Sometimes, it’s good to have help. When it comes to SEO, it’s a process that requires attention to detail and knowledge of the industry. A lot of it you can pick up as you go, but in many cases, it will prove to be more beneficial for you to consider an SEO partner to assist you along the way. SEO is critical to the success of any business online today and doing it right can be a true “make or break it” moment for many.
There are several things to consider when you’re trying to decide between DIY SEO and hiring a professional SEO management team. In this guide, we’ll walk you through all of the different factors and considerations that should be on your mind. You’ll learn about the risks associated with doing your own optimization, the different types of companies that can assist you along the way, and the benefits of working with them as opposed to going it alone.
By the time you’re finished, you should have a much better understanding of the search engine optimization process. You will also have a host of reasons that working with a professional SEO partner is almost always the best choice, regardless of your business type or industry.
Trying to do SEO yourself can be difficult
A lot of people consider DIY SEO solutions. This may be one option for handling things, but it certainly isn’t always the best idea. Some parts of optimization aren’t difficult. In fact, most parts aren’t that difficult. There are even several resources online that claim to offer guides, tips, and the best tutorials on how to succeed with SEO, but that isn’t always going to help. There are several factors to consider here.
First of all, you’re not an SEO expert. You don’t know the process inside and out and you may not be familiar with all of the best practices. These guides and resources make it sound like SEO can be tackled by anyone, and while it probably can, professionals exist for a reason. Not only that, but you have a business to run and other things that need your attention. When you take the hassle out of SEO by handing it to someone else, you’ll be able to dedicate your focus where it needs to be.
Keep reading to learn more about the pitfalls of DIY search engine optimization, and why you should always consider working with a professional SEO partner, no matter what business or industry you are in.
5 risks you run into with DIY SEO
As we mentioned, DIY SEO is complicated and sometimes too much for one person to handle. While it could go fairly well, it could also become a huge hassle or get done incorrectly even with your best intentions in mind.
If you’re still on the fence about who should be doing your SEO, here are five big risks to keep in mind that come with DIY SEO campaigns.
- Missing Components
Even the pros have oversights here and there. The process of optimizing a website for search rankings takes time and effort. There are a lot of different components to optimize, both on the website and in off-page content across the web.
If you aren’t familiar with the SEO process or you don’t know where to find all of the components that need to be updated and optimized, you might miss out on some valuable assets. Things like image tags, title tags, headers, and other details all need SEO just as much as the general page content.
2. Bad or Incorrect Keywords
Although keywords aren’t the only part of SEO, they’re certainly the most important. If you attempt to do this process on your own, you run the risk of choosing keywords poorly or using the wrong keywords for your specific business or industry.
Keyword research is tricky and even though the pros make it look like a breeze, it’s something that takes a lot of time and dedication. Some people will implement keywords and test them, only to find out they’re not the best choice. This is much less likely to be an issue when you work with professionals.
3. Penalties from Google
Most people assume that doing SEO incorrectly or poorly will simply mean that they have lower rankings or they just don’t perform as well as other brands. However, that’s actually the best-case scenario. The search engine optimization process is a tricky one that requires attention to detail and a thorough understanding of the rules. If you do things wrong, you could end up getting penalized or even blacklisted by Google, which can kill your online presence completely.
4. Missing Valuable Steps or Processes
SEO is a process. If you do a simple search, you’ll find dozens of guides, how-to’s, and other resources claiming to have the best tips and resources to help you build an effective SEO campaign all by yourself.
Many decry the use of professionals because “anyone can do SEO”, but that doesn’t mean everyone should. When you do SEO on your own, you might not be aware that you’re missing important steps in the process that could be affecting how well your campaigns turn out.
5. Lower Rankings
If you’re not first, you’re not the best. If you aren’t the best, you might as well be the worst when it comes to search rankings. An impressive 60-80% of all click throughs and traffic go to the first three search results. Therefore, if your campaigns aren’t perfectly on point, you aren’t going to get all the traffic that you could.
You want to improve your rankings, but how much and how do you go about it? Without a professional SEO consultant on your side, organic search ranking improvements can be almost impossible.
What do you get with an SEO partner?
