In-House SEO vs Outsourced SEO: Which is Best For You?
The decision between hiring an SEO company versus keeping it in-house pivots on several factors, including your specific requirements, budget constraints, and the level of SEO expertise you already possess in-house.
So, let’s walk through the in-house SEO vs SEO outsourcing process to be better equipped to make an informed decision.
What is In-House SEO?
In-house SEO harks back to the situation when all aspects related to SEO — strategizing, execution, management, and monitoring— are handled within your organization.
This internal team could be a dedicated SEO team, a digital marketing team with SEO skills, or even employees with an understanding of SEO who have been tasked with the job alongside their core responsibilities.
Many firms consider in-house SEO due to the following reasons:
➡️ Full understanding of company objectives and business' nuances
➡️ Quicker communication and on-demand access to the team
➡️ Complete control over the SEO strategy and its execution process
However, the in-house tactic isn't devoid of challenges.
Factors such as the need for continuous upskilling, adaptation to rapidly changing SEO trends, and the potential for higher long-term costs make the in-house approach a considerable undertaking.
What is Outsourced SEO?
On the other end of the scale is SEO outsourcing, involving partnering with an external SEO company or hiring an SEO expert to handle your SEO necessities.
These agencies or individuals bring to the table their extensive domain expertise, experience and a fresh, external perspective.
What’s more, an outsourced SEO team remains abreast of the emerging trends and Google algorithm updates, thus assuring a relevant and updated SEO approach.
Businesses that prefer SEO outsourcing do so for the following reasons:
⬅️ Access to specialized expertise, tools, and current SEO trends
⬅️ Scalability, as SEO agencies can handle fluctuating workloads
⬅️ Predictable and sometimes lower costs in the longer run
Despite these perks, the outsourcing model isn't free from cons.
Impersonal engagements, slower response times, and the dependency on external entities for one of the most critical aspects of digital marketing are real concerns for some businesses.
6 Factors To Consider When Choosing Between In-House and Outsourced SEO
Choosing between in-house vs outsourced SEO is not a simple coin-toss; rather it's a strategic decision that affects your business in long and short terms.
Several factors come into play that weigh heavily on the decision-making process.
Let's take a look at these critical points so you can choose the best SEO strategy that fits your business model and goals:
1. Size and Scope of Your SEO Project
Your SEO projects' size and scope can greatly impact the choice between in-house SEO and SEO outsourcing.
If you're running multiple, large-scale SEO campaigns or targeting highly competitive keywords, it might be beneficial to leverage the expertise and resources of an SEO agency. They usually have a team of SEO experts, content creators, and link builders who can work simultaneously on different aspects of your project.
Contrarily, if your project is more specific, localized, or niche, an in-house SEO team might serve you better. As they have a more profound understanding of your business and customer base, they can create a more personalized and targeted SEO strategy.
2. Your SEO Budget
Budget is a crucial factor in making your decision.
If your business doesn't quite have the budget to hire a full-time in-house SEO strategist or flesh out an entire SEO department, SEO outsourcing might be the ideal solution. SEO agencies generally offer tiered pricing, which allows you to choose a package based on your budget and requirement.
On the other hand, if you can afford to put together a talented in-house team and invest in regular training and advanced SEO tools, it could be a beneficial long-term strategy. Owning an in-house team means having full control over your SEO endeavors and the possibility to tweak your strategies in real-time.
⭐ See also: How Much Does an SEO Audit Cost? - SEO Audit Pricing
3. Level of SEO Expertise within Your Organization
Do you already have SEO savvy members in your team?
If your business has some on-board SEO experts, then an in-house SEO team might just be a stone's throw away. You could potentially upskill them or encourage them to follow the latest SEO trends, thus forming an in-house team more cost-effectively.
However, if your business has limited or no SEO knowledge, starting from scratch can be a daunting task. Hiring an SEO agency or expert can provide immediate access to skilled professionals dedicated to improving your website’s visibility in search engine result pages.
4. Your Bandwidth to Keep Up with Evolving SEO Trends
SEO is a dynamic field that doesn't stay stagnant. Google algorithms are continuously updated, and SEO trends change, it requires continual learning and adaptation.
