Hire A Search SEO Agency In-House vs Outsourcing

Should businesses outsource Search and SEO work or do it in-house – what’s best?

You know that search engine optimisation (SEO) needs to be a priority. You know that there are more than 5.6 billion searches conducted on Google every single month.Y ou know that SEO has 20X more traffic opportunities than PPC, and that the top result in Google has a 34% CTR. You get it: putting off SEO simply isn’t an option if you want to grow. But what you might not be so sure about is how to invest in SEO in the most effective way possible. Or of you should be outsourcing the SEO work or do it in house.

You want to know the best SEO approach:

• Do you bring on an SEO specialist in-house that can work on campaigns day in, day out?
• Outsource SEO to an agency or a consultant?
• Or double down on your efforts with a combination of both?

That’s what we’re here to help you figure out.

Nailing the right SEO resourcing is the first step to securing out-of-this-world ROI from your marketing efforts.

If you’re looking to put the pedal to the medal on SEO, these considerations will help you weigh up the pros and cons of each option and find the best choice for your business.

Considerations on in-house vs hiring an outside search engine optimisation company

When it comes to deciding whether to manage SEO in-house or outsource it, the answer isn’t always clear-cut and depends on several factors specific to each company. Managing SEO in-house can seem like a cost-effective option because it avoids agency fees. However, this approach often comes with its own set of challenges. First, building an in-house SEO team requires hiring skilled professionals, which can be costly. Additionally, SEO is constantly evolving with changes to search engine algorithms, so ongoing training and upskilling are essential to keep up with the latest trends. This can add further costs and time commitments. Furthermore, SEO is a multifaceted discipline, and it’s rare for one person to have expertise in all areas, such as technical SEO, content strategy, and link building. As a result, smaller companies may struggle to handle all aspects of SEO internally.

On the other hand, outsourcing SEO to a specialised agency offers several benefits. Agencies typically bring a wealth of experience and expertise to the table, with professionals who stay up to date with the latest SEO trends and algorithms. This expertise can help businesses achieve faster and more effective results compared to a team that is still learning the ropes. Additionally, outsourcing SEO can free up internal resources, allowing a company to focus on its core operations while the agency takes care of driving traffic and improving search rankings. The cost of outsourcing might be higher upfront, but it often proves to be more efficient in the long run. This is because agencies have the tools, resources, and experience to implement SEO strategies more quickly and accurately, avoiding the trial and error that in-house teams might face.

Moreover, outsourcing SEO offers flexibility and scalability. If a business needs to ramp up its SEO efforts for a new product launch or to expand into a new market, agencies can easily adjust the scope of their services. In-house teams, however, may face limitations in terms of capacity and expertise. While outsourcing might seem more expensive at first glance, it often ends up being the more cost-effective choice for businesses that want to see measurable, long-term results from their SEO efforts without having to make substantial investments in hiring, training, and technology.

Ultimately, the decision comes down to the company’s specific needs, resources, and long-term goals. For businesses with the internal resources to manage SEO effectively and the desire to handle everything in-house, managing SEO internally can be a viable option. However, for companies seeking faster, more effective results with expert guidance, outsourcing SEO to a trusted agency is often the better choice.

What is SEO outsourcing in marketing?

SEO outsourcing involves tasking out your search engine optimisation campaigns to an expert outside of your business. This might be an independent SEO freelancer, a service provider, or an agency with a team of dedicated SEO experts.

You can outsource specific parts of your online digital marketing strategy, such as local SEO, or engage a vendor on all aspects of your game plan, from the audit stage all the way to developing, executing, and optimising your campaign.

Regardless of who you outsource your SEO to, they should also provide regular updates and reporting on how you’re ranking in search results.

Should you outsource your SEO?

Outsourcing SEO can have a huge effect on not just your rankings, but on all aspects of your business.

With the right team on your side, you’ll be able to use their expertise to climb to the top of Google search results, grow your visibility, and bring more qualified organic traffic to your website — all while skyrocketing your ROI.

However, it’s not as simple as saying that every business should be outsourcing SEO, 100% of the time.

The best option for each business will differ depending on a multitude of factors, from budget and resourcing to the amount of control you want to have on your campaigns, your turnaround times, the type of project, and the level of expertise you’re looking for.

Budget and resourcing

One of the biggest influences on whether you should outsource SEO or go in-house is the level of resourcing you’re willing to dedicate, both in terms of budget and time.

When you hire an SEO specialist to work as part of your in-house team, you’ll end up having to pay for their salary, benefits, overheads, training, and onboarding — not to mention the headache of actually having to find someone to fill the role.

On top of that, you’ll need to fork out potentially thousands for enterprise level SEO tools, which are an essential component of any effective SEO strategy.

On the flipside, when you hire a search agency, you’ll pay a set engagement fee every month, which covers all parts of your SEO campaign.

The provider will take care of all the training and onboarding costs, as well as the cost of any tools needed to get the job done. You can also scale up or scale down your resources depending on your goals and campaigns.

Finding the right expertise

The question of whether outsourcing SEO is the right choice also depends entirely on WHO you outsource SEO services to.

If, for example, you outsource SEO to an agency with experts that have proven experience in your industry, you’ll likely see insane payoffs in rankings and revenue.

But if you wind up working with a consultant that isn’t results-driven or worse, uses black-hat techniques, SEO outsourcing might prove to be more harmful than helpful.

You also want to keep in mind the level of expertise you can get when you outsource versus when you employ someone in-house.

Outsourced agencies have a range of specialists, from local and enterprise SEO specialists to technical experts, copywriters, and analysts; whereas an in-house resource needs to be a jack of all trades.

If you’re after experts who are the best at what they do, a high-quality outsourced team blows in-house resources out of the water almost every time.

Timelines and speed

SEO has evolved over the years and providers have to juggle multiple clients at the same time, which means you need to expect a reasonable amount of time for them to handle and come back to you on any requests.

As such, you might not be able to tap them on the shoulder and ask them to quickly check how a page is performing in terms of SEO, or put all hands on deck for a last-minute project.

This isn’t to say a good SEO company won’t be responsive — you’ll just need to strike the right balance between short- and long-term priorities, or be willing to commit more budget to a certain project.

Level of control and focus

Outsourcing SEO works best for teams that are more flexible with their campaigns.

