To Outsource or not to Outsource? SEO and PPC Most Asked Question!

It’s a legitimate question and has always been. “Should I outsource my Internet Marketing or do it in house?”  In my career of almost 8 years, I’ve been asked this question many times.

Every owner, manager or decision maker wants to select the best solution for his business. However, sometimes that might not be an easy task. There are certain points that must be evaluated thoroughly before making a decision. Search Engine Optimization takes lots of time, effort and patience. I believe it’s in the best interest of companies to outsource online marketing to reliable firms with years of expertise. Here are some very logical reasons why;

1- SEO takes time and money especially if you are in a very competitive industry. (Real estate, mortgage, pharmaceutical just to name a few)
2- Hiring someone to do in-house SEO might take a long time. SEO is not a one man job in 90% of the cases. SEO that will yield results require a team of experts with focus on the many sub-specialties involved.
3- Outsourcing SEO or PPC Management to a proven marketing firm will enable your company and employees to benefit from many years of tried and true experience as well as being at the cutting edge of new marketing developments.
4- Internet marketing expertise is rarely found inside a company to begin with.  Finding one inside or outside the company is fraught with pitfalls and hurdles requiring a great deal of time and expense.
5- It’s just plain risky

So, if it’s so necessary to outsource online marketing, what do you look for in an Online Marketing Consultant?

1- Look for a minimum of 10+ years of staff experience.
2- Ask a lot of questions; get to know them and their best practices.
3- Ask for references; if they’re serious about what they do, they will give them to you. Ignore companies who seem hesitant to give you references.  One of the best references are the actual Google results; did they share high rankings for competitive keywords for sites they provide internet marketing for?
4- Ask about customer service and support. Make sure it’s a company you can call and reach.
5- Do not get stuck on rankings; Rankings bring you traffic but they do not bring you sales or conversions. Look for a company that emphasizes ROI and conversions.
6- Try to search for a pay-per-performance model; that means if you get results, they make more money and you both win.
7- Beware of packages; SEO cannot be packaged into number of links and directory submissions. It requires a lot more effort than that. Beware of packaged offers.
8- Beware of over-promises; SEO is not an overnight process. Beware of any company that promises you top 3 ranks in a certain period of time. Nobody that knows SEO can possibly promise or project that. Select a company that sets reasonable expectations.

Written By Duran Inci

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