When you hire a professional SEO partner or team to help you optimize your website, you get a number of different benefits.
First and foremost, you get the professional expertise of people who have been working with the optimization process for years and who understand the ways of Google. You get a dedicated individual or team that will handle all of your SEO needs, no matter what business or industry you are in.
Some other perks include:
- Help you achieve your business goals and optimize your online presence. SEO partners can assist in implementing your campaigns and monitoring them for success. These teams use a variety of techniques to make sure that your online presence is visible and optimized for the best chances of success.
- An SEO partner will help with research and analytics that will help you implement more effective campaigns and monitor the campaigns that you do implement to see how effective they are. Plus, the pros know all about analytics and monitoring, so you won’t have to worry about figuring it out on your own.
- Get back to focusing on your business. Just as people use your business for a specific product or service, professional SEO services have their place and are designed to make every company’s life easier when it comes to online branding and optimization efforts.
- Help with everything else. When you choose a reputable marketing team, they will make sure that your website and off-page content is fully-optimized and ready for launch in order to increase your search rankings. However, they can also assist with other marketing efforts, such as content marketing, a website makeover, and more.
Of course, the list of perks that come from working with an SEO partner could go on for days. The most important thing to keep in mind is that these services do offer the solutions that you need and they are designed to make your life easier. You should take advantage of that.
Up next, we’ll discuss one of the biggest reasons you need professional SEO: more traffic.
It’s always about maximizing traffic.
How SEO partners can increase your web traffic
Website traffic is the key to sales. If people aren’t getting to your site, they’re not going to be able to find your products or services. SEO is what helps people find your website or your business in other online spaces.
It’s going to make sure that every single place where you have an online presence is optimized and designed to get the attention of both the search engines and the consumer. That is, of course, if it’s done correctly.
Although you will have your own specific business goals and your SEO partner will also work with those, they will primarily focus on the single-biggest goal of SEO: increasing website traffic.
They will know exactly what to optimize, how to do it best, and what practices are going to get the type of attention that you want. They will perform keyword research and choose the best keywords for your niche, and then incorporate them into your content.
SEO services will do everything in their power to make sure that your brand is ranked as high as possible in search engines. They will check all of your online listings, social media accounts, and other off-page elements in addition to optimizing and improving your website for the purpose of better rankings. Plus, they’ll take care of it all and you won’t have to worry about whether they are missing anything like you would if you were taking on SEO by yourself.
There are more than 65,000 searches performed on Google every single second. That’s a lot of potential traffic. When you work with a professional SEO partner, you can trust that you are getting the attention of as many of those searches as possible.
An SEO partner will know the value of taking on all aspects of your strategy:
- Website Mechanics
- Domain Authority and Brand Reputation
- Keywords and Local SEO
If you are new to the world of online marketing, you might not have much of a reputation or sense of authority about your brand. That is just as important as having the right keywords in place, but you might not realize it if you’re trying to do SEO alone.
Fortunately, when you work with the pros, you get the benefit of increased website traffic and better leads because they will cover all of the areas mentioned above in the optimization process.
Of course, there are different types of SEO partners that might provide different services and perks. You can read more about those next.
Different types of SEO partners, explained
SEO companies and partners come in all shapes and sizes. You will need to consider the options and see what is going to be ideal for your needs. Below, we’ll discuss the three major options that you have for hiring an SEO partner, including the pros and cons of each, to help you see who’s going to be right for the job. Although every brand has different needs, each of these solutions has something to offer.
Boutique SEO Agencies
By far, one of the best choices for search engine optimization is to hire a boutique marketing or SEO firm. These smaller companies have a more dedicated focus and will be able to give you the attention that you deserve. They often limit the number of clients they take on at any given time to allow them to focus their efforts fully on each campaign that they take on. These firms come in all shapes and sizes, but their biggest selling point will be that you’re not just another number on their to-do list.
Boutique SEO services also make it easier for you to establish that personal connection and get the dedicated resources that you need. You will be able to have more input and help the agency get your online presence optimized, and you will be able to trust that they have your best interests in mind at all times.
Large SEO Agencies
Although they’re less desirable, there are larger SEO companies out there that claim to have some of the best practices in place. These large companies might be better suited for enterprise brands or those who have a bigger online presence to cover.
