Choosing who does your SEO
Most business owners are aware that if they want their website to rank higher in Google then effective SEO is necessary. The problem for most of them is that they do not know enough about SEO to be able to create and undertake a proper SEO strategy. This is before they even get to the point of considering the considerable amount of time it will take to plan, research, implement and monitor an SEO campaign.
For these reasons, and more, the sensible approach is to employ a digital marketing company that specialises in SEO. When we say ‘company’, it can often be the case that the company in question, is a one-person operation, and with others, it will be an agency with several employees. There are several differences between using either, which we are going to explore.
Using an SEO company that consists of a single individual means you will be dealing with one person who is an expert in SEO. They will have experience in ranking websites and will most likely use a number of tools to conduct the research necessary to create your SEO plan. Often called ‘SEO consultants’ you can find them on websites like Upwork.
One of the advantages of outsourcing your SEO to an individual is it is more likely that their fees will lower than if you employ an agency with staff. If your budget is extremely limited, then often they might be your only option. However, as with any service of this type, when you use a freelancer, they may charge you by the hour. While this is normal practice, the number of hours worked may not always correspond to the results which are achieved.
Another consideration when hiring an individual is that you are most likely not their only client. If you are looking for relatively quick results, they may not be able to commit to working the number of hours needed to make that happen. That is not to say they won’t get results, but if the work involves multiple tasks like research, web site development, SEO planning, improved conversions, link building, and then monitoring all of it, it is easy to see why it could take them some time.
The alternative is to employ a digital marketing company that has several employees. There are two advantages of this which occur immediately. The first is that they have the resources in terms of time in order to complete tasks quicker, and they are more likely to be using a specialist on each element of the project. This means you will have a website design expert developing your website, and a keyword expert doing the keyword research.
In terms of communication and feedback, this is also going to be greatly enhanced using an agency. Often you will one individual within the company who is your key point of contact, and they will oversee your entire project. They may not actually be doing any of the tasks, but instead be managing and progressing each one as necessary to ensure the project runs smoothly and effectively.
An agency is also likely to have greater resources in terms of the tools they use, and the data they will rely upon to make decisions about your SEO. The monitoring they do on the many other projects they are working on now, or in the past, will give them very useful insights into what is working and what isn’t with respect to ranking websites on Google.
The fees you pay to a digital marketing company of this type will normally be higher than to an individual freelancer, however, as with most aspects of online marketing, it is the results which count. Bear in mind the better the results, the better the return on your investment, so it is not so much a matter of what you pay for your website’s SEO, it is what that investment will bring you in terms of increased visitors, conversions, sales, and profits.