If you’re comfortable with letting the experts take the lead and knowing that your outsourced vendor will be working on multiple clients, then outsourcing is likely to be the better option for you.

Want to keep tabs on your search engine optimization efforts and know the status of campaigns are around the clock? An in-house SEO team will give you that high level of control that you’re looking for.

Advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing SEO

#1 Advantage: Get access to a team of specialists

Good SEO teams have experience working on multiple projects for brands in different industries and of different sizes. One of the main benefits of outsourcing to a team of skilled specialists is that your company will instantly gain access to this expertise.

An outsourced agency will be able to draw upon their other projects to advise which tactics are right for your business, where to focus your efforts, and how to optimise your campaigns for performance.

Conversely, an in-house resource may have a learning curve or need time to build up their experience before they can apply the same level of know-how to your campaigns.

#2. Advantage: Stay up-to-date with the latest trends and changes

Every year, Google makes multiple updates to its algorithm, from smaller tweaks to major overhauls (remember Panda, Penguin and Hummingbird?).

If you miss the memo on these, it can severely impact your rankings in search results.

In-house teams can often get caught up on specific campaigns or outcomes, which leaves them with very little time to delve into the macro changes in the search world.

SEO consultants and agencies, on the other hand, make it their job to stay on top of the latest trends and movements, both in the search world and the broader digital marketing industry.

A good SEO outsourcing provider should be the first to let you know when something has changed and how it will affect your business.

#3. Advantage: It’s scalable

Looking to ramp up your SEO efforts or kickstart some new SEO projects? It’s much easier with SEO outsourcing.

When you have an in-house resource, you have two options: bring someone else on board or prioritise their tasks. With an outsourced SEO agency, it’s much easier to scale up or down based on your business needs.

For example, you might invest in more SEO work in the beginning or enlist additional services for a site migration, then dial it back when you’re happy with your performance and pace.

#4. Advantage: Objective perspective on campaigns

Outsourced SEO teams bring a completely objective perspective on campaigns, which can be incredibly beneficial if you’re looking to improve your keyword rankings.

These experts can lend a fresh eye to issues you may have overlooked, or opportunities that you may not have uncovered otherwise.

#5. Advantage: Access to better tools

Some tools for SEO can be costly, but they’re necessary if you want to identify new keyword opportunities, track your performance, and pinpoint any issues that may be affecting your rankings.

At the very least, your team will need a few (or all) of these digital marketing tools if you want to get great results from your SEO:

• SEO analytics for your website
• Competitor analysis tools
• Backlink profile data
• A keyword research tool
• SEO audit tool
• Content marketing tool

An outsourced SEO agency should already have access to these tools, so you won’t need to pay the hefty licensing fee (which can be upwards of $450 a month).

More importantly, because they use these tools every day, they know how to dive into them and extract the data they need to optimise your campaigns.

#1. Disadvantage: It can be tough to find the right SEO company

There’s no question that finding the right SEO provider is challenging. With so many SEO companies out there claiming to be the best, you need to do some research to find a white hat SEO agency that’s truly going to deliver results.

This can be daunting, particularly if you haven’t had a lot of previous experience with SEO outsourcing or you don’t have any in-house knowledge.

#2. Disadvantage: No dedicated resource within your marketing team

As we touched on earlier, outsourcing SEO services to an external firm means you won’t have a dedicated resource that’s working on your company’s content optimization around the clock.

While this shouldn’t be too much of a disadvantage in the day-to-day, it does take a certain level of control away and you may not be able to jump on urgent projects as quickly.

A lack of a dedicated in-house resource also means you won’t be able to retain and pass on SEO knowledge in-house (although some SEO providers do offer training workshops and seminars to help bridge the knowledge gap within your organisation).

How much does it cost to outsource SEO?

The cost to outsource SEO depends on several factors, from your current situation, how much you’ve invested in SEO, your goals and timeline, the services you require, and the level of competition in your industry.

SEO services typically fall into one of four pricing categories:

• Entry-level SEO services: these include basic SEO tasks, like local SEO management or campaign reporting. It is possible to get more from entry-level services, but it typically means your team will either be located offshore or your SEO company won’t be as communicative.
• Mid-range SEO services: Middle-market packages typically include a mix of different services, including link building, mastering the approach to local near me searches, technical SEO and optimisations, and reporting. At this price point, you should be receiving regular communications from your account manager and see steady results from your campaign.
• High-end SEO services: Premium SEO services are a good option for companies looking to be aggressive with their targets without compromising on quality, or eCommerce companies that are selling products online. They’re also worth investing in if your industry is hyper-competitive, as you’ll need to do more to outrank your competitors.
• Enterprise SEO: Enterprise SEO is made for companies with large-scale operations, companies who have multiple brands and websites, or websites with highly complex infrastructure. This is an entirely different breed of SEO and should be outsourced to a dedicated enterprise SEO agency with experience working with brands of a similar size.

There are also different pricing models for outsourcing SEO, depending on what you need. These include:

• Project or fixed-rate contracts. This is a great option if you need a team of SEO experts to work on a dedicated campaign. Most companies will start out with a project because there’s typically a lot of leg work that needs to be done at the beginning of an engagement, such as an SEO analysis, technical audit and game plan.
• Monthly retainers. Monthly retainers are where you pay the SEO company a fixed amount per month to handle your SEO needs, from executing keyword research and high-quality content marketing to performance reporting. This is the most common pricing model out there, because it typically takes anywhere from 6 months to a year before businesses start seeing results from their SEO.
• Pay-for-performance pricing. With this type of pricing model, you pay an outsourced SEO professional or agency for outcomes (i.e. ranking #1 for certain target keywords) rather than for a set volume of deliverables. This approach doesn’t work for all companies, but it is great if you’re chasing aggressive targets or you’re solely focused on results.
• Hourly consulting. This model involves paying an SEO consultant or a digital agency per hour they work on your SEO campaigns. Per-hour consulting fees are often higher than the per-hour fees for a retainer if you break it down, but you do get the added flexibility to adjust your SEO work on a monthly basis.

Because there are so many variables, it’s tough to say how much it would cost for outsourcing SEO. However, as a ballpark figure, entry-level services with digital marketing agencies can start from a few thousand a month, while enterprise-level SEO can be anywhere from $10,000+.