A dedicated SEO agency is more likely to stay ahead of these trends because it's part of their core business.
However, if your in-house team has the bandwidth and resources to continually learn, adapt, and implement the upcoming trends, it can make your SEO operations more nimble and reactive.
5. Operating in an Extremely Niche Industry
If you're a business operating in a niche industry or targeting a very specific audience, then an in-house SEO team can have the upper hand. They have a fundamental understanding of your business model and target audience behavior, enabling them to create a more tailored SEO strategy.
In contrast, it might take an SEO agency longer to understand the intricacies of your niche and deliver a performance akin to a seasoned in-house team.
6. Software and Tech Needed for SEO
Effective SEO requires leveraging various tools and technologies, from keyword research tools to analytical software. The cost of these tools, their learning curve, and the process of implementing them into your workflows should be part of your consideration.
If you're ready to invest in these tools and train your team to use them effectively, an in-house SEO solution could be a viable option.
Conversely, SEO agencies typically already possess these tools and have the expertise to utilize them to their fullest potential.
How Can You Outsource SEO?
You've weighed the pros and cons and decided to embark on the road of outsourcing your SEO. Congratulations!
Get set to leverage the benefits of professional expertise, comprehensive SEO services, and scalability at demand.
Here are some milestones to ensure a smooth journey towards optimizing your online presence:
Outline Your Requirements
Begin your outsourcing journey by identifying and outlining your SEO requirements.
Clearly defined goals and objectives make it easier to find the right agency or expert.
Consider these aspects:
🎯 SEO Audit: An audit helps you understand your current SEO position, identify weak spots, and establish areas of improvement. This step can assist in setting your SEO goals and prioritizing them. You can leverage SEOmator’s Free SEO Audit Tool to unlock your website’s full potential.
🎯 Keyword Planning: Determine the keywords you wish to rank for. A mix of short and long-tail keywords related to your industry can improve visibility on search engines. With the help of SEOmator’s Free Keyword Research Tool you can easily find thousands of ideas.
🎯 Content Strategy: If your goal is to establish a strong online presence, content is king. Plan a content strategy – blog posts, guest posts, infographics, videos – optimized for your target keywords.
🎯 Link Building: Come up with a plan to receive quality backlinks for your website. This could include networking with industry influencers or contributing articles to popular websites.
With a well-crafted plan in hand, you're ready to venture into the realm of SEO agencies.
Create Your Shortlist
Before you zero in on the perfect match, start with an initial list of potential SEO partners.
Evaluate these key factors:
📋 Experience: Look for agencies with broad experience in SEO including keyword research, technical SEO, content marketing, and link building. Check if they have experience in your industry.
📋 Reviews and Testimonials: Scour the internet for independent reviews and testimonials. These unbiased insights provide a glimpse into the agency's ability, reliability, professionalism, and effectiveness.
📋 Range of Services: Do the agency's services include all aspects needed to fulfil your SEO goal? Are they well-versed in on-page, off-page, and technical SEO?
📋 Case Studies: Look for case studies that demonstrate an agency's SEO success. It’s a good indicator of their approach, process, creativity, problem-solving skills, and ultimate results.
The result of this exercise should be a well-curated list of potential SEO partners.
Meet Your Shortlist
Reach out to the agencies on your shortlist for initial discussions. This will offer you first-hand experience of their responsiveness, interest in your project, and will give answers for your project-specific questions.
✔️ Ask Questions: Inquire about their strategies, their approach to SEO, their previous experiences, success stories, challenges faced, etc. Gauge how deeply they understand SEO.
✔️ Understand Their Process: From creating SEO strategies to reporting, ensure you understand their process.
✔️ Compatibility Check: These meetings are not just about SEO; they are also about testing your compatibility with them. SEO is a long-term relationship, make sure there is synergy.
Based on your findings, zero in on one or two agencies that fit your requirements the best.
Onboard Your SEO Partner
You've found your match! It's now time to set the ball rolling.
Here's how you start establishing a relationship with your new SEO partner:
🤝 Set Expectations and Goals: Clearly outline your expectations and goals. The more specific you are, the better they can customize their services.
🤝 Communication: Set up communication channels and expectations from the outset. Clarify how often they’ll update you, what those updates will entail, and who your point of contact will be.
