What an SEO specialist is responsible for
The goal is simple: search engines should understand your site correctly, and visitors should find what they came for. For an online shop that means category pages built around real buyer queries. For a clinic it means a separate page for each service and doctor. For a construction company it means sections by type of work and by district.
A specialist does not have to write code, but must be able to give clear tasks to the people who do: developers, designers and copywriters. The day-to-day work usually covers the following.
- Collecting search queries and mapping them to pages
- Technical audit: speed, duplicate pages, indexing errors, mobile version
- Planning new pages and sections
- Briefs for writers: structure, headings, what the text must cover
- Internal links and careful work with external mentions
- Analysing traffic and enquiries in Search Console and analytics
- A report and a plan for the next period
Skills that separate a strong SEO specialist from a weak one
They need to understand how search engines work, be comfortable with Search Console, Yandex Webmaster and analytics, and know how a site is built, at least at the level of templates and the CMS. The most valuable skill, though, is explanation. If a specialist cannot tell a director in plain words why a change is needed and what it will do for the business, treat that as a warning sign.
The local market adds a twist. Customers search in Russian and in Uzbek, and sometimes mix Cyrillic and Latin spelling. A good specialist checks how your language versions are set up, whether they compete with each other, and which queries people in your city really use.
How to judge the work of an SEO specialist
Look at both results and process. Results mean growing visibility for the query groups that matter, visits from search and, above all, enquiries from that traffic: calls, form submissions, Telegram messages, orders. Process means a clear plan, regular reports and a list of tasks that were actually implemented on the site.
A report that is only a table of rankings says very little. Positions can rise for queries nobody needs while sales stay flat. Ask to see the link between the two: which pages bring people in and how many of them leave contact details.
Agree on access up front. Search Console and analytics should be registered to your company, not to the contractor, so your data stays with you if you ever change suppliers.
In-house, freelance or agency
An in-house hire makes sense when the site is large and needs daily attention: a shop with thousands of product cards, a chain of clinics, a classifieds portal. A smaller business rarely needs a full-time SEO specialist. It needs several profiles in small doses: an analyst, a technical specialist, a writer. That mix is easier to get from an agency, or from a freelancer who brings in colleagues.
The cost depends on the size of the site, the number of directions and languages, competition in your niche, the current state of the site and whether new content has to be written. A sensible first step is an audit. It shows how much work there really is and gives you a basis for comparing offers.
What your company must provide
SEO does not work in isolation. A specialist needs access to the site and analytics, accurate information about your products and services, quick approvals and a developer who actually ships the fixes. This is where things usually stall: recommendations sit in a spreadsheet for months, and then someone asks why there is no growth.
Red flags when choosing
Nobody except the search engine itself can guarantee a position in the results. An honest specialist talks about hypotheses, priorities and how long it takes to verify a result, not about guarantees. Be cautious if you see any of these.
- A promise of a specific position by a specific date
- Refusal to explain what exactly is being done on your site
- Mass buying of links
- Texts written for robots instead of readers
- Reports with no traffic and no enquiries
Where to start
The markdev team provides SEO optimisation in Uzbekistan, from audit and query research to briefs for writers and reports that show enquiries, not just positions. If you are choosing between an in-house specialist and a contractor, or want a second opinion on your current supplier, send us your task and we will go through it and propose a clear plan.
FAQ
How is an SEO specialist different from a paid ads specialist?
A paid ads specialist runs campaigns that bring visitors only while you keep paying. An SEO specialist works so that your site is found in search without paying for every click. The two channels complement each other but work on different timelines.
Can an SEO specialist guarantee first place on Google?
No. The search engine controls the results, and an honest specialist will not promise a position by a certain date. What they can show you is a plan, priorities and how success will be measured.
Do I need an in-house SEO specialist?
Usually only large sites that need daily work, such as a big shop, a clinic chain or a portal. Small and mid-sized businesses often do better with an agency or freelancer, because they need regular work from several profiles rather than one full-time person.
Which metrics should I check in an SEO report?
Look at visibility for the query groups that matter, search traffic and the enquiries it generates, plus the list of tasks actually implemented. A report with rankings only and no link to enquiries is not enough.
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