A good frame of reference is the mid-range services, which could cost anywhere from $4000 to $6000 a month for a tech audit, keyword strategy, ongoing link building campaigns and reporting.

One more thing: beware of cheap-as-chips SEO agencies claiming to be able to put you in the top position on Google search results in weeks.

These digital marketing companies are probably using black hat SEO techniques that will end up costing a LOT to fix down the line.

Can SEO be done in-house?

Absolutely.

You can hire a dedicated person or even a team of SEO professionals to manage SEO within your company instead of SEO outsourcing.

These employees typically sit within the marketing department and work closely with other members of the business to build and execute your SEO strategy, such as the marketing managers.

Like outsourcing SEO, hiring an in-house SEO team comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. You have someone who is embedded as part of your team, understands the inner workings of your business, and can commit 100% of their time to optimising your website’s organic search visibility.

But while this might seem like a cheaper or better option, it may end up costing you more than you expected — or you might not get the results you’re after.

The advantages and disadvantages of hiring an in-house SEO expert

#1. Advantage: They can focus their efforts

Unlike an agency that has to split its focus between different clients, an in-house SEO expert works exclusively on your business.

You won’t have to worry about them only having a fixed number of hours as part of their retainer — 100% of their time is committed to helping you rank higher in search engine result pages.

However, this focus can also be a double-edged sword.

This laser-sharp dedication to your campaigns may mean that they may overlook legacy issues or big movements in the SEO world.

#2. Advantage: They understand your business

Another advantage of having an in-house SEO expert is that they know your business inside-out.

In-house teams are more in-tune with your company’s rhythm, priorities and strengths, as well as those of your competitors.

This insider knowledge gives rise to more nuanced and tailored SEO strategies — not to mention it’s much easier for them to work with internal stakeholders or quickly shift their priorities if an urgent task crops up.

Your in-house expert can also be the champion for SEO within the broader organisation, working to educate people from different departments on the importance and benefits of SEO, from the marketing manager to CFO.

#1. Disadvantage: Their skills may be more generalist

Most outsourced SEO agencies have a team of specialists working with them. If you need someone who’s an expert in technical SEO, you have access to them as part of your engagement.

The same goes for content marketers, auditors, and analysts. When you hire someone in-house to do your SEO, however, you’ll typically have to opt for a jack of all trades rather than a master of one.

Having a generalist on your team isn’t necessarily a disadvantage as they can cover more ground, but it does mean that you won’t benefit from as much from a specialist’s expertise in a specific area.

This can get particularly challenging when it comes to technical SEO or site migrations, which is why some teams choose to outsource this part as a one-off project.

#2 Disadvantage: The costs can quickly add up

At first glance, hiring a dedicated SEO specialist might seem like the more affordable option. However, this option might not be as cost-effective as you think if you break down everything involved in bringing your SEO in house.

The average salary for an SEO specialist is $83,218, which equates to roughly $6,900 per month.

Add on to that the costs of hiring, training, and SEO tools, and you’re well into $7,000+ per month — the same amount it would cost for a premium SEO agency.

SEO In-House vs Outsourcing SEO: The Verdict

The decision whether to outsource SEO services or do it all in-house depends entirely on your business.

If you’re a smaller business owner working with a limited budget, you’ll get more out of your SEO if you outsource your efforts to an agency.

They’ll be able to advise you on the best strategies and where to invest your time and budget to get the most bang for your buck.

On the other hand, if you’re a larger outfit, it might make more sense to bring your SEO projects in house rather than outsourcing SEO services.

This way, you’ll keep all that SEO expertise within your company and also be able to respond quickly to any business needs as they arise.

Ultimately, no matter which option you choose, the most important question should be about SEO ROI.

Now lets review

What you need to know about hiring an online search agency

Every business owner should know the importance of a well-developed online digital marketing strategy. But you can’t execute that strategy with a bad search agency – you really need an expert search agency.

The key problem is that many businesses go for the cheapest option available. They don’t understand the power that organic search holds or the results that it can achieve.

Here’s the truth:

• 93% of all website traffic comes from search.
• Google makes over 500 changes to its search algorithm every year.
• The vast majority of clicks go to the websites in the top three positions in results

Image from Visigility

A bad search agency won’t get you into those top positions on Google. And it definitely won’t adapt to the hundreds of changes that Google makes every year. But that raises more questions.

Chief among them is how do you find the best search agency for you?

I’m going to give you the answers. But first, here’s a little more about me.

What does “the best

What does “the best online search agency” even mean?

When people search for “the best online search agency,” they are typically looking for a partner that can drive impactful, long-term results through search engine optimisation (SEO), Pay-Per-Click paid search ads (PPC), and other digital marketing strategies. Essentially, they want an agency that can help them navigate the complexities of online search to improve their visibility, attract more relevant traffic, and ultimately increase sales or conversions. But what does “the best” mean in this context?

First and foremost, the “best” online search agency is one that delivers measurable results. Clients are not just interested in seeing their website improve its SEO and appear higher on search engine results pages (SERPs); they want to see those rankings translate into actual business growth. Whether it’s increasing organic traffic, boosting online sales, or improving lead generation, businesses want to know that the agency can produce tangible, meaningful outcomes that align with their goals.

The agency’s experience and expertise are also critical when determining the best. Businesses are looking for a team that has a proven track record of success, not only in optimising websites for search engines but also in driving growth across various digital channels. From SEO to pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, the search agency should have a broad skill set and a deep understanding of what it takes to excel in the online search space. This experience should extend to working with businesses of all sizes, industries, and goals, showing that they can adapt strategies to meet the unique needs of each client.

Another key factor is the agency’s ability to offer custom, data-driven strategies. The best online search agencies don’t rely on generic tactics; instead, they craft tailored plans based on comprehensive research and insights specific to a client’s business. This personalised approach ensures that every strategy is aligned with the client’s target audience, industry trends, and business objectives, making the most of every dollar spent on online search marketing.

Transparency is another hallmark of the best online search agencies. Clients want to know exactly what they’re getting for their investment. The best agencies provide clear, regular updates on campaign performance, highlighting successes and areas for improvement. Detailed reporting, clear communication, and an open approach to strategy build trust and foster long-term partnerships.

