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Do you expect SEO to work? Are you looking for game-changing, cost-effective, lead-generating SEO results? Have trouble deciding whether to hire an SEO agency, in-house team, or freelancer? 

It doesn’t take a pro to do SEO but choosing the right option for your website is a big decision. When you are hiring an SEO agency or a freelancer, don’t get carried away with promises of agencies. Rather, look for the SEO agency that can optimize your website for the growth of your business.

It doesn’t matter what industry you are in or whether you have a small, medium, or large business; a good SEO choice will help you promote your business effectively.

SEO agency vs in-house SEO vs SEO Freelancer

Takeaways: 

  • Optimized Content to boost your SEO efforts

Search engine optimization (or SEO) is an ever-changing field. But throughout all these changes, one thing has remained constant, and that’s the importance of content to SEO. Actionable insight into how businesses can use content to support their SEO efforts. (Read More at: SEO Copywriting: An Effective Way To Rank Your Website )

  • Start your SEO project with a Free Audit Report 

The world of SEO is complex and fast-changing. There are too many options in hand to start your SEO project. Finding a result-driven service depends on your research. Therefore. it is of great importance to choose a qualified SEO service provider that is ready to communicate and understand your business needs and goals. 

For learning more about SEO, read:  What Is SEO & How Do Search Engines Work

The post will help you to decide on the best option for SEO marketing. Also, we will explore the pros and cons of an SEO agency, a freelancer, or an in-house consultant.

Know your SEO Goals

The type of business partner to launch your marketing campaign will depend on. A leading SEO company that focuses on SEO goals like reducing bounce rate, getting backlinks and increasing page speed.  Read our post on Top SEO goals for 2024 for more information.

  • Budget and Cost

Most companies sets a limited budget for SEO as it comes after web design, web development and other things. Depending on the requirements and budget, you decide whether to pick a SEO freelancer or an SEO agency. Setting up in-house SEO team is costly and not recommended for startups and companies having low budgets.

SEO Budget and Cost

If you plan to hire an agency, you need not look for a costly effective option. You can divide the tasks, and as per your allocated budget, you hire the best SEO agency. Outsourcing to an SEO agency providing an all-in-one service is the latest and successful trend.

  • Required Expertise and Availability

Many factors can affect the digital marketing campaign. An SEO specialist working as a freelancer or hired in an in-house team can justify the job. But for a long-term commitment, organizations rely on SEO services ready to deliver desired results within a timeframe using White Hat SEO Techniques. If you think that the matter is becoming too serious, don’t get panic. Search for the best SEO agency nearby and talk to them about your project. You will get first-hand experience to know their skills.

  •  Business Model

If SEO and digital marketing are critical for your business, especially for businesses looking for lead generation, you must focus on increasing the allocated budget with a mission to hire an agency that can increase visibility and traffic. From a business perspective hiring an SEO agency is worth it.

How to Aim for More Revenue/ROI through SEO?

The expected result of any campaign is the ROI. However, the increase in organic traffic is the first indication that SEO has started paying off. If your SEO strategy is pitching right then ROI can easily improve by 40-60% within 6-8 months.

SEO ROI

However, the results vary depending on your business, products, and market competition.  SEO results are transparent. You can evaluate the website traffic and lead generation with the help of tools like Google Analytics.

The companies keep different targets to improve ROI. ROI is also a measure of brand value, digital assets, increase in traffic, and so on. Every revenue-driving action needs to be identified, assigned value, and tracked to calculate ROI.

As a whole, some of the SEO Revenue generator strategies are

  • Increasing traffic and driving qualified leads
  • UX improvements for customer interaction
  • Driving direct leads by running campaigns

SEO is a long-term investment and mainly aims for exponential growth. Ensuring higher visibility on SERPs month after month is the successful outcome of SEO.

How Long Does it Take to See ROI from SEO?

Like any marketing channel, ROI (return on investment) from your SEO is the main objective. activities. Calculating your ROI from SEO doesn’t involve complex formulas when compared to paid traffic, the website traffic as shared above will show success.

Within three to six months, SEO results are visible. But it’s not fixed. Sometimes, it takes time to get the result.  

If you are moving with the right keyword intent and content to do on-page SEO, eventually the website will rank at the top of the sales funnel, priming your business for future sales.

ROI is further improved by integrating SEO and Paid Search campaigns. Some of the factors that can minimize the time to see results are

  • Know the competitor’s business before you plan a new SEO campaign.
  • Know your target audiences
  • Know your focus area as per the search engine criteria
  • Know the budget of SEO and develop the strategy to minimize the cost/month.

Finally, before starting the SEO project, review the strategy and develop a unique method to minimize the time to get ROI through SEO.

How Outsourcing your SEO Services Benefit Your Business?

Since we all agree that SEO is the backbone of any online business to run, we can look at the latest trends to hire SEO agencies. Today, 90% of marketing agencies, internet companies, and countless other digital companies outsource their SEO projects to top-ranking SEO agencies. The benefits of outsourcing include:

  • Time-saving as SEO companies have the dedicated teams and resources to start the project after the initial audit of the website.
  • SEO companies have an experienced team that is in sync with the latest SEO strategies that can help in ranking
  • The outsourcing of the SEO project will relax your mind as the SEO agencies have the resources to do the job the right way. Moreover, you can get the weekly or monthly report to know where you stand and how much is progress.

