When it comes to search engine optimization – SEO – there’s a lot at stake for most businesses. And yet, we come across many organizations that tell us they’re going to manage it internally. Or, better yet, their neighbor’s son is good at computers and is helping us out. Or, even better yet, they don’t need SEO because their site rocks already. I get it… budgets should always be scrutinized and examined to make sure they’re stretched as efficiently as possible but be careful with SEO. It’s complex and something we feel should be outsourced to a qualified digital marketing agency.
Here’s 5 reasons why you should outsource your SEO to an agency
1. There’s too much at stake!
It’s said that 80 percent or more of product or solution purchases start with a Google search. Notice I didn’t say search engine search; we’re talking just about Google here and yes, people still use Bing and other engines, albeit not as much. Still, the consumer reliance on search engines to find what they need is staggering. While no digital marketing agency with a good reputation will ever promise a page one ranking, improving keyword rankings can have a long-term effect on driving qualified traffic to your website.
Ask yourself this one question: When was the last time to clicked past page 3 or 4 in a Google search?
2. It’s complex
According to Moz, Google has made 12 updates to their algorithm so far this year and these are only those that are known. With almost constant updates taking place it’s near impossible to keep track, even if SEO is part of your job description. As a digital marketing agency, we’re always reading up on what’s taking place, how it affects our clients, and what (if anything) we can do to prepare for any impact. Try to get around these changes the wrong way and you could be penalized by Google, which is not only detrimental to your business, but hard to overcome.
3. Organic traffic and other SEO KPIs are only part of your website needs
Organic traffic and other SEO key performance indicators (KPIs) are a relatively small part of your overall website requirements. While they are significant and important to be sure, your in-house website marketing professionals could be better spending their time. There’s direct traffic from promotions, Salesforce automation and lead generation that are needed to drive traffic. There’s your customer communication plans, website updates, copy, images, and programming that are needed. In short, the more of the specialized components of your website health you can offload, the more focused your teams can be at other marketing components.
4. It’s less expensive!
Staffing for internal SEO is costly. If your agency charges $1500 to $2500 per month for SEO you’re saving a ton compared to staffing for it internally. Marketing specialist salaries are triple that amount easily, and add on overhead employee costs such as healthcare, taxes, and office space and it becomes more cost-effective to outsource to a specialized digital marketing agency.
5. It’s too time consuming to skimp on
If, over the course of a 40-hour week, your in-house marketing manager spends the time they need to devote to smart SEO, they will not have the time remaining to devote to all the other tasks on their lengthy list of responsibilities. Optimizing a website, keeping up with the industry changes and algorithm updates, adjusting keywords, writing optimized content, optimizing the blogs/press releases and other content you add to your site regularly, and link building all take time. Skimping on any of these activities can be detrimental to your SEO effectiveness.
Website checkup time
Outsourcing SEO is the best way to go for many companies. Let us conduct a complimentary website audit and we’ll share with you our unbiased thoughts on how your site is performing in search engine effectiveness.