There are many ways to outsource SEO without spending too much money.
Many business owners believe hiring an SEO company is expensive, but this is far from the truth.
Any money spent on SEO and digital marketing should be considered an investment, and like any other investment, it should have a clear ROI.
You can outsource SEO and lose your money when you:
- Hire the wrong firm
- Set the wrong targets
- Don't have a clear vision of what you want to achieve online
You must have a solid SEO plan with specific targets to succeed with SEO.
Unlike any other outsourcing job, the outsourcer comes in, does the job, and then leaves.
If, on the other hand, you assign this project to a trustworthy SEO company and set clearly defined targets, then the advantages to your business are far more than the investment made.
Let’s see how to outsource your SEO to get your desired results below.
- Find a reliable SEO firm
- Look at the big picture and not just SEO
- Set measurable targets
- Agree on an action plan
- Monitor progress monthly
- Start with a low budget and expand based on ROI
- Try to build in-house SEO skills
1. Find a reliable SEO firm
The success of your SEO campaign depends on the outsourcer. If you make a good choice, you can most likely get good results.
If not, you will spend your money and lose faith in SEO, and depending on the methods used by the company or person you hired, you may also receive a penalty.
When choosing a company to outsource SEO, don’t always look for the cheapest solution.
Stay away from companies that sell link packages or promise first-page rankings.
Don’t believe everything they claim to be. Instead, ask for examples of their work and, most importantly, ask them to make a proposal tailored to your needs and requirements.
2. Look at the big picture and not just SEO
SEO is not just about SEO! I know it sounds weird, but when discussing outsourcing SEO, we essentially mean outsourcing your company’s Internet presence.
This means the services you will get should be over and above search engine optimization. SEO is only a part of what you can do in a proper Internet Marketing campaign.
Your outsourcer should be capable of managing your Social Media, PPC campaigns, email marketing, etc., and making recommendations on how all these technologies can help your business grow.
These actions will give you a good ROI from outsourcing SEO, not just buying cheap, spammy links.
3. Set measurable targets
Before signing a contract or paying any money, you must agree with the company executing the project for the deliverables.
What are the deliverables at the end of the project? A report with a list of actions, higher Google rankings, more traffic, and more Facebook followers?
Do not set non-measurable targets, and do not agree on general terms. The good thing about the Internet is that everything is measurable, so that an SEO project can have precise and measurable targets.
4. Agree on an action plan
A good SEO campaign may last several months; it is not a one-week or one-month process.
So, based on the duration, there has to be a detailed plan with milestones and intermediate targets. What actions will be executed monthly, and what is the expected result?
A good way to know exactly what actions are needed is to ask the company to do an SEO audit of your website before starting the project.
You will have to pay a reasonable one-time fee for this, but an audit's outcome is a list of actions that can be translated into a project plan.
5. Monitor progress every month
Monitoring an SEO campaign is important, just like any other project.
You don’t want to keep paying money when there are no measurable results, and you don’t want to pay for more months needed to complete the project.
The best and easiest way to monitor your SEO outsourcer is to ask them for detailed monthly reporting.
The report should specify the exact actions taken during the month and the improvement in traffic, social media, user engagement, etc.
6. Start with a low budget and expand based on ROI
When you decide to outsource a task, you usually have a predefined budget.
When outsourcing SEO work, it is important to know that good results may take several months and sometimes even a couple of years to achieve.
So, if your business depends on the Internet, you should lower your monthly budget and spread it over several months.
For example, if your budget is $10,000, you can agree to spend $500 per month for 20 months rather than $2,000 for 5 months.
This of course depends on other factors as well, that’s why you need to discuss this in detail with the SEO firm before signing your contract.
7. Try to build in-house SEO skills
Some SEO tasks need expertise and knowledge, while non-SEO people can also execute others.
Depending on your staff's availability and your budget for outsourcing SEO, you can choose to build some in-house skills for the soft tasks and spend your outsourcing money on the tasks that need the attention of a professional SEO expert.
The best approach is to discuss this with your SEO expert or company. They should be able to identify which tasks can be done in-house and provide the necessary training (which should be part of your contract).