Furthermore, the best online search agencies are constantly evolving to stay ahead of the curve. Online search is an ever-changing field, and the best agencies use the latest enterprise level seo tools, technologies, and techniques to ensure their clients are always optimised for success. Whether it’s leveraging the latest SEO best practices or fine-tuning PPC strategies, the agency’s ability to adapt and implement innovative solutions sets it apart from the rest.

Finally, when people are searching for “the best online search agency,” they’re looking for a long-term partner that will deliver consistent, sustainable growth. The best agencies understand that success in online search is not about quick fixes or short-term wins, but about building a strong foundation for long-term success. By focusing on ethical, effective strategies and avoiding shortcuts, they help businesses thrive in the competitive online landscape.

Basically, when businesses search for “the best online search agency,” they are seeking a trusted partner who can demonstrate real results, offer tailored strategies, communicate openly, and stay at the forefront of industry developments. The best agencies are those that not only meet but exceed client expectations, driving meaningful growth and helping businesses succeed in the competitive online world.

Qualities of a Winning Search Agency

Quality #1 – A Search Agency Should Give a Data-Driven Pitch

When you meet a search agency for the first time, their pitch says a lot about them. It shows how thorough they were with their research, and how devoted they are to helping you grow your business.

The quality of the pitch made a huge difference in my decision. And it should do the same for you. A great search agency won’t wax lyrical about the techniques that they’ll use.

Sure, they’ll tell you the basics of SEO and PPC. But any agency can do that.

What you’re looking for is an agency that focuses on the data and how it applies to your business.

They’ll tell you how they’ll use their techniques, rather than just what those techniques are.

And they’ll present data that reinforces what they say.

Image from More Visibility

They’ll also create a custom plan that’s specific to your business’ growth goals.

And if you haven’t told them what your growth goals are – they’ll ask you, and spend a great deal of time on this to get a crystal clear understanding of your goals, key challenges & more.

This is crucial because there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all marketing strategy.

High-quality, in-depth pitches show that the agency understands what you need and that it knows how to help your business.

Pay close attention to the pitch when looking for the best search agency. It says everything you need to know about them and shows whether they’re able to solve your problem.

Quality #2 – A Good Search Agency Will Treat All Clients Equally

Another thing to keep in mind when looking for the right digital marketing / search agency is the way they treat their clients. Obviously, every agency will go out of its way to land and keep big clients.

But what about the little guys?

Not every agency cares about a client that’s bringing them less money. But the best search agencies treat all of their clients equally. That’s something else that, for me, set Online Marketing Gurus apart.

When I met them, I was a very small client to them. Despite this, they showed a deep passion for getting the results that my business needed.

And they followed through on that passion. They made me feel that they actually cared about the problem, as well as the solution.

That’s exactly what all of the best agencies do. They care about your goals because they know that success means you’ll grow.

And if your company grows, it’s great for everybody.

If you feel like you’re a single drop in the sea of an agency’s clients, you won’t feel confident about their work.

But if they focus on you the same way they focus on a large enterprise, you can rest assured that this kind of devotion will yield results.

Quality #3 – They Care About the Results (That Matter)

This is closely related to the previous point.

The best SEO services agency in the world would need to genuinely care about the work they’re doing. They need to show that they’re not in it just for the money. Too many agencies try to grab the cash and run.

They’ll use Black Hat SEO tactics, such as creating spammy content and generating poor backlinks, to give your website a quick boost. Then the search engines catch on and your website plummets down the rankings. It may even get a manual penalty.

Great search agencies care about helping your business to grow organically. They’ll actively avoid Black Hat tactics to ensure your site’s protected. Then, they’ll use customised techniques that benefit your site and comply with search engine guidelines.

This is undoubtedly one of the most important criteria in choosing an agency.

If the agency’s primary motive is money, they’re not likely to put lots of effort into helping your business. They’ll just go the quick and easy route before leaving you high and dry.

On the other hand, if it’s the growth of your company that drives the agency, you’re far more likely to achieve the desired results. The success of any SEO and PPC campaign depends on this, so always go with the agency that cares about helping your business.

Quality #4 – They Deliver Top-Notch Reporting

If you hire an agency to grow your business, you’d expect them to deliver reports that are both useful and easy to understand.

Reports are a funny beast – everyone wants to see something. You, your boss, others in the business – so it’s critical to be able to splice, dice, and view data in minutes. Versus manipulating multiple sources of data for days if not weeks.

As a marketing person, you need to be able to turn the data into ideas for future growth.

You need to point at the data and say:

• This is how much the SEO campaign cost us
• These are the specific campaigns that are working well vs not working well.
• These are our positions in the rankings
• These are the conversions we’re getting from our traffic
• This is the return on our investment

What impressed me much about the way Online Marketing Gurus did reporting was their gurulytics dashboard.

It pulls data from various sources, including social, Google Analytics, SEMrush, Ahrefs, and more, so you can have a detailed look at how your campaign is performing. Quality reporting is key.

Whoever you pick needs to go into this in a ridiculous amount of depth. Instead of presenting you with complex data that you’ll get lost in, a good SEO company ensures you’re able to read the data with ease.

This will allow you to analyse your current position and determine future steps. The best agencies will make sure that there’s no need for handholding, and that you’re able to take their reports and work with them on your own.

4 Reasons to Avoid Hiring a Cheap Search Agency

So far we’ve established the importance of SEO. If you’re looking for a search agency, money shouldn’t be a deciding factor.

Going cheap causes all sorts of problems, and here’s why.

Reason #1 – Low-Quality Backlinking

Backlinks are one of the cornerstones of SEO.

They’re among the most important factors when it comes to ranking on search engines. For this reason, it is of utmost importance that your agency achieves high-quality backlinks.

A cheap agency can’t get good backlinks.

Instead, they’ll look for link building strategies like securing them from directory networks or they’ll pay people to link to your site. They may insist on a reciprocal scheme in which you link to a site so that they link to you.

Perhaps they’ll just spam a bunch of forums with your link.

Do you know what these tactics get you?

Image from AHREFS

That’s a manual penalty for bad backlinks from Google. And it takes months to get rid of those links. You have to clean up every single link that isn’t any good for your site.

By the time you’ve finished, you’ll have wasted thousands of dollars in work hours.

On the other hand, having the right amount of high-quality links will not only get you higher in search results but also establish your credibility and authority.

