When starting an online business, there are certain things that you might want to know as a business owner. One thing that matters the most is SEO or search engine optimization. With the world (customers) being extremely reliant on the internet, digital marketing has become an inevitable requirement of every business owner.

While there are ways to harness the power of SEO by either setting up an in-house digital marketing team or outsourcing SEO, we are sure you must have difficulty circling on one.

On the one hand where outsourcing SEO prevents you from going through a tiring hiring process, increased salary expense or building expensive infrastructure to accommodate the equipment, tools, systems and so on. The in-house team makes it possible to keep the crucial company data within the company.

We understand how important it is for you to make this decision; therefore, we are here to help you make the right choice.

SEO outsourcing Vs in-house

Irrespective of which option you choose to develop and launch SEO strategies, your notion is to market your website, services and products in the best way possible.

With an in-house team, you definitely have the benefit of effective communications and better control over the marketing process. Plus, you do not have to conduct meetings to let the team know what your industry’s goals and objectives are.

The SEO firms, on the other hand, have the sole purpose of helping their clients grow digitally. They are loaded with the right tools, equipment and skilled experts to deliver result-oriented digital marketing services. SEO firm experts are well-versed with the latest trends, updates in the search engine algorithms, etc. Furthermore, they ensure to offer reliable training to their staff to help them hone their skills on a regular basis.

When you choose to work with a multi-service providing SEO firm, you no longer have to shop around or deal with different project managers to keep up with the campaigns. Such firms have a team of SEO experts, content writers, website designers, social media experts and many more. They all work in collaboration to design a well-optimized marketing campaign.

What are SEO services?

The services provided at the SEO agencies are aimed at optimizing the website and its content as per the search engine’s algorithms, eventually boosting the website’s rank on SERPs or search engine result pages.

When your website or webpage gets ranked higher on the first page of the search engines like Google, you may notice increased traffic to your website. And this can prove beneficial, given that 75% of searchers never go past the first page.

Here are some SEO services that you should obtain when outsourcing SEO –

• Competitor analysis
• Complete website optimization
• Keyword research
• Content creation
• Off-page and on-page SEO
• Backlinking
• Core web vitals optimization
• Image optimization to boost the loading speed
• Toxic link and error removal
• Optimization of title tags, metadata, etc.

Things to look for before deciding to outsource SEO services

1- Cost of SEO services

It is certainly not a good idea to sign an SEO service contract with the service provider without knowing how much you will end up paying for it.

There are many SEO agencies out there, and not all of them are created equal. While some are genuinely interested in helping you, others are simply interested in duping you. That is why hiring an SEO agency just because its services are cheaper than others isn’t a great idea. We agree that such agencies aren’t taking a lot of money from you, but there is never any guarantee whether or not they can produce outstanding results. Low-cost SEO services usually mean low-quality services.

The only way to find the perfect balance between being duped and receiving low-quality service is by raising relevant questions, such as –

• How will you optimize my website for SEO?
• Is there any proof of your SEO capabilities? If yes, can I see those?
• Will you provide reports regularly?
• Do you use freelancers or have an in-house team?

Keep in mind that if the firm you wish to work with fails to answer your questions or you aren’t impressed with their answers, you should spend your time finding another one.

The sooner you realize that finding the right SEO firm capable of producing expected results is far more advantageous than hiring a low-cost firm, the better!

2- Requirements matching their services

The next thing you should consider is your requirements for outsourcing SEO. If you already have a functioning website, you may not want the SEO agency to offer you website development services. This way, you could save a few dollars on unnecessary service.

The notion is to determine what all you need so you don’t end up obtaining a myriad of unrequired SEO services. This is especially true if you are working with a multi-service SEO company. Their typically service package may include everything from web development to content writing, website optimization, keyword research and so on. These services will only cost your firm more money than they should.

Similarly, if you have skilled individuals in your team, then ask them to take care of certain aspects for you.

You can work with your marketing team to determine what type of services you might need. Do you want quality backlinks? Or wish to boost your social media presence? Perhaps more profound keyword research might help.

3 – Your brand’s identity

While it is extremely important to choose the right SEO agency for your firm, comprehending your firm’s strategies, services and structure are equally important, too. The success of your brand depends more than just on the way how your brand is surviving in the market. Your brand’s mission statement should be memorable, simple and clear. Moreover, the message should be consistent across all the platforms.

You must have taken a few steps over the years to help your business reach wherever it is currently. This means you already have goals about how your brand should look down the line, too. Sharing such details as precisely as possible with the SEO agency is imperative to help convey your expectations.

Also, since a third party will be working on your SEO needs for you, be open enough, so they are on the same page as you when it comes to vision, needs, goals and ideas. They must be ever-ready to help you meet your expectations.

4 – Communication needs and mediums

When it comes to outsourcing SEO services, considering communication needs and mediums is extremely important. Even though most reliable SEO agencies work as an extension of your business, they aren’t necessarily situated on-site to take your feedback and work on them promptly, 24*7.

SEO is complicated, and search engine algorithms are more complicated than them. Therefore, mistakes are bound to happen. The problem is not the mistakes but how long it takes to resolve these mistakes. With an in-house team, you have the benefit of getting issues resolved without any waiting time. But that isn’t the case with outsourcing SEO. The entire team of experts are offshore. Communication is the only thing that will keep the process as seamless as possible.

Typically, the SEO firm may offer mediums like calls, video calls and email options to maintain the communication. Irrespective of which medium you prefer, ask them what their responding time is and how fast they can address such problems.

5 – Compliance with search engine regulations

Check whether or not the prospective SEO agency works in compliance with search engine regulations.

Irrespective of what the SEO outsourcing firm has to say, the search engine will know when there is an unethical technique used on your site. Therefore, steer clear from any agencies that promise better results using black hat SEO techniques. These methods not only exploit the SEO rules but also penalizes your website, impacting the ranking, credibility and trust. And such a hit to your brand’s image online can prove challenging and costly to recover down the line.

6- Firm’s SEO philosophy

When it comes to SEO strategy’s success, there are various factors that play a key role; these include – content, technical factors, backlinks, integration, keyword research and so on.

Every SEO firm has its unique philosophy of SEO. For instance, some focus more on technical aspects like structure, optimization and coding of the site, while others may focus on producing better-quality content.

It is imperative to keep in mind that proper amalgamation of all the techniques is crucial for an effective outcome. For instance, focusing on just the technical part and not on the content may prevent readers from getting captivated. Similarly, focusing just on creating high-quality content with zero focus on the technical part will prevent your site from being visible at the right place and time.

Wrapping it up for now

While there are benefits associated with an in-house SEO team, deciding to outsource your SEO needs isn’t a bad idea either. In fact, working with an SEO firm gives you access to a team of experts, which otherwise would have been an expensive affair. Similarly, you no longer have to worry about little digital marketing details; instead, focus your time and energy on things that you are best at.

So, go ahead and use the tips suggested above to find your firm the best SEO service provider in town and benefit from the endless knowledge and expertise they have to offer.