The Pros And Cons Of Doing SEO Yourself Vs Using An SEO Agency
For any website to rank well on search engines and thus benefit from the organic traffic that this generates, search engine optimisation (SEO) is essential. Of that fact, most business and website owners are aware. However, what many of them are not so sure of is how they ensure that the necessary SEO is achieved. More specifically, they may have a dilemma in deciding who will carry out the SEO.
Whilst they have several choices, the two main ones which they are likely to be considering are doing the SEO themselves, or hiring an SEO agency to do it. Both of these options have their respective pros and cons, so let us look at them all in the hope that this may help you make this decision if it is one you are currently in the process of weighing up.
Pros Of Doing SEO Yourself
- Cost Savings: One of the most significant advantages of doing SEO yourself is it will cost you less. By handling SEO on your own, you avoid the cost of hiring an SEO agency or consultant, however, you might wish to consider the opportunity cost of you spending your time on SEO rather than you focusing on other elements of running your business.
- Control: If you do the SEO yourself, control over the process is entirely in your hands, therefore, you can make whatever changes you wish to your website at any time and without delay. This can be especially important if you own a small business that needs you to make quick adjustments to its website in response to changes in the market.
- Learning Experience: Doing SEO yourself can be a valuable learning experience, helping you develop new skills and knowledge that you can use to improve your website and your business. Bear in mind, SEO is constantly changing due to updates from Google and other search engines, so be prepared to continually update your knowledge.
Cons Of Doing SEO Yourself
- Lack of Knowledge/Expertise: SEO is a complex and constantly evolving field and without the necessary knowledge and expertise, you may not be able to effectively optimize your website. This can mean your rankings are compromised due to not all necessary SEO being in place.
- Time-Consuming: SEO is undoubtedly time-consuming, and whilst some tasks are one-time only, many others require constant attention and further optimisation. For many busy business owners, finding the time to manage SEO on their websites can be a significant challenge.
- Risk of Errors: SEO is a process that requires significant attention to detail. Just one wrong line of code or a single erroneous metadata entry can be enough to confuse the search engines and, in turn, compromise your rankings.
Pros Of Using An SEO Agency
- Expertise/Experience: SEO agencies have personnel with proven expertise and experience to effectively carry out all the SEO tasks that can improve your website’s rankings. More to the point, they will be completely up to date with all the changes that occur so that they are adhering to the latest SEO trends and best practices.
- Time Savings: By using an SEO agency, you free up your time to focus on the aspects of your business which most require your time, input, and action. This means whilst the SEO is being implemented, other elements of your business are not being hindered or compromised.
- Access To Tools And Resources: This is a huge advantage of using an SEO agency over trying to do it yourself. The SEO agency will know exactly what tools and resources are required, and better still, they are likely to already have them and thus know the best ways to utilise them to boost your SEO.
Cons Of Using An SEO Agency
- Finding The Right One: Before you can hire an SEO agency, you must find one and, for many business owners, this can prove to be a troublesome and time-consuming task, mainly because they go about the search in the wrong way. Your search should include seeking referrals, searching online, checking reviews/testimonials, and then speaking directly with the SEO agency to ascertain their credentials, track record, and suitability.
- Cost: There is no denying that using an SEO agency is going to require you to pay a fee and thus make it more expensive than you doing it all yourself. You may also have ongoing fees to keep your website optimised in the months and years that follow. This might be countered by considering the increased revenue that should arise from your website having more traffic due to its higher rankings.
Ultimately, the decision is yours as to whether you go down the DIY route for your SEO, or hire an SEO agency. Our final advice is to consider that, in most scenarios, the best results are achieved by employing the experts, rather than doing it yourself. For example, if you need your car serviced you take it to a car mechanic, and if your dog has an illness, you take it to the vet.
In this case, it is the well-being of your website and more crucially, your business we are talking about here, so surely hiring experts in the form of an SEO agency is the sensible choice.