There isn’t anything wrong with choosing a larger SEO agency, but you’ll have to remember that you just might not get that dedicated attention like you would with a boutique agency.
Some people like working with larger companies that are more notable for their existence online, which makes sense since the big focus on SEO is all about visibility and being found.
Large SEO agencies are out there, but they probably shouldn’t be your first choice. You may get a lot of assistance and helpful resources in the optimization process, but a lot of times you’ll also get an impersonal, hands-off approach that doesn’t feel as helpful as what you might get from a boutique company.
Individual SEO Consultants
Finally, we have the individual SEO consultant. This professional can be a value-added asset for those who just need some advice on SEO, but it is rare that you are going to find an individual that can handle the entire optimization process as well as an agency would.
Agencies have teams that can implement strategies and cover things from a wider angle than a single person might. Plus, while you can typically do a lot of vetting when you hire an SEO agency, you might not have the same opportunity with an individual.
Essentially, there’s nothing wrong with a single SEO consultant on your side, but it isn’t giving you the best options or chances of success. If you do hire an individual, make sure that they’re going to do just as much as an agency would, or more, to improve your SEO and increase your online presence.
Choosing the right type of SEO partner is almost as important as choosing to work with them in the first place. In fact, who you choose to help you optimize could make or break your campaign.
Take the time to weigh the pros and cons, see what’s out there, and find what works best for you. Although all of the options are sufficient, the boutique SEO treatment is definitely the best choice for many.
Does an SEO partner work with every kind of business?
There are just as many types of SEO services out there as there are companies that need them. Some SEO agencies will work with any brand or type of business, so long as they need search engine optimization assistance. However, there are also some industry-specific partners and some larger SEO firms that will only work with enterprise clients.
When you are searching for your partnership, you’ll want to check out their success with businesses in the same industry or those that are in similar fields. After all, SEO is different for every business and you need to work with a partner that understands your unique situation and can help you set up an effective strategy that suits your unique needs.
Usually, you will have no trouble figuring out which SEO partners are going to be best for your needs, but you do have to remember that they aren’t all created equally.
In order to help you weed through the details and narrow things down without worrying about agency size or type, we’ll give you three great options for SEO partners that you can work with below.
Now that you know a little more about the benefits of choosing a partner and how to find the right one, it should be easy for you to see how any of these three solutions could be right for your needs.
3 quality SEO partners you can work with now
It’s time to get started on your SEO. With the help of professionals, you can be on the fast track to increased rankings in no time at all. When you are searching for the best SEO solutions, consider the top partners listed below:
Ranq
Ranq has been involved in the SEO industry for a number of years. The company was founded to fill the need for smaller, skilled teams that can handle SEO better and with more agility than big SEO corporations and firms.
Ranq offers a hands-on approach to boutique SEO and only serves a few clients at a time to ensure that they give each campaign the full attention that it deserves. You can learn more about their services and get your consultation by visiting their website.
WebFX
This is a larger SEO firm, but it’s one of the biggest names on the web. When you search for any information about SEO and optimizing content, they almost always have a result in the first five rankings. This alone should show you how capable they are of succeeding at SEO campaigns.
Of course, they are lacking the personal touch of companies like Ranq, but for those who want something different, it may be worth a look. Check out their services here: https://www.webfx.com/seo-agency.html
Ignite Visibility
Another larger agency, Ignite has been named a leading search engine marketing company by Clutch. They provide custom SEO services and offer a better employee-to-client ratio than enterprise-level companies, but still have a bigger operation than the typical boutique agency.
The company claims that its teams include a dedicated specialist to assist with implementation, monitoring, and more. Ask about their services and see what they offer on their website.
Resources
https://www.webfx.com/internet-marketing/benefits-hiring-SEO-company.html
https://www.seotuners.com/4-key-benefits-of-hiring-seo-services.html
https://upcity.com/blog/5-common-types-seo-services-small-businesses/
https://www.brownboxbranding.com/leave-your-seo-to-the-pros-3-reasons-you-cant-diy-seo/
https://www.boostability.com/how-seo-partnerships-increase-your-web-traffic/