Search engine optimization is one of the best ways to gain leads for your company. It’s a process of improving your site performance but also publishing high-quality content and becoming a reputable source within your industry.
Like with any other type of marketing, search optimization isn’t always effective. Some companies pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for their campaigns without ever covering the associated costs. Because of that, it’s crucial to find the right SEO strategy for your business and to be meticulous in your execution.
One of the most important things is deciding whether to build an in-house SEO team or go with outsourcing SEO services. Having an internal team is fantastic if you want to have more control over your marketing, while SEO outsourcing reduces micromanagement.
In this article, we’ll talk about both approaches and their pros and cons. Hopefully, this will help you make the right decision for your brand!
What is in-house SEO?
Doing SEO in-house means you’ll create a team that would operate strictly as a part of your organization. They would be directly employed by your brand and usually only work on your own projects.
In most cases, companies form an in-house marketing team from scratch. They either onboard freelance experts from Upwork and other online job markets or train existing employees to do SEO. Whatever the case might be, they would start working for the company by using the brand’s principles and values.
The best use of in-house SEO
Doing SEO in-house vs. outsourcing is the perfect choice for companies that are looking at long-term optimization. Given that you’ll need several months just to get things in order, this is obviously a massive investment that will take time to kick in.
Unfortunately, this is also one of the biggest issues with this approach. Your organization will have to allocate a lot of resources just to get things off the ground and will need a dedicated company manager to run the show. This is especially troublesome for smaller brands that don’t have the capacity to maintain several independent departments.
The ongoing training is especially troublesome when hiring in-house. Your current employees will have to deal with their daily duties, and after that, they’ll have to learn about digital marketing. While some of them might be acquainted with the concept, it pales in comparison to that of a veteran SEO manager.
In-house SEO pros and cons
Here are a few main considerations when going with the in-house approach:
Pros
- Lower long-term costs
- More control over the process
- Easier communication
- The SEO department is acquainted with the company’s policies and structure
Cons
- Lack of the initial results can be disastrous
- Other digital marketing approaches might provide better results
- Requires more micromanagement
- Some employees might not be suited for the task
What is outsourced SEO?
As the name implies, when outsourcing search engine optimization, you hire an outside company to perform your online marketing. Most brands pay for full SEO packages, but you can also go with specific services such as keyword research, content marketing, or link building.
Nowadays, almost every American brand is looking to hire a cheap outsourced SEO agency from abroad. Given that optimization is strictly a digital business, you can get a fantastic service from providers from Europe, but also other regions. In other words, there is usually no drop-off based on the country.
Still, that doesn’t mean you can hire just about anyone. MiroMind SEO agency suggests that you focus on providers that have a proven track record and can run a successful campaign in your industry.
The best use of SEO agencies
Hiring an SEO agency instead of having a dedicated in-house team is much better if you’re a small business. When you outsource SEO, you can get results practically overnight without having to think about training, resource allocation, and logistics. A great thing about SEO agencies like MiroMind is that they have everything set up.
This approach is especially important for time-sensitive projects where you want to roll out a product or a service as soon as possible. Waiting for several months or even a year can allow competitors to catch up, occasionally costing companies all the technological or conceptual advantage.
Unfortunately, the problem with any outsourced SEO company is that you don’t have enough control over the process. Although most agencies provide monthly reports and are always available for a call, they’re not present in your corporative offices. In other words, coordinating SEO efforts is sometimes really hard.
SEO outsourcing pros and cons
Now, here are a few things you should consider if you wish to go this route:
Pros
- Immediate impact
- Eliminates the need for management
- Much more predictable results
- Reduces marketing complexity
- Experience and access to more diversified SEO strategies
Cons
- More expensive in the long-run
- Less control over the process
- Lower availability of the team
- You have to make a smart choice of an SEO agency
In-house vs. outsourced SEO: Main considerations
Here is how the two approaches compare to each other in the things that matter:
1. Delivery
If you wish to start an SEO campaign as soon as possible, you would be foolish not to outsource. Long-time experts know everything there is about search engines, and they can start making an impact in just a few months. On the other hand, creating an in-house team usually presumes that you’ll need to provide additional training and onboarding.
Of course, you might also get nice results if you hire a few SEO superstars and employ them as a part of your internal team. You would just have to get them acquainted with the company culture and give them a schedule. However, most companies are unwilling to do so for a few vital reasons.
You see, the main reason why companies go with in-house SEO is because they’re trying to cut costs and have full control of the process. That being said, while you can do in-house optimization by simply hiring an entire team of seasoned professionals, this would beat the purpose of the process.