🤝 Give Access: They will require access to your Google Analytics, Google Search Console, website backend, and social media accounts for maximum efficiency. Make sure this is done securely and restrict access wherever necessary.
How Can You Implement SEO In-House?
You're committed to boosting your online visibility, and you've decided to tread the route of in-house SEO. Fantastic!
Implementing SEO in-house means complete control over your strategies. It allows real-time optimisation and insights, immediate communication, and above all, perfect alignment with your company objectives.
Here are the steps to equip you as you kickstart your in-house SEO journey:
Understand SEO in Depth
Step one? Develop a rock-solid understanding of SEO.
For a successful in-house implementation, you need a comprehensive understanding of SEO, how search engines work, and how to optimise your website to improve its ranking in search results. Think of it as a new language you're learning to speak fluently.
Here's a quick summary:
🔎 Keyword Research: Search engines use keywords to index web pages. It's crucial to identify the right keywords relevant to your business and industry, and optimise your content around these keywords.
🔎 On-Page SEO: This includes strategy for title tags, meta descriptions, headers, URLs, image alt texts, and keyword placement within the content.
🔎 Content Strategy: Content is the glue that holds your SEO efforts together. High-quality, engaging content that matches user intent plays a pivotal role in ranking your pages on search engines.
🔎 Technical SEO: Technical SEO encompasses improving technical aspects of your website, like loading speed, mobile responsiveness, site architecture, and XML sitemaps to ensure it performs well on search engines.
🔎 Off-Page SEO: Building quality backlinks from reputed websites to your content can significantly boost your website’s authority and ranking on SERPs.
⭐ See also: 35 SEO Terms and Definitions for Beginners
Build Up an SEO Team
Depending on the size of your business and the scope of your SEO needs, you may need to build a dedicated team.
Consider these roles when rounding up your in-house SEO army:
👥 SEO Manager/Strategist: This person will oversee the entire SEO strategy, from planning to execution, monitoring, and reporting.
👥 Content Writer/Designer: You'll need a talented team to produce quality content optimized for SEO. This could include blog posts, white papers, infographics, and video content.
👥 Web Developer: A tech whizz can handle all the technical SEO aspects, including site loading speed, mobile responsiveness, and any HTML issues.
👥 Link Builder/Outreach Specialist: This role is about building high-quality backlinks which will improve your website's domain authority.
👥 Data Analyst: You need someone to track and interpret the data from your SEO efforts. This person's insights will drive strategy and improvement.
You must invest time and resources into training and nurturing your team to keep them abreast of the constant changes in the SEO world.
Ensure Continuous Learning and Adapting to Trends
SEO is a dynamic, ever-evolving field. What worked a year ago might not work today. Google regularly updates its algorithms, new tools and technologies surface, and SEO practices continue to advance.
Here's how to keep up:
🌐 Train Your Team: Regular training sessions are a must. Ensure your team stays updated with the latest SEO trends, tools, and technologies. You can use online resources, webinars, and training modules for this.
🌐 Follow SEO Blogs and Influencers: Encourage your team to stay updated by reading SEO focused blogs like SEOmator and following SEO thought leaders on social media. This active engagement with the SEO community will expose your team to diverse perspectives and new strategies.
🌐 Regular SEO Audits: Schedule regular SEO audits to identify any gaps or areas that need improvement. This will help you adapt your strategy to current trends and keep your SEO efforts optimized.
Final Thoughts
SEO, whether handled in-house or outsourced, should always align with your business goals, enhance your visibility, and attract an organic audience.
In-house SEO offers control, in-depth understanding of your brand, faster communication, flexibility, and alignment with company goals if you're willing and ready to invest in the required expertise, resources, and continuous learning.
On the flipside, SEO outsourcing provides expertise, opportunity to leverage industry-acclaimed best practices, scalability, and round-the-clock services, especially if you're operating on a tight budget or lack the in-house resources or expertise.
The reality is, neither approach is universally better. It all depends on your unique business situation, resources, and objectives. Irrespective of the path you choose, the success of SEO lies in passion, persistence, flexibility, and a focus on continuous improvement!
⭐ See also:
- How to Recover Your SEO Rankings in 9 Steps