Always make sure to find a company that will do backlinking well.

Reason #2 – Second-Hand Content

One of the most important parts of your website is its content. It’s a clear representation of your business and it needs to reflect your brand’s message.

But that’s not all.

Good content marketing generates three times the number of leads that traditional marketing manages. And it does it while costing 62% less.

And that’s where going cheap damages your business.

A cheap search agency doesn’t really care about high-quality content.

Instead, they use software that spins existing content on the web into ‘original’ posts. The structure and grammar of these articles are often questionable, as they’re written by machines. This kind of poor-quality content means you build no authority. People don’t want to read bad content.

No authority means no conversions.

And guess what…

Image from Advanced Web Ranking

That’s right. You can get penalised for bad content too.

You may want to review: Is Hiring a Content Agency A Good Idea? 6 Questions To Ask

Reason #3 – No Custom Strategies

The best search agency always adapts to the needs of its clients. This is not the case with most cheap SEO companies.

Most just offer a fixed set of services at a fixed price.

A couple of bog-standard strategies isn’t enough to get good rankings.

In fact, there’s a high chance that your website might be the victim of an ill-fitting strategy. The techniques used don’t mesh with your needs, which means the rankings don’t come.

At worst, these strategies just get you penalised. The obvious result is a waste of money and a lack of desired results.

Reason #4 – It’s Not a Good Long-Term Solution

If you’re a business owner, you want your business to keep growing for as long as possible.

With poor SEO, this is pretty much impossible.

The reason for this is that cheap companies have a hard time adapting to all the changes in the way search engines work.

But that’s not all.

They also offer a limited range of services, which might work for some time but will cease to yield results eventually. Google’s 500+ yearly changes to its algorithm put paid to that. When this happens, your business will stagnate, or even fail. So if you want to ensure long-term growth, invest more into the best search agency you can find.

What to keep in mind when hiring a search agency:

When hiring an SEO agency, ensure they have a proven track record, transparent communication, and a clear strategy tailored to your business goals. Be wary of agencies promising quick results or using outdated, “black-hat” tactics that could lead to penalties.

It’s crucial to ask for references, case studies, and a clear roadmap to understand how they will improve your rankings over time. Make sure they emphasize sustainable, ethical practices and provide regular updates and insights about your SEO campaign’s progress.

Search agency hiring cheat sheet:

To choose the best search agency for your business, consider these factors:

• Experience and Specialisation: Look for agencies with proven success in your industry or niche.
• Transparency: They should offer clear reporting and a strategy tailored to your goals.
• Approach: Ensure they focus on ethical, sustainable ethical marketing and SEO best practices rather than quick fixes.
• Reviews and Case Studies: Check client testimonials and past results.
• Communication: A good agency should maintain open, regular communication.

Take your time researching before making a decision.

7 essential things that your search agency needs to know about SEO

As a search agency marketing manager you know search engine optimisation is important, even critical, for your business.

But so are a hundred other things.

You simply don’t have the time to micromanage SEO. Chances are you have an SEO services agency or consultant you trust to take care of it.

However, you still need to champion SEO in your organisation. You need to influence decision-makers, gain buy-in, win more budget and justify your investment.

For this to happen effectively, you need to understand not only how SEO works, but know the in-depth insights that will give your SEO campaigns the edge.

In this guide, we reveal some SEO truths that will ultimately help you do that.

1. SEO is the long game, but also the most profitable.

Here’s what you need to know about SEO – you’re in it for the long game.

The best way to think of SEO is like a freight train.

It takes a lot of time and effort to get going, but once you’ve got momentum, SEO can carry your business far.

How long are we talking exactly?

That’s the million-dollar question.

The answer?

There’s no one-size-fits-all, but we can say from experience that most businesses see an uplift in results from 6 months.

But the real game-changing, high ROI results come through maturing a campaign for at least 8-12 months.

That’s when you’ve started to make more from SEO than you’re investing.

(Disclaimer: How quickly you see results completely depends on where you’re starting from and how competitive your industry is.)

This long-term thinking means making your business case to non-marketing people can be really hard. Especially when they see the fast results of short term channels, like pay per click (PPC) and social media advertising.

These channels can generate results almost instantly, so why not just invest your budget in them and forget about SEO?

There’s one very good reason:

SEO is one of the most profitable – if not THE most profitable – channels you can use.

Take a look at these EO statistics:

• The average SEO campaign generates an ROI of 135%.
• More than 40% of online revenue comes from organic search traffic.
• Mobile search generates 73 billion phone calls per year, which are from people who have a high chance of converting.
• SEO leads have a 14.6% conversion rate, compared to only 1.7% for print advertising and other traditional methods.
• Organic search is responsible for 51% of all website traffic, compared to 10% from paid search, 5% from social media, and 34% from other sources.
• 82% of marketers report the effectiveness of SEO is on the rise, with 42% stating it’s increasing significantly.
• 61% of marketers say improving SEO and growing organic presence is a top inbound marketing priority.

So, how do you counter-balance the wait time for SEO results?

That leads us to the second thing you need to know about SEO…

2. Combining SEO and other channels will help you map long term growth.

Let’s talk channel integration.

According to Search Engine Land:

“Marketers who use a combination of organic SEO and PPC ads in their strategies see an average of 25% more clicks and 27% more profit than those who only use a single search engine marketing tactic.”

This is a critical point.

For some time now, marketers have realised that keeping their channels in silos is hurting, not helping, their results.

Smashing down the silos and integrating channels is recognised as best practice.

According to Teradata’s Data-Driven Marketing survey:

More than 80% of marketers believe marketing silos prevent them from having a comprehensive view of campaigns and customers across channels.

SEO is no exception. 

The thing about SEO is that it works brilliantly with other digital channels.

The trick is to look at ways you can take advantage of each tactic’s different strengths and bring them together for incredible results.

Here are three ways to integrate tactics for SEO success.

A. SEO + SEM

The major reason to use SEO and search engine marketing (SEM) tactics at the same time is because they both work on different time scales.

If you want rapid results, paid search will deliver. You can have a paid search ad displayed to your target audience and driving traffic to your website within hours.

But SEO is all about long-term sustainable results for revenue growth.

So, one proven approach is to use PPC to drive traffic to your website fast, while building your SEO foundations for long-term brand awareness and revenue results.

