We understand. You want total control over everything. After all, it’s your company and your brand. Probably even your bread and butter. It’s wise to have someone available to you with just a holler.
But, at what cost?
SEO and its end result SERP have taken the form of a rat race today. Everyone is just rushing towards that first rank and doing everything they can to get there. So, how to get there faster?
Well, there are two ways – hiring a bunch of people on your own and hoping to God that they deliver. Or, you can outsource the most daunting task of digital marketing and be sure that a whole crowd is working towards getting you that massive organic search traffic.
No matter if you choose an agency like MintTwist or go for an in-house setup, the control at the end shall always be yours, because you know your brand identity the best, the only thing that varies is how often you check the ongoing processes.
Here are some tactics to support your step in the right direction.
Create a List of the Services You Require
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14.6% of SEO-generated leads go for conversion, while only 1.7% of them are converted via traditional marketing. Hence, choosing your battles is very important. With SEO being a multi-faceted approach, you can start building a list of spaces that you’ll need to work upon.
This may include keyword generation and research, technical SEO, on-page and off-page optimisation, site structure, web responsiveness, and much more. By understanding the ambit you’d like to cover, you’ll get a comprehensive idea of all the services that you might need in the long run. Depending on this information, you can choose a set of people who deliver on these standards.
Compare the Costs
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If you’re already spending hundreds of thousands on payroll and still not getting the desired results, then it’s just money sent down a drain. Now that you have a set of necessities figure out the costs of hiring someone to fulfil those.
Breakdown the charges to see what the strategy and execution can cost as you go forward. Independent agencies usually charge on a monthly retainer or an hourly basis, which is much less against someone who is constantly in your office. Plus, consider the opportunity costs of hiring a permanent employee versus a professional. Expansion plans should also be put in perspective as you’ll need a bigger workforce with a bigger company. Scaling within an agency, on the other hand, is not be your cup of tea.
Establish a Research Criteria
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As it goes with any kind of hiring, you’ll need to very specific about your expectations and the key performance indicators for both an SEO Manager and an agency. No matter if your goals are to increase website engagement or build online authority, stack the services you’ll need against the skills offered to get the full picture.
- Ask for a portfolio that enumerates the past experiences and projects that have been worked upon.
- Check the success rates of their earlier campaigns and see the organic results achieved
- Understand how they measure the variables and what is the scale defined for your targets
- Ensure they are well-versed with your industry to know the latest updates
- Alignment of brand identity is crucial as they shall be delivering your message to the consumers
- Speak to past employers or clients to know the culture and reliability
- Test them out if necessary with closed parameters and expected outcomes
Once all your prerequisites are satisfied, figure out if the two of you are a good fit and get the ball rolling.
Know What to Avoid
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There are a load of self-proclaimed “experts” who assert they can get your SEO on track but, apply only a handful of techniques to get through. Hence, you must know how to identify a trustworthy source.
- Steer clear of any person who gives you only a few statistics and hides behind them to prove his or her expertise. Ask for work done within your field or use social media handles to get in touch with past clients to have a better understanding.
- Anyone who promises you the 1st rank on the search engines right away is most probably lying their way into the job. Irrelevant of how efficient your tools or techniques are, there are no guarantees in SEO.
- Black Hat SEO is a strict no-no. While these methods might get you through the crowd, to begin with, they are most likely to be caught by the algorithms in the long run. In which case, you shall be penalised heavily.
Why Outsourcing Your SEO is a Great Plan?
- Outsourcing is much more cost-efficient in comparison to hiring full-time employees. The ROI, in most cases, is better too.
- SEO Professionals are well-equipped with all the updated tools, tasks and trends that the marketing channels need. The troubles of subscribing to different plans are taken away.
- Outsourced Agencies scout the best talent for every aspect of your SEO models and apply focussed expertise in bringing it all together.
- You can gain a fresh perspective from someone who is outside the organisation. A bird-eye view always helps in finding strategy gaps.
- Upon outsourcing, you don’t have to continually monitor the work and ensure it’s getting done. Agencies and professionals go through the process and come back to you with the results.
In summary, outsourcing your SEO tasks can not only be beneficial to your marketing efforts but also bring out better efficiency in other departments. The residual budget and time that you save can be used to amplify your efforts in production, customer service or other outlets of marketing.
All you must do is find a professional who resonates with your ideas and has the grit to bring them to life.
