How to Outsource Your SEO: Steps to Outsource, Outsourcing Options, + More
How to outsource SEO
So, when you’ve decided that your in-house team needs some help with SEO, how do you go about outsourcing your SEO campaigns?
Here are the most important steps to outsourcing your SEO:
- Determine all the marketing services you want to outsource
- Determine the goals you want to reach
- Research top marketing agencies that offer the services you’re looking for
- Confirm your strategy with the agency you choose
- Ensure progress is tracked and that you have a say in your campaign
P.S., Want a tool that will simplify your outsourcing process? Claim your free SEO request-for-proposal (RFP) template for use when reaching out to SEO providers!
Determine the marketing services you want to outsource
As a company that’s looking to outsource SEO services, you’ve likely dabbled in other marketing strategies as well. For example, you may also have a PPC campaign and an email marketing campaign on the back burner.
Before proceeding with SEO outsourcing, you should determine if there are any other marketing strategies that you want to outsource. If you want to outsource all of your marketing, it’s best to search for an agency that offers all the services you’re looking for.
The choice of whether to outsource all your marketing efforts or just stick to outsourcing SEO will help you determine if you should hire a full-service agency for your SEO outsourcing, or if it would be more beneficial to opt for freelance SEO.
Determine the goals you want to reach
Are you looking to drive astronomical results, or just get your feet wet in an SEO strategy? This will also determine which kind of SEO specialist you should hire.
You should consider the specific goals you hope to reach with your SEO campaigns — including the metrics you want to increase and the site updates you’d like to make. This will help you find the perfect outsourcing option.
If your company can afford to hire a reputable agency, we recommend doing so, since it will likely be worth every penny.
Research top agencies that offer the services you’re looking for
Whether you’ve decided on outsourcing all of your marketing or just SEO, you should look for an option that offers the services you’re looking for.
You should also consider many options before narrowing down your options — reading testimonials and reviews along the way.
Confirm your strategy with the agency you choose
After signing on with an agency or freelancer of your choice, you’ll want to confirm your strategy. This will ensure that you have the opportunity to tell your strategist your goals and expectations.
It will also give you peace of mind that your campaign is thoroughly planned.
Ensure progress is tracked and that you have a say in your campaign
Be sure that you are aware of a reporting schedule so that you can always have a transparent view of the results your provider drives. Ask questions about the results your campaign drives, and be sure to address any concerns with your provider.
If you’d like to speak with a specialist about your decision, you can reach us at 888-601-5359 or contact us online!
When should I outsource my SEO?
Companies that decide to outsource SEO services often outsource because they struggle to:
- Find the time to manage their SEO campaigns
- Get the results their business wants from SEO
- Learn the different types of SEO, like off-page, on-page, and technical SEO
- Implement the necessary changes for SEO, like backend website updates
If you’re thinking about outsourcing your search engine optimization, keep reading to learn about the benefits of partnering with an SEO expert, whether a freelancer or agency.
Learn how we increased traffic by over 40%, and conversions by over 100% for an ecommerce client.
Read the Case Study
Why outsource SEO?
Deciding to outsource your SEO comes with several benefits, including:
- Get a professional SEO expert working on your company’s SEO
- Have more time for the tasks that need your attention
- Start achieving the results your business wants from SEO
Of course, getting the full benefits of outsourcing your SEO requires choosing your business’s best partner. If you hire a cheap SEO agency, for instance, you may see none of the above benefits. That’s why it’s essential to research your options and follow best practices for hiring an SEO expert.
4 options for outsourcing SEO
Below, we’ve listed the four options that you have to choose from in terms of how you outsource your SEO. If you have any questions along the way, feel free to contact us!
1. Independent SEO freelancers
SEO freelancers, like those you might find on a website like oDesk or eLance, can often perform SEO tasks reliably and at a low cost. The advantage of working with an independent freelancer is that you will free yourself of the time it would require to teach yourself how to properly execute SEO tactics, as well as the time it would take to actually perform the techniques you learned.
A freelancer is the best choice for any website owner who has minimal SEO needs, or doesn’t often have content projects or link building campaigns that need attention. This allows you the flexibility to choose your freelancers at your convenience and save money.
