| In-House vs. Outsourcing SEO |
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It’s the age-old problem of many businesses, now modernized for the cyber age – should a business take on the work or outsource to a pro? Our industry, once known only as search engine optimization (SEO) and now as search engine marketing (SEM), is no different. Google and Yahoo! Search Marketing seem to be the biggest winners, taking the vast majority of the $5.75 billion industry according to the State of Search Engine Marketing 2005 – an annual survey by the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization. Paid placement (also known as Pay-Per-Click) gets an amazing 83% of that industry total (with search media firms gobbling up an 89.2% share). So what’s left for SEO to accomplish and who should do the work? Of that $5.75 billion, only $642 million goes to SEO, and in-house optimization dominates in this area – 74.5% of SEO is conducted by actual employees of the web site being optimized. This means that outside search engine marketing agencies play a role only 25.5% of the time. From these figures, it may seem that in-house SEO is the way to go. The majority could be right or wrong. Perhaps companies have made the most out of existing resources. Maybe they’re just suspicious of SEO consultants. A C-level executive may rightly say, “This consultant succeeded with some other web sites, but will they have the same success with our business?” SEO firms may be better at what they do. A national study tells the story: In MarketingSherpa's 2nd Annual Search Marketing Survey (released in September 2005), traffic grew a great deal more after six months when an agency was involved: Agency optimized 110% increase In-house optimized 38% increase We believe those numbers reflect some of the issues we’ll highlight in this guide, including expertise, focus and priorities that can change in-house. Even though the SEO industry is more than a decade old, SEO firms sometimes have trouble proving that they’re the best option. Pricing, marketing and expertise may come into play. If they want to remain (or become) competitive, businesses may very well need to outsource SEO. And that makes sense, too. As SEO firms focus on getting traffic, companies can direct their resources to products, services, and marketing they understand, including the way visitors use their web sites. The Case for In-House SEO Time Companies can commit time to an SEO project, but they must make the most out of their choice. Time doesn’t only involve a part-time or full-time employee, but staff involved in marketing, sales, IT and other areas. Budget Companies have multiple options available to them, but it usually involves cutting into existing budgets to make SEO work. Or, profits can be allocated to an SEO initiative. Time and budget can be a powerful combination. Processes Successful businesses often establish consistent practices that allow them to provide customer value while evaluating an employee in each role. Practices also come in handy for training. Companies that establish and support good processes can leverage SEO as well, which requires extensive research, testing and documentation. It’s not too difficult to keep track of every effort and measure the progress. Expertise If an SEO firm can hire (or train) specialists, companies can too. But if a company doesn’t already have an expert in place, the training may be more difficult and take much longer. Hiring an SEO veteran may be the best option. Otherwise, a new person will need to absorb everything regarding SEO that they can get their hands on, from books to blogs, before developing the expertise and confidence to provide SEO services for the company. This experience isn’t limited to the main SEO professional. Any company can have other experts on hand, including those familiar with online and offline marketing strategies and web site development. Sometimes it’s “simply” a matter of adjusting job duties, including asking less experienced employees to absorb the non-strategic tasks of those moving more deeply into SEO. Teamwork In-house SEO requires a great deal of teamwork. Although conflicts between marketing and IT are not uncommon, individuals in these areas can get along. Political turf wars and agendas don’t need to stand in the way. As SEO specialists, if IT leaders and marketers work together, the program can succeed. It’s a matter of respecting backgrounds and sharing data, including a series of in-person meetings that take into account the health of the company, new products or services, and seasonal trends. The SEO specialist should be an outstanding communicator and confident about their own abilities and industry knowledge. Convincing others to get on board (and tapping into their time and resources) is the key. Tools Businesses can access the same tools as SEO firms. Besides books and industry newsletters, basic investments include a computer with Excel and other programs, web analytics, a keyword tracking subscription, and software for link building and rankings. Web Site Architectural Changes In-house SEO programs may require changes to the web site architecture. With enough explanation to all involved parties, a business may undertake minor or substantial changes to the web site to ensure that it can be indexed by search engines. ROI Companies are in an excellent position to cooperate with their SEO specialists in terms of the traffic and ROI. Web site design and content changes can take place on a regular basis as conversion opportunities are tested and refined. The data can be evaluated from many angles, including a focus on new sales and documentation about whether new customers originated from a natural search engine result. The Risk Factors If a business out-sources the SEO project, there are many potential risks. Many of these hazards can exist internally as well, but the company can take measures through research and policies to mitigate them. A consultant could come in and make changes that end up getting the web site penalized or banned if they create doorway pages, push for duplicate or hidden content, or acquire too many links in a short period of time (and possibly establish ties with link farms). Depending on the firm’s integrity, they may simply not be very good at SEO. Businesses can guard against this by examining SEO consultants from many angles, including how long they have been around, the size of their staff, their affiliations (like professional groups and the Better Business Bureau), client case studies and testimonials, and whether they are respected in the industry (articles and premier speaking engagements). Here are other questions to consider:
