SEO In-House vs Outsourcing: Which is Right for You?

If you want something done right, you must do it yourself, right? Well, that might not be as certain when it comes to SEO. Keep reading, and you’ll find out exactly why.

SEO In-House vs Outsourcing: An Overview

Simply speaking, SEO in-house refers to when a business takes its marketing efforts internally. They will hire a team of staff to help them with their SEO skills and knowledge, effectively becoming specialists in your brand, business and SEO.

On the other hand, outsourcing is when a business hires an SEO agency or specialist agency externally. The agency will work either as an external SEO team or an extension of its existing SEO team. Check out our blog all about how to choose the right SEO agency for your company.

There are benefits to both in-house and outsourced SEO, so let’s get into it and explain both in more detail!

What is SEO In-House?

As mentioned previously, in-house SEO is when a business or organisation hires internal staff to manage and improve its businesses’ search engine optimisation. There is no one size fits all approach to in-house marketing; it especially depends on the size of the company, how many people are hired, and what level of experience they want.

It all depends on the size of investment the business wants to make and the shape and size of its in-house team. You could have a head of SEO, an entire team of SEO specialists or even one in-house team member who wears more than one hat, one of which could be SEO.

What is Outsourced SEO?

Outsourced SEO doesn’t just come in the form of specialist SEO firms. It can be from a digital marketing consultant, freelancer or agency. One thing will remain the same; all outsourced SEO should involve support and management of a business’s search engine optimisation.

In this way, a company is hiring true SEO specialists (well, that does depend on who you hire)  with a proven track record and the capability to work quickly and effectively.

Suppose you hire an SEO agency; you could have one dedicated SEO expert or a team of specialists who cover a few aspects of your search engine optimisation. A freelancer should cover all bases, and a consultant will provide specialist advice for your search engine optimisation.

But, again, one thing remains the same, no matter how you outsource your SEO, you should receive guidance, knowledge and expertise in a comprehensive and results-driven SEO strategy.

If you’re looking for a more in-depth explanation than this, check out our ‘Why Hire An SEO Agency’ ultimate guide and download your copy.

Which is Right for You?

So, what we’ve done here is split what we’ve found to be the most common pain points or decision makers for businesses making the decision between SEO in-house vs outsourcing.

We’ll cover the advantages and disadvantages of both SEO in-house and outsourced SEO, so you can choose which is right for you.

Budget

This is often the primary factor, money is tight at the moment, and all businesses will be looking for an opportunity to save money. The common misconception is that outsourcing is much more expensive when compared to in-house.

When you truly consider the cost of recruiting even one new staff member, it’s clear to many companies that outsourcing is often a large upfront investment for much longer-term gain. You must consider that a new staff member will have a monthly wage, benefits, holidays, illness, training etc, whereas great outsourced SEO should be a continuous process at one flat fee. Yes, costs could increase over time.

Knowledge

This is often a common debate. Is it better to have a member of staff who knows everything about your business but very little about SEO or outsource your SEO to specialists who know very little about your business?

Well, what do you want from your SEO efforts? And which to you is more important?  Both in-house and outsourced SEO teams or specialists will eventually have a good understanding of both in time, but at the beginning of your search engine optimisation strategy, which, to you, is more important?

Reliability

When talking about reliability, we also mean responsiveness, timeliness and, to an extent, loyalty. At times, I’m sure it doesn’t always seem like it would be beneficial to have outsourced SEO in an emergency; they’re not immediately in front of you, and at times, they could take time to respond.

In-house team members are all hands on deck; they should be much more responsive and available when you need them. Outsourced SEO teams or specialists have other responsibilities and can be less responsive.

We understand that in-house and outsourced teams rely on your business to pay their wages. So while you would be a client to an outsourced SEO team client, you would also be an employer to an in-house team. Ultimately, it’s your choice to pick the one that best suits both yourself and your business.

Results

Outsourced and in-house SEO efforts need to produce results; outsourced SEO needs to prove their value to clients, and an in-house team needs to perform as part of their employment.

Where they differ, however, is the ability to get results quickly. In-house teams need time to settle into work and show they have the necessary skills and knowledge to access and work on SEO. It will often take them longer to get started and see tangible results.

On the other hand, outsourced resources will be ready at the project start date. Real results and evidence will come quicker with outsourced SEO. For a better idea of what an SEO company does daily, check out our post: ‘Why does an SEO Agency Do?’.

We hope this helped; we understand it’s a lot to think about and an even bigger decision for all businesses, so if we have helped, we’re glad to have had an impact.

If you’re already leaning towards hiring an SEO agency, look no further than ROAR. We’re a genuine SEO specialist agency with a team of dedicated marketers who love SEO!

Are you curious about how our SEO management services or want to know how we can make them work for you? Then don’t be shy.

We look forward to hearing from you.