# Pros and Cons of Hiring a SEO Freelancer

Freelancers are certainly the most affordable option but remember “cheap” is not always the best. If you want to achieve short-term success through SEO then freelancers are the best choice.

But the fact is – one person can not do all. In freelancing work, you will not get coverage and varied ideas. Teamwork is the main missing factor.  Also, freelancers handling many projects, and cant provide 100% attention on your project is something unexpected.

Over the last few years, many experienced SEO specialists have started working as freelancers. Hiring a freelancer for an SEO job is beneficial for many reasons: 

  • Affordable pricing:

The price of hiring a freelancer is much less than hiring an agency.  You can hire them on an hourly basis rather than hiring full-time. But if the company wants to run multiple campaigns and there are multiple websites on which SEO is required then the prices go up almost equal to hiring an agency.

  • Flexibility:

95% of freelancing jobs match your requirements and time schedules. Freelancers offer a flexible schedule as per the time zones. They have flexible hours and are always ready to take on a new project. So if you hire an SEO freelancer, the job will be done faster.

  • Reporting and responsibility:

When you hire a freelancer, you will need to review his/her work or take the feedback. Sometimes, the person might have expertise in one domain but not be aware of the nature of your business. He is sometimes unable to produce the desired results. Relying on one person and keeping the company’s growth at stake is not a good option especially when your business is at a growing stage.

# Pros and Cons of Hiring an In-House SEO

In-House SEO is the least recommended option for startups and small-scale companies.  In-house team is probably the option for enterprises. You can hire a professional team for regular SEO of the in-house projects. Some of the benefits of hiring an in-house team include

  • Confidentiality:

In-house SEO managers concentrate only on in-house projects therefore they can generate unique strategies. This business model guarantees confidentiality and ensures success through SEO.

  • Expertise: 

A full understanding of the products and nature of business including the client’s requirements helps in generating impact through an SEO campaign. The success probability in less time is high.

Some of the cons of an in-house team are:

  • High risk of losing the search ranking as the enthusiasm will be lost with due course of time
  • Insufficient training for managers as they are working only on in-house projects
  • high investments as you are managing the entire team for in-house projects

# Pros and Cons of Hiring an SEO Agency

Well, it’s a big decision. There are many leading SEO agencies that have gained the trust of many companies. They have helped businesses in improving their search engine ranking and build brand awareness. The quality that they provide is superior to freelancers and in-house teams. Let’s see how you can benefit from that.

  • Professional and Experienced Staff

Digital marketing agencies hire SEO specialists in the field. They keep on grooming themselves by learning the changing market trends. The experienced staff sits together to develop a unique strategy for every project. This approach helps in improving the ranking and driving traffic.

  • Teamwork, Timing, and Strategy

Outsourcing SEO project to SEO agencies are beneficial as there is a dedicated team who is handling your project. The agencies choose the teams that are most suitable and have prior experience working on similar projects. Moreover, to run a successful campaign, you need experienced SEO project managers, content writers, digital marketing experts, and so on. This kind of teamwork is possible only with an agency setup. When so expertise combine to develop a strong SEO strategy the chances to get breakthrough success increase.

  • Reporting and Analytics

SEO is based on using optimized SEO tools and generating reports. Therefore it is important to hire a trustworthy SEO agency that can guarantee growth through SEO. Expertise in report generation and expertise in using analytical tools is required for higher search engine ranking.

  • Pricing

SEO agencies no doubt cost you more when you compare it with the freelancing option. But optimizing your needs and finding a way to do SEO will improve your web traffic.

The cons of agencies providing SEO services

When you consider feedback and reviews, some people do not like to hire SEO agencies. Some of the cons of hiring an SEO agency are:

  • Difficulty to find the right SEO agency for your product. Make sure you check their latest SEO case studies.
  • No single responsible person can sometimes irritate the clients.
  • Budget for individual services goes high.

Conclusion : Which SEO Option is Best for your business? 

The ultimate aim of SEO is to maximize profit by targeting traffic to your website. However, the important step remains to select the right way for your company’s SEO project.

The post discusses the pros and cons of a freelancer, in-house team, and SEO agency. One of the most significant decisions when choosing the right option is to consider the nature of your business and the risk of getting penalized by search engines.  

As company owners or marketing heads, we must not forget the reality that one mistake can ruin the online reputation and damage brand value. So, you need to consider every factor before making a final decision.

Of course, there are competent freelancers or in-house SEO managers, but agencies provide you with more confidence at the professional level.

The need for SEO success plays a vital role in organizational growth. In any case, no company affords to lose the SEO battle. Therefore researching and analyzing the best option for meeting your business goals is the best option.

Now you know the pros and cons of all the options, a final word of advice, keep in mind that SEO takes time. No matter what option you choose, don’t expect results overnight. But if you invest wisely in long-term ranking strategies, you will see positive results. Hiring a top SEO agency such as RedBlink Technologies for the long term is the best option. 

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