Another way to use paid search and SEO together?

Use paid search as a testing ground for content, then apply learnings to your content strategy for better organic search visibility.

For example, before you update article headlines and meta descriptions across your site, you can use PPC ads to see which text copy delivers the best engagement scores.

The bottom line?

Stop thinking of SEO vs SEM and let them work their magic together.

B. SEO + Content Marketing

Did you know websites that include a blog typically have 434% more indexed pages than those that don’t? (Forbes)

Fact is, you can’t separate content and SEO. You can’t have one without the other. But you can optimise your content strategy and create content to drive outstanding SEO results.

For example, include more videos and images can positively impact your organic search results.

Including a video in a post increases organic traffic from search results by 157%.

Meanwhile…

Content with at least one image significantly outperforms content without any images in search engine results.

Then there’s your keyword research.

The best performing content is optimised for user intent. How do you make sure your content matches user intent?

By aligning with the most relevant and profitable search terms (both long tail and short tail). That’s where your SEO and content marketing really come together.

C. SEO + Social Media

Okay, social media doesn’t directly contribute to SEO. What we mean by this is social signals don’t directly help your website rank better on Google. They are not ranking factors.

BUT –

Social media does indirectly impact SEO performance. There is a definite correlation between where your site ranks in the SERPs and its number of social signals.

That’s because:

1. Your social media content gets indexed by search engines.
2. Social media helps you build authority.
3. Social media helps you gain more shares, visibility and therefore more links for your content.

That’s why you need to integrate your SEO and social strategies.

3. Most platforms and search agencies are fine for SEO until you want to go international.

Then, you’ll face different challenges for each. Often local SEO and international SEO can prove a different ball game.

We’ll cut to the chase. If you know global expansion is slated for within 3-5 years, you need to start budgeting for a website platform that accommodates international SEO.

Let’s break it down.

There are lots of ways to organise your content for international SEO, but our experience shows that, for most companies, the ideal site structure is subdirectories.

This is where your internationalised content is placed in a specific subdirectory of the root domain. So, you can use the main domain’s existing authority to boost the visibility of your international content as you expand.

If you are using a platform that doesn’t allow this, you’re going to hit some major hurdles when it comes to international SEO.

Look to platforms like HubSpot, which make it really easy to set up language code subdirectories for your blog or pages.

Source: HubSpot Academy

As the screenshot above shows, it’s as simple as going into Settings.

Magento is the primary enterprise ecommerce CMS capable of subdirectories, but there’s a high development cost involved.

On the other hand, Shopify and BigCommerce boast a simple set-up but can’t do subdirectories. This means you’d have to set up different ccTLDs or subdomains for each region.

As always, there are pros and cons to every endeavor – so early and extensive research is key.

4. Creating one source of truth is the most important thing for your SEO campaign.

Data is your business’s most powerful asset.

But if your data is split across lots of different platforms and systems, you’ll struggle to get the insights you need for SEO success.

On average, marketing departments use at least 12 marketing systems.

Source: HubSpot

How many are you using?

Count your email marketing software, CRM, Google Analytics, marketing automation software, project management tools, and more.

Now think about it. Even though you have the tools to collect data, how easy is it to splice, dice and view your data to understand if and how your campaigns are making an impact?

Let’s look at an example.

When Google Analytics counts conversions, it doesn’t reconcile its information with Facebook or your email marketing software.

So, a consumer clicks on a Google search result, then a Facebook ad, then an email, before converting. All three marketing channels claim the conversion, which leads to an over-representation of the channel’s impact, or “double counting”.

As a result, you struggle to attribute revenue correctly and clearly see the influence each of your marketing channels has on a customer’s journey.

The solution?

You need access to a centralised system that offers a single source of truth.

Look to a tool like HubSpot that tracks every customer interaction from the first visit to ongoing advocacy.

This will give you visibility in a way that measures both direct conversions and assisted conversions.

5. Marketing automation helps you turn SEO leads into customers.

Spending on marketing automation tools is expected to reach $25.1 billion annually by 2023, according to Martech Today.

Why?

The reason is simple:

Digital marketing is a massive job and marketing automation tools make it easier to get the results you need, without investing more time and effort than you have.

One way to effectively take advantage of marketing automation tools is to turn SEO leads into customers.

For instance, the tool may score leads based how they found your website, how they engage with your website and brand across the internet. So, your sales and marketing teams can prioritise leads, respond appropriately, and increase the conversion rate.

Need proof?

• Companies that automate lead management see at least a 10% increase in revenue within 6-9 months. (Strategic IC, 2017)
• 79% of top-performing companies have been using marketing automation for at least 3 years. (Venture Harbour, 2017)
• And 2 out of 3 marketing leaders currently use a marketing automation platform. (Salesforce, 2017)

6. Schema markup is the hidden SEO opportunity your competition isn’t using.

If there’s one way to get the edge on your competition, it’s this:

Apply Schema.org markup to your site.

Schema markup is microdata that you put on your website to help search engines return more informative, detailed results to searchers (AKA a rich snippet).

But it’s one of the least utilised forms of SEO tactics. One study shows that less than one-third of Google’s search results include a rich snippet.

Yet, Schema markup is PROVEN to boost your site visibility in the SERPs and increase click-through rates.

So, if you’re not yet using Schema markup, it could be an easy way to get a leg up on your competition.

There’s a long list of things you can markup, including:

• Events
• Recipes
• Articles
• Business information
• Products and offers

If you don’t have an SEO agency to take care of it for you, use Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper. It offers a heap of free tools and resources for webmasters. Alternatively, if you have a WordPress site, you can use a plugin.

7. Ultimately, SEO is all about user experience

If user experience is not your number one priority, your SEO strategy will fail.

Everything you do with SEO should be for users first and foremost.

Whether it’s your site structure, content creation, link building, technical SEO, on-page SEO, every action you take needs to focus on improving the user experience.

Don’t worry about what this means for the search engines – their algorithms are designed to reward sites that provide a valuable and exceptional user experience.

It’s what Google wants.

And it’s what your users want too.

A staggering 88% of users are unlikely to return to a website after just one bad experience.

Naturally, this goes straight to your bottom line. In fact, companies with a highly effective user experience (UX) have increased revenue by a massive 37%, according to UXpassion.