Each SEO specialist you hire this way would cost an arm and a leg, so it would be better to simply hire a team that knows how to work together.
2. Price
There isn’t the right answer when it comes to price. Both approaches serve a particular purpose, and you should choose the one that serves your short-term or long-term goals.
Specifically, outsourcing SEO experts means that you’ll have to pay a bit extra, but you’ll also get immediate results. You also won’t have to worry about associated costs such as paying for tools, office space, and other miscellaneous.
On the other hand, hiring a few young guns and training them to do in-house optimization usually costs less. Unfortunately, there’s a good reason why they’re so cheap: they simply don’t have enough knowledge. And while you won’t have to pay a lot for monthly salaries, they also won’t provide much during the first months.
Even if you get an SEO consultant to keep them in line, the lack of skill will prevent them from having tangible results. But as time goes by and they get better at their job, they’ll start moving the needle while being significantly cheaper than the outsourced company.
When it comes down to it, SEO outsourcing is cheaper in the short run, while in-house SEO is cheaper in the long run. Of course, there might be some discrepancies if you manage to outsource a cheap yet effective company abroad. If that happens, you can get the best of both worlds.
3. Scalability
Scalability is a tricky category. In theory, it’s much easier to scale an in-house team as you can always hire more guys to work as a part of the team. However, if you’ve outsourced your digital marketing to a large company with massive capacity, they can take care of any task regardless of its size.
Does that mean that both approaches are the same in terms of scalability? Not quite.
You see, when you have an in-house team, you also need to think about micromanagement. Hiring new people also means hiring more managers, getting larger offices, and increasing tool spending. As the department increases, it becomes harder to keep track of everything.
While a similar thing occurs with outsourcing, getting a bigger package doesn’t affect your daily operations. Micromanagement is the SEO provider’s problem, and you only have to think about the extra money you need to pay. In other words, you’ll get the same size of the service without additional headaches.
So, if you wish to increase your SEO investment in the future, we suggest that you go with a large SEO agency. Alternatively, you can go with one that has the potential to scale its processes. For instance, outsourcing to Romanian SEO agencies will help you gain expertise and expand your SEO marketing capacity, making them a noteworthy option to explore whenever you consider enhancing your online presence.
4. Control
Control is one of the main reasons to go with an in-house team.
The problem with outsourcing is that you never know what’s happening on the backend. This is especially risky in the SEO world. Some companies are willing to do whatever it takes to meet their quotes, including taking some unnecessary risks or employing black hat techniques.
So, if you wish to outsource search engine optimization, you’ll also need to hire a technical SEO consultant that would work outside of them. This person would track their movement and notify you if there’s something amiss.
Still, that doesn’t mean that every SEO agency you hire will do such things. You can have a fantastic relationship with a provider without ever having to worry they’ll do something bad with your site. But for that to happen, you’ll need to be very smart when hiring.
5. Industry knowledge
Industry knowledge is another category where both outsourced agencies and in-house teams can provide fantastic results.
In theory, in-house teams should have much better knowledge of the industry if they’ve already been working for the company. Furthermore, the company can also assign a manager from its ranks to teach the team industry peculiarities if they’re unacquainted with it.
However, there are also many situations where an experienced outsourced team would provide results. These teams know everything there is about optimization, and if they’ve worked in the industry, they should know all the bloggers, competitors, and other stakeholders.
In some cases, outsourcing an SEO agency is much better. Even if the in-house team knows a lot about the industry, they might not know how the competitors behave in the digital space. In other words, their specific industry knowledge might not be as applicable as that of a seasoned digital marketing company.
Can I mix the two?
Using both approaches is very valid.
The best examples are companies that want to have an in-house team but don’t want their employees to get the necessary education. So, as they wait for their team to get accustomed to the basics and take over the project, they hire outside assistance to keep them afloat.
Using both simultaneously is also a valid option. You can outsource a reputable SEO agency and assign your workers as their helpers. As they’re working together, your employees will gain valuable knowledge, which they can employ later on when the teams split.
There’s also an option of using an outsourced SEO agency for specific tasks and your team for others. You can hire a few specialists with excellent connections to perform link-building. This would make it easier to get links from your competitors without them ever finding out about it.
Last considerations
If you do decide to outsource SEO, make sure to keep full transparency so you don’t offend the providers by pulling sneaky tricks. Not only can such moves have a negative impact on your reputation, but they might also lead to retaliation down the line.
Always remember that SEO providers have complete insights into your business, and there should be mutual respect on both sides. Whatever the case might be, if you ever need outsourced SEO services, make sure to contact MiroMind!