A good SEO must review your product/service before he makes recommendations for your website. Adequate amount of time must be spent in keyword search. Sane knowledge of technical development like hosting, redirects, error pages, etc gives you an edge. Content is the only way your website talks to your potential clientele. Make it headstrong. When is the best time to hire an SEO? • When you are planning to launch a new website • Or when you are planning to revamp your website with a new design. Answer a few questions before you hire an SEO consulting company- Are there any previous success stories? Do they write articles on other websites, which indicates that he knows the stuff that he is into? Is he cognizant of Webmaster tools? What is the timeframe to achieve stipulated results? Beware of touts who promise you results. They may cheat you by claiming that your website shall receive higher rankings, but instead places your website link in the sponsored advertisement section. If he ever operates in secrecy, smell the rat. If the SEO has been removed from Google’s index or has not submitted himself to Google, think twice. Choosing a good SEO company is imperative, specially when you don’t have adequate knowledge about SEO. Take your time, browse through a few websites, before you make your final call.
Why it cannot be learned on sites like DP. Patience and interest can teach anything. The problem is these SEO people they do most of the work with scripts and end result will be bad. I have used some and it is only my experience.
"Sane knowledge of technical development like hosting, redirects, error pages, etc gives you an edge." Sane Knowledge? Are you implying that lots of SEOs have been driven insane by their knowledge of hosting, redirects, error pages, etc