How can you focus on user experience?

A. Make your site easy to navigate.

Intuitive site navigation makes it easy for search engines to crawl your site and your visitors to find what they want fast. The result is better visibility for search queries and more conversions.

B. Make it mobile friendly

Mobile users are 5X more likely to abandon a task if the site is not optimised for their device. If that’s not reason enough, Google uses mobile responsiveness as a ranking factor.

C. Speed up your site

Another ranking factor is your site’s speed and performance. Your page’s loading speed also directly impacts user experience. DoubleClick by Google found over 50% of mobile site visits were abandoned if a page took more than 3 seconds to load.

Test the speed of your websites using the free Google PageSpeed Insights tool.

D. Create high-quality content.

Aim to add value for users at each stage of their customer journey. Plus, high-quality content earns inbound links, which is a major ranking factor for Google and other search engines.

Why you should avoid hiring an online search agency offer “guaranteed” SEO results

If you want to invest in search engine optimisation, working with an agency that offers guaranteed SEO results seems like the right way to go.

You pay a certain amount for your SEO services, and they promise to deliver a specific outcome from your investment.

Seems like nothing can go wrong, right?

Wrong.

The truth is, if you’re working with an SEO company that offers guaranteed SEO services, a whole lot can go wrong. These agencies aren’t just using a sales tactic to get you to sign on for their services — they’re putting your rankings AND your business at risk.

But why are guaranteed SEO services so risky?

In this post, we’ll explain:

• Exactly why you should avoid any SEO provider that offers these as part of their service
• Why guaranteed SEO results aren’t what they seem
• How they affect your search engine rankings in the short and long term
• Why reputable SEO companies will NEVER promise guaranteed results.

What are guaranteed search optimisation services?

Guaranteed SEO services are any search engine optimization services where the provider assures the client of a specific outcome within a set period of time.

These might include promises like:

• A claim to guarantee rankings on page one for a set number of keywords
• An offer of free SEO work for a set period of time as a ‘trial’ period
• An increase of X% of organic traffic coming from Google

Most of these promises for guaranteed SEO results come with a set timeframe, such as 30 days, 60 days, or 90 days. Some agencies may even offer a money-back guarantee if they don’t achieve the results within the time they promised.

It sounds great on paper. After all, every business that invests in SEO wants to appear at the top of search engine results pages.

But here’s the catch with any guaranteed SEO service.

These SEO professionals aren’t promising to get you to the top of search for the most profitable keywords, or to bring organic traffic to your website that converts into leads or sales. They’re promising one thing — rankings — at the expense of traffic quality, ethical white hat SEO practices, or tangible outcomes.

Let’s say you’re running a drycleaning business in Melbourne. If you work with an SEO agency that operates with an SEO guarantee, they might promise to get you ranking on the first page for 10 keywords within 30 days. When the 30 days are up, you discover that they decided to choose low-competition keywords like “affordable drycleaners for wedding dress eastern suburbs melbourne”, which has absolutely 0 monthly search volume.

Sure, you’ve ranked on top. But if nobody’s searching for that term, you may as well not be ranking at all.

Can a search agency guarantee first position Google rankings?

First position Google rankings can’t be guaranteed.

It’s that simple.

There are no grey areas here or preferred partners in the SEO industry who get website priority treatment from Google. In fact, Google itself states in its SEO Starter Guide that “no one can guarantee a #1 ranking” and warns against working with any agency promising guaranteed SEO rankings:

The reason why nobody can offer guaranteed SEO rankings is that no SEO firm, consultant or freelancer has a direct influence over Google’s search engine results.

Google’s search engine ranking algorithm is extremely complex and made up of more than 200 known ranking factors, including on-page and off-page SEO factors.

This algorithm is a tightly kept secret amongst employees, and Google itself is constantly updating the algorithm to deliver a better experience for searchers.

A good SEO agency will use all of the information in Google guidelines, as well as their team’s expertise and experience, to put your business website in the best position possible to rank in organic search. However, the final position that your website lands in is up to Google (and can even fluctuate depending on algorithm updates, search relevance, and more).

Why should you avoid search companies that offer SEO guarantees?

Search agency specialists that offer any kind of rankings guarantee should be avoided at ALL costs. Working with these companies is a surefire way to ensure you get lacklustre results from your SEO campaign, if any. What’s more, these SEO agencies go directly against Google’s recommendations and could put your keyword rankings and reputation at risk.

So why are these companies so dangerous? It boils down to these four reasons.

1. Such a search agency will more than likely use blackhat SEO techniques

This is one of the biggest risks you’re running if you work with an agency that guarantees results.

Black hat SEO techniques are any kind of search engine tactics that are designed to manipulate Google’s algorithm to improve a website’s search engine rankings. This type of SEO strategy violates Google’s Webmaster Guidelines because it’s built SPECIFICALLY to target search engines and not users.

Some of the most common blackhat SEO techniques include participating in link exchange schemes, hiding keywords, creating duplicate content, or posting spammy comments on blogs.

The reason that agencies who guarantee results use black hat tactics is that they’re fast. They might even be able to get away with it for a few weeks — just long enough to meet their KPIs and get paid — but eventually your website will get caught out.

This could be with an algorithm update or a core update, which Google uses to finetune search results and weed out poor quality content. Updates like Google Panda affected roughly 12% of all websites, and led to thousands of websites seeing crazy drops in traffic overnight:

These algorithm updates often target dodgy SEO tactics. So if your SEO agency is using these types of tactics as part of their guarantee, it’s only a matter of time before your website gets affected by an update.

However, that’s not the only risk you’re running with black hat tactics…

2. Your website may get penalised by Google

The bigger risk of using black hat tactics is that your website will eventually get caught and receive a penalty from Google. These penalties can range from a web page getting downranked or your website being removed from search engines altogether.

Getting results from black hat tactics may be quick, but recovering from a Google penalty is painfully slow — and expensive. You’ll have to invest time and money into fixing the problems, then submit a reconsideration request to Google. Once the manual penalty’s been removed, you’ll need to work to regain your position in search results, This process can take months or years, and in some extreme cases, you may never recover and need to start again from scratch.