Time By having an SEO firm handle the work, a business can save time that it can apply to its core competencies. A company should be involved in the project, but it doesn’t need to focus on all of the analysis and implementation. Expertise If a business already has the best expert on staff, they don’t need to worry about outsourcing to get the experience they need. Many companies, however, don’t have the SEO knowledge on hand. Or, if they do, it’s fragmented among different staff members or of limited awareness. In other words, maybe a marketer or webmaster knows some aspects of SEO, but not all or enough. An SEO firm, equipped with a full range of programmers, writers, marketers and business strategists, can offer considerable insights. If a business needs to go to the trouble of training someone or a team, it will take even longer to gain high search engine visibility for competitive keywords. In fact, an SEO firm brings an enormous amount of perspective by being entrenched in the industry and by working with a wide array of clients. Budget It’s one of the biggest myths with the in-house/outsource debate. Yes, SEO can be expensive. It’s not uncommon for the monthly price to go anywhere from a few hundred dollars to more than $2,000. A qualified SEO professional could cost much more if brought in-house. Count on at least $50,000 per year depending on the part of the country where the business is located. And that’s just for some experience. Yes, you get more time from an in-house expert. Even if they charge a project fee, it still comes down to hours. You have to wonder what level of service you’re getting if someone only charges $30 an hour. Some firms essentially charge much more than $100 an hour. Given their perspective, however, SEO firms can make tactical decisions and accomplish a great deal for each client. They also aren’t just motivated by money. Legitimate SEO firms want to do right by clients aside from the numbers in the contract. As they succeed, they stand a better chance of learning from the experience, being able to tout a case study and gaining references. Focus One of the best reasons for outsourcing is to ensure focus. If a business is paying for a service, it should expect consistency, performance and deliverables. A good SEO consultant will stay on track. Companies, on the other hand, can shift priorities and attention in a flash. If they ask someone to handle the SEO, that person could be doomed for many reasons. For example, maybe they already have a full-time job and this is one more task than they can bear even if they have some interest or training. If their priorities change, and they’re told to concentrate on SEO, you have to wonder what’s not getting done. What is the “opportunity cost” of having them work on SEO to the best of their ability? Could their job be modified three months into a program? Will they be sidetracked with another “crisis of the moment” that will draw attention to their performance? Employees will favor the tasks that will help them keep their jobs or earn promotions – even if those don’t involve SEO. Impartiality Turf wars can instantly choke an internal SEO initiative. When a company makes a commitment to SEO, and it brings on a consulting firm, political battles may not disappear but could dissipate. An outsider comes in and makes a series of recommendations that need to be implemented if the business wants to work toward an ROI. A professional SEO firm will insist on a clear action plan with planned approval checkpoints. In a general sense, the marketing representatives won’t need to be burdened with the actual SEO and IT won’t need to make actual page changes that the SEO firm can handle with permission. Again, consultants should bring in a rich perspective. They’ve been busy working with many marketers, IT leaders, C-level executives and other stakeholders. Excellent SEO consultants won’t just know how to handle the technical aspects of the work—they’ll be excellent communicators who can gain the trust and support of clients. No Learning Curve SEO firms charge a lot of money because they offer professional services and have overhead to cover. They also charge for the value of their knowledge. In-house programs will suffer if they don’t have the eight people in place or if the employees that companies hire or promote can’t get everyone to work together and reach (or surpass) program goals. SEO consultants already know what it takes to succeed. On top of that, they’re continually keeping up with search engines and industry trends and standards. They’re familiar with the pros and cons of each topic because they’re active in forums, keep up with blogs and newsletters, attend conferences, read books, and tune into webinars. In other words, they live and breathe (and even dream) about SEO. It’s their passion. Fewer Hassles Conflicting perspectives can truly slow down an in-house project. SEO consultants are busy doing what they do best, but internal resources can get discouraged. If a full-time or part-time SEO specialists has a handle on his or her job, someone else in the company will begin to exert their “expertise” by talking about how to handle site maps, how and when to submit to search engines, how to get links (and how many). In-house SEO programs may have a tough time taking flight as the leadership struggles to define roles and responsibilities. Additionally, there will be certain issues about program performance and measurement. If a company identifies a new SEO expert, who will supervise this person and how will the company know whether they’re doing a good job in light of their training and the company’s sales and marketing objectives? SEO consultants can guide companies in effective ways to measure a program. Conclusion Businesses can succeed with in-house SEO if they have their team and processes in place. Otherwise, they may fail or lag behind. For the most vital keywords, a business should look at Google and other leading search engines and see who ranks well. Is the company in the top 3, top 5, or top 10? High rankings may suggest that other web sites are getting the web site traffic. How long will a company tolerate that before implementing SEO to reach its share of searchers? It’s worth noting that Fathom SEO in 2005 conducted two studies of health care companies and manufacturers (350 web sites each time) to see how they handle basic SEO (i.e. page titles and META descriptions). With the home page, for example, 75% of manufacturers and 72% of health care companies didn’t make effective use of their page titles. In other words, many businesses may not know what they’re doing, are content with their profitability or just don’t see the need to rank well. Ultimately, a company’s success in natural SEO depends on where its ability to develop or hire talent that follows best practices. Otherwise, if the business cares about losing web site traffic to competitors, outsourcing may be a good bet. Different plans and prices are available (and skill levels as well). |
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