It's true what they say, 'the proof is in the pudding'. At least I've found it to be true when hiring a marketing individual for an SEO, SEM, or PPC marketing related job.

I recently interviewed for an SEO position for my full-time management responsibilities and saw a variety of very qualified candidates. They all seemed to talk the talk.

The ultimate question I had to ask myself is "can they do the job?" Unfortunately for me, I assumed that many of them could based on their resume and job interviews. I was particularly impressed with those candidates who were able to articulate the difference between on-page and off-page optimization, discuss the latest trends in SEO algorithms, and identify opportunities to use social networking sites to improve results.

However, what I found surprised me. When I asked candidates for specific examples of how they helped clients, the types of results they were able to produce, and so on, I was somewhat disappointed. After each interview I spent a few minutes 'googling' the keyword phrases and customers these candidate worked for and wasn't overly impressed with the results. I guess when you get right down to it, the self-proclaimed SEO expert is only as good as his/her results. The proof is in the pudding!