3. Your website will be ranking for useless or irrelevant keywords

If you’re working with an agency that guarantees results, chances are they get to pick the keywords you’re ranking for, not you. This is one of the reasons why they can confidently say that they’ll help you rank for keywords: because it doesn’t really matter which keywords they help you rank for.

Remember the Melbourne dry-cleaning example we mentioned earlier? Imagine your SEO agency telling you that they’ve ranked you on page #1 for 20 keywords that have 0 search volume. Or that they’ve helped you rank for keywords that have nothing to do with your business.

4. These types of search agency will deliver poor ROI

The goal of any effective SEO strategies is to get more traffic to your website — qualified traffic, that is. Qualified traffic means website visitors that are already interested in your products or services, or who align with your target audience and buyer personas.

When you bring qualified traffic to your website, you have a higher chance of converting them into leads and sales. In turn, you’ll see a payoff in your  SEO ROI because every dollar is working harder for your business.

With guaranteed services, the opposite happens.

If you pay an SEO agency $5,000 to increase your traffic by a set amount — let’s say 100% in 30 days —, the focus shifts from quality to quantity. Even if you double your traffic, it doesn’t really matter unless you’re also seeing the payoff in your leads and sales. Otherwise, you’re just paying for vanity metrics that don’t really have an impact on your bottom line.

In other words, that $5,000 becomes a cost, not an investment.

On the other hand, if you invest $5,000 into targeted SEO with a reputable provider, they might only increase your traffic by 25% — but if that 25% increase in traffic results in a 100% uptick in sales, then you’re getting much more bang for buck.

Why guaranteed search engine rankings for your brand name are a waste of money

SEO agencies that guarantee results typically say they’ll have you ranking on top for searches featuring your own brand name. This can seem like a good idea at first: after all, you DO want to appear if someone searches for your business online.

Thing is, you don’t need to pay an agency to help you rank for those keywords. Google’s fairly good at recognising branded searches and ranking the appropriate website on top.

As long as you have a few indexed pages that mention your brand name, you’ll most likely dominate in search results very quickly.

Add in a Google My Business listing, Facebook profile and client testimonials, and you’ll be in an even stronger position to show up first in SERPs.

The only instance where trying to rank for your business name is a legitimate strategy is when you have a generic brand, such as “Cafe Sydney”. This is both a brand name and a search term, which means you’ll need a local SEO strategy to ensure you show up over other websites in the Sydney area.

Another thing? People who are searching for your business probably already know who you are and what you do. These customers are likely at the bottom of the funnel and ready to make a purchase. If you spend your valuable marketing budget targeting customers who’ve already made up their mind, you’re losing out on opportunities to reach people who may not know of your business yet.

What to expect from a trustworthy and reputable search agency?

So here’s the question: if a reputable SEO provider won’t guarantee you results, what WILL they deliver? There are a few things that any trustworthy SEO company should help you achieve as part of your ongoing SEO efforts.

High-quality leads

A good SEO company should improve your page rankings for keywords that are relevant to your business. Over time, this adds up to more qualified traffic coming to your website. And more qualified traffic means more high-quality leads signing up for your newsletter and enquiring about your products or services.

Long term results

While obtaining page one rankings within 30 days sounds great, the real goal of any long-term SEO strategy is to get you on top AND keep you there. A reputable provider should tell you that it can take anywhere between 3 to 12 months to see results from a high-quality SEO campaign. However, once you reach the top through white hat SEO tactics, you’re more likely to stay there — which means you’ll get qualified traffic and generate money for years to come.

Authority and credibility

High rankings aren’t the only thing that you get with a top-notch custom strategy. As you built up high-quality backlinks and improve your position in Google, you’ll also be building up your credibility and authority with your target audience.

Think about it: if you appear every time your audience is searching for topics related to your product or service, they’ll start associating you as the go-to resource for your industry. And if you also provide them with helpful content marketing that matches their search intent, they’ll be more likely to trust your brand in the future.

Relevant rankings

A reputable SEO service provider won’t just help you get top rankings for any old keyword. One of the first things that any quality agency will do is conduct keyword research to find the most relevant search terms for your product or service.

Once your SEO expert has identified the best target keywords, they’ll try to optimise your website’s ranking for those search terms. It’s a deliberate and strategic process that ensures your business is only ranking for searches that your potential customers are ACTUALLY searching for, and that are likely to convert.

This process doesn’t just happen in the initial stages either. Your SEO specialist agency should consistently be looking for new keywords to rank for, as well as evaluating whether your current keywords are delivering tangible results for your business.

Quality backlinks

You’ve probably heard that building backlinks is an important part of SEO and digital marketing in general. But when it comes to backlinks, it’s absolutely about quality over quantity.

An agency that guarantees a certain number of backlinks will likely be getting these through black-hat SEO tactics, such as link schemes or link exchanges. A reputable provider, on the other hand, will work to get links to your website from relevant, high-caliber web pages such as media publications or sites with good domain authority. These types of links pay off twofold because they improve your website’s authority and online visibility, plus they drive qualified online traffic to your website.

Work with an online search agency that delivers sustainable long-term growth

The best SEO agencies won’t guarantee to deliver results for a certain number of keywords or promise a set increase in traffic. They’ll be focused on what really matters: using search engine optimisation strategies to help you smash your business goals and fuel business success.

Over to you

At the end of the day, SEO will deliver real growth and revenue impact. You simply need to apply these proven truths to every single campaign.

What are the biggest SEO challenges you’re facing? What are the SEO essentials you’ve learnt along the way?

Avoid the common SEO mistakes and generate sustainable revenue results from your strategy. Explore the free A-Z SEO Guide and learn all the tried and true secrets from world-class SEO consultants and marketing minds.

Want to see if you’re maximising your SEO efforts with your current approach? Claim your free no-obligation SEO consultation and audit (worth $2,000).

OMG, the very best and transparent SEO agency in Australia, will tell you how you’re performing in comparison with your competitors, and what you need to do to achieve lasting success from search engine optimisation.

About the Author

Andrew Raso

Andrew Raso, Co-founder and Global CEO of Online Marketing Gurus, has been instrumental in transforming the agency from a start-up into a $15 million global powerhouse. Since co-founding OMG in 2012 with colleague Mehrdad Hedayati, Andrew has leveraged his deep expertise in SEO and digital marketing to drive OMG’s expansion across Australia, the US, and Singapore.