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).
ElJay says
What is a reasonable amount to spend on SEO each month for a small business?
Alex says
ELJay it depends on the type of business and their online goals. If by small business you mean a company that needs to maintain an online presence both in social media and local search then $500 per month would be more than enough. The best way though is to contact an SEO firm and discuss with them your goals and get a custom proposal tailored to your requirements.
Contact me if you want to discuss this further.
Alex.
Aprajita Kohli says
Hiring a right seo outsourcing is really a daunting task. Make sure your outsourcer should be capable of managing your Social Media, PPC campaigns, email marketing etc.
Alex says
Aprajita hi
That’s true, social media, PPC and email marketing are a very important part of every SEO campaign and your SEO consultant should be able to manage them as well.
Thanks
Alex
RJ Tayaban | SmartOnlinePros says
It’s imperative that SEO companies explain to their clients that the results are not instant, especially when the client is in a competitive niche. It’s possible that after the first month, there will be minimal to no improvements in the search engine rankings. And even when the rankings have improved, the client needs to know that they will only feel the benefits of SEO when they’re ranked 1-3 of page one of the search result. More importantly, SEO companies should educate their clients to take SEO as a long-term and continuous online marketing strategy (not a quick-scheme over-night success).
Tony says
Finding the right SEO outsourcing company is very important for the overall success of any firm or individual if they want to sustain in market
Bailea MacMurdo says
I am a marketing undergrad working on a project for my Small Business Marketing class. For the project we are examining a small business and trying to make marketing recommendations, and my two biggest recommendations are to create a website and from there invest in SEO. I was wondering if you could give me an idea of cost for those two things? It is a business that provides printing and promotional items to other businesses in the area and there is currently NO online presence whatsoever.
Thank you in advance
Areeb says
What a fantastic article Alex the biggest problem in outsourcing SEO is finding a good firm. Each firm says they are good and most have testimonials.
To make it harder you could spend thousands and receive nothing for it and not know until months later speaking from experience.
Who do you guys recommend?
Alex says
Hi Areeb
Check out our services: https://www.reliablesoft.net/seo-packages/ . We always keep your promises 🙂
Thanks
Alex
Neha Rathi says
SEO is extremely crucial to get a successful outcome for your business. But let’s face it- it requires a lot of effort, it is a brain-wracking process and doing it for all your clients can take up more time than you can imagine. If you’re a small to medium-sized business think of how much time and resources you can save if you decide to outsource SEO projects while you work further on scaling your business. We are not saying this because it’s our industry; we are saying this because getting SEO services from experienced individuals can help you save more than just time and effort.
Steve Brodsky says
I mostly outsource small tasks for my seo campaigns via fiverr or seo clerk, these are beneficial.
-Steve