Outsourcing SEO vs Gambling With In House SEO
 
So your company has decided to embark on an online campaign to boost sales With so much marketing clatter filling up the Internet these days, you decide to hire someone who can bring your business to the forefront from search engine wrangling, the services of an SEO expert
  

So your company has decided to embark on an online campaign to boost sales. With so much marketing clatter filling up the Internet these days, you decide to hire someone who can bring your business to the forefront from search engine wrangling, the services of an SEO expert. At this point, you will surely be faced with a dilemma, whether to outsource your SEO needs or establish a new segment within your company, or to go for an in-house SEO department. Such problem has been argued over and addressed by many experts either in the more ideal academic perspective or pragmatic business-management approach, each espousing outsourcing SEO needs is the better choice or otherwise. All technical arguments aside, experience has proved that outsourcing your SEO needs with a proven expert is the better choice.

Despite what almost everyone says, not just anyone can be an SEO expert. It is core competency and requires certain talent and skill, namely creativity, analysis, knowledge of the target market, to name a few. Granted, talent is innate; this does not mean someone whom you hire who has that as the in-house SEO ‘expert’ can produce the increased revenue your company desires. The above-mentioned skills are required and those can only be developed over time. If your company is embarking on that online campaign with the expectation of immediate results, you definitely do not have the time to wait for that newly hired talent to blossom into the SEO expert you require.

SEO firms, however, already have within their arsenal people who can be rightfully called SEO experts. These are people have both the talent and experience required by firms that rely on SEO to suit their business needs. Firms which offer SEO services to companies seeking to outsource their needs have made it their business to develop the people who possess the right skill set so that they may deliver definite results.

Most companies fail to comprehend the dent to their finances which could be caused by the establishment of an In House SEO. This is most unfortunate since most companies establish in house SEO segments precisely as a cost-cutting measure. The cost of hiring the services of a seasoned SEO firm could be ten times more than the cost of hiring a newbie as an in house SEO employee. It bears stressing, however, that quality SEO services can be done in a “one-time-big-time” fashion.

SEO expert comes in, does his work, and you have a site which ranks top in all search engines. Choosing the right SEO firm is, of course, an integral choice for your company so that you can be assured of the quality of the work. This is in stark contrast to hiring in house SEO employees, you have to spend time and money for training and not be assured of the quality of his work. It has already been stressed that not everyone can be an SEO expert. In any case, the costs of establishing an in house SEO segment are heavier for the company in the long run.

It is likewise prudent for companies to withhold disbelief when they choose to outsource their SEO needs. SEO is not some kind of magical pill which suddenly increases online revenues to 200%. Advocates for in-house SEO services attribute this to the fact outsourced services lack the personal understanding of both the company and its product hence the lack of stellar results. However, it is necessary to remember how SEO are supposed to help companies.

What SEO does is to put your company ahead of rivals if a potential customer searches for your product, it does not make him click the ‘buy’ button on your site. If after hiring the services of an SEO, the volume of online sales do not pick up, evaluate your product and site as a whole before you blame the poor SEO service provider. See if your site’s content is user and reader friendly and if your product is something a customer would actually want.

There are so many things proponents of in house SEO services can say to you, but in the end, you only need to ask yourself this “Does my company need to have specialized in SEO services?” Chances are your answer is in the negative. You’re selling products, not SEO services.

Moreover, having an in house SEO employee is not necessary as the work could be done in a one-time fashion and you’re not really assured of the quality of his work, unless you pirate an experienced SEO expert as a permanent employee which would then lead back to the argument that SEO work is primarily a one-time thing. Really, the better choice is to outsource your SEO needs, unless of course, you actually want to become an SEO firm.

Moe Tamani, 10 May 2008
 

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