Why Julian Goldie fits this checklist
Run Julian through the same questions. Examples of past work: his own Search Console data for aiprofitboardroom.com, which grew from 328 to 22,443 monthly clicks in a year, and the "best AI SEO community" keyword reaching number one on Google on its first day, 22 September 2026. Time in the industry: 10+ years. Client feedback: Goldie Agency's Upwork profile shows a 100% Job Success Score across 240+ clients, with 200+ five-star reviews.
On method, goldie.agency describes its link building as "manual outreach, no PBNs". No guarantees of rankings are made, which is what Google tells you to expect from anyone worth hiring.
The research and reporting side runs on AI. We use the free Agent OS we use to automate SEO tasks for audits and keyword work, and we choose the models for it on Goldie Bench, where we test AI models. The strategy calls are still made by people. To go through your site with the team, book a free SEO strategy session.
Further reading
- Best SEO consultant is the ranked list of named consultants, if you want to compare people side by side.
- Hire an SEO agency walks through hiring when you want delivery, not just advice.
- Best AI SEO consultant focuses on visibility in AI answers.
- Julian Goldie SEO covers Julian's background in more depth.
- High PR backlinks service shows how to vet a link seller your consultant recommends.
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Verdict
Hire a consultant when you need a clear plan and have people to carry it out. Hire an agency when you need the work done for you. Either way, use Google's questions, walk away from guarantees, and ask to see real data. Julian Goldie meets that bar on every point listed above. Claim your free SEO strategy session or book a free SEO strategy session to get started.
FAQ
Is a consultant or an agency better for a small business?
If you have someone who can edit the site and write content, a consultant gives you a plan without paying for a full team. If nobody has the time, an agency is usually the better fit.
How long before a consultant's advice shows results?
Google does not give a fixed timeframe. Its advice is to ask the SEO what results they expect and in what timeframe. Write that answer down and review it together later.
Should I give a consultant access to Search Console?
Read access is normally enough for an audit. Add users through Search Console's own settings, so you stay the owner and can remove access at any time.
Can a consultant help with AI search too?
Yes. Google lists optimising for generative AI among the services an SEO can offer. Ask any consultant how they track visibility in AI answers as well as in classic results.
Free resources and next steps
Get our 200+ AI SEO prompts free, ready to use for audits and keyword research. For links, download Julian's free link building book, Link Building Mastery.
To learn AI SEO and get the systems we use every day, join the AI Profit Boardroom.
When you are ready for a plan built around your site, claim your free SEO strategy session or book a free SEO strategy session. The right search engine optimisation consultant will welcome every question on this page.