However, it bears mentioning that the Internet marketing industry is changing so rapidly that it is practically a full time job just to keep up with the emerging trends and updates. If the freelancer you choose isn’t up to speed with the current trends or SEO requirements, the work you get could be out of date. Also, most websites need more than occasional SEO work, so the cost of a freelancer can add up quickly.
2. SEO contractors
The advantages of working with an SEO contractor are very similar to the advantages you’ll enjoy when working with an independent freelancer. However, due to the nature of a contractor position vs that of a freelancer who’s procuring occasional freelance work from you, you’ll likely build more of a relationship with the contractor.
Contractors can often perform extremely accurate and highly technical SEO work, but keep in mind that they are only one person. If the contractor you hire has additional clients, you may find yourself waiting longer than you want to receive work or get tasks completed.
3. An SEO company
The advantage of working with an SEO company is that you are working with a company and not just one person. So not only will you free yourself of the time and trouble of educating yourself about SEO, executing the techniques you learned, and keeping up on the industry, but your point of contact will be part of a larger team of SEO professionals.
SEO companies are often composed of a team that works together, day in and day out, in the digital marketing industry. They often communicate fresh ideas and successful strategies back and forth. Your campaign and business will definitely benefit from the collective experiences and knowledge of the group.
Having said that, the biggest weakness of an SEO company is that they may be restricted in the kind of work that they can do for you. If you need a website redesign or another non-SEO task performed, you’ll have to hire another agency to help.
4. A full-service agency
The advantage to working with a full-service agency when outsourcing your SEO is that once again you’ll be working with a team of professionals rather than relying on the experience and creativity of just one person. However, this team will be able to accommodate all of your digital marketing needs under one roof – and with one phone call, email, or meeting.
Consider the time you could potentially save by not having to relay messages between your SEO consultant and your designer, developer, or PPC manager. Not only will you avoid being the middle man, but you’ll see faster progress on all your marketing tasks, too.
Additionally, working with a full-service agency means you’ll benefit from working with a team of digital marketing professionals, not just SEOs. A full-service agency will have copywriters, email marketers, and social media marketers who have worked on hundreds if not thousands of accounts across multiple industries.
While you might not initially see the value in the fact that they’ve severed other industries, it’s actually very valuable to you. Think about it: it means they’ve worked on many types of websites, with various goals, unique challenges, while targeting different personas. Ultimately, if there is an issue, they’ve probably already dealt with it and strategized a solution for it previously. If not, you can bet someone else in the agency has!
Independent research from Clutch has named WebFX the
top SEO company in the United States.
Clutch has personally interviewed more than 250 WebFX clients to discuss their experience partnering with us.
Read More Clutch Reviews
7 tips for outsourcing your SEO
Now that you know about the different options for outsourcing your SEO, check out these tips for finding the best partner, whether a freelancer, contractor, or SEO agency, for managing your SEO strategy:
- Check the SEO’s portfolio or case studies
- Read the SEO’s online reviews and testimonials
- View the SEO’s pricing (or request a custom quote)
- Analyze the SEO’s website and its optimization
- Learn how the SEO tracks and measures campaign performance
- Understand how the SEO adapts to underperforming campaigns
- Ask the SEO to create a custom proposal for your business
With these tips, you can start finding the best SEO for your company.
Are you ready to outsource your SEO?
Yes, you have a decision to make. But the good news is that you’ve already made a great decision to outsource your SEO because you don’t have the time or interest in doing it. This means that you can put the online visibility of your website in good hands and ensure online marketing success.
Outsource your SEO with a full-service agency
If you’ve decided that a full-service Internet marketing agency is the right fit for you and your business, why not start your journey by contacting WebFX? As a leading full-service agency, we’re proud to offer not only SEO services, but also website design, redesign, custom development, inbound marketing, and a slew of other plans and services to our clients.
Reach out to one of our expert SEO strategists online today to find out just why a full-service agency like WebFX is the right choice to help you find success online, or give us a call at 888-601-5359. You’ll be happy you did!
260%
increase in organic revenue
198%
increase in organic transactions
150%
increase in organic traffic
3872%
increase in sessions from SEO
Bonus: Wondering which questions to ask an SEO provider?
Wonder no more! We’ve compiled a handy post which covers all the questions you need to ask your future SEO partner to get off to a running start with the right match for your business. Check out our post on How To Hire SEO Experts Like A Pro — 12 Key Questions To Ask
