For many companies this does make financial sense. and satisfies the client’s needs. Unlike the single premium for developing a single website, SEO commands a regular monthly income which is certainly better for cash flow, but is it really an easy service to deliver?
Things To Consider
The first thing that is needed is talent, someone who knows SEO inside out and has proven experience to deliver results. You can decide to employ internally or maybe a suitable outsourcing agency can be found where both of you benefit. Let’s look at the Pros and Cons.
Employing a SEO Professional Within Your Business
Pro: Having talent at your fingertips is always going to be preferable, especially when things don’t to plan or big algorithm changes. There will be an immediate change, how sites are designed and planned may be changed to suit better rankings.
Cons: This will not be cheap. Good SEO professionals will command a decent package and when starting out, it may take some time until enough clients are brought on board to cover the cost and get to a point where a suitable profit is made.
There is also the risk that the employee will leave and form their own business taking your clients with them.
Another factor is the investment of time any SEO professional has to make to stay at the forefront of this ever moving sector. Almost every day there is something new or announcement being made, as search engines and social media platforms constantly update to stay ahead. It is more likely this is going to happen in your time not theirs. Selling SEO is also not easy, it is a profession that lacks trust in many quarters and it would be normal for your employed talent to be involved in recruitment of clients. When you factor health reports and link research into a working week, you will understand that not many digital agencies will work on a smaller scale with just one SEO person.
Outsourcing Your SEO Work
This gives you the flexibility to start small and you can move form firm to firm if you are unhappy with their work.
Pro: As well as the flexibility often costs are cheaper than employees as there is no holiday pay, national insurance or sick pay to fork out.
Cons: There are a huge amount of outsourcing firms out there that are just not fit for purpose. But it gets worse. The damage that can be done from poor back linking and other processes can damage a website beyond what can be reasonably repaired without excessive work to undo the bad work.
Quite frankly, speak to any unbiased SEO consultant an you will be advised that SEO is something you integrate with normal marketing and a desire to create the best website you can with engaging and factual content. The trust process would have to be huge to allow another company to represent your brand.
When factoring these examples it is no surprise that smaller agencies just focus on what they know and leave the SEO to larger agencies, or worse just try to get by with a bit of knowledge and a little bit of time per client each month.
What Do Your Clients Want?
Here is the key question. Just like supermarkets, most clients just want to go to one place and get everything they need and maybe they don’t even understand the difference in disciplines. Have you lost business because you don’t offer a full service?
Our Support Plan
We offer a special service that meets in the middle of employment and outsourcing. you get in house knowledge and experience without the wage bill, but where your agency has enough control to prevent any horrors. Visit our Digital Agency Support Plan
