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13.09.2022

Should I Hire an SEO Consultant or Use an Agency?

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Alastair Kane, Alastair Kane Search Marketing Internet Marketing Consultant

Should I Hire an SEO Consultant or Use an Agency?

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SEO is a key demand generation channel for many businesses. It is far more complex than simply optimising web pages and ranking for keywords. 


The goal of an effective SEO strategy should be aimed at getting the business under the prospects' radar whether they are on Search or visiting a website on the wider web.


For businesses looking to hire an expert to lead an SEO strategy, there are two options - an SEO Consultant or an SEO/Full Service Marketing Agency.


In this post I will provide a balanced view of both choices. The key thing to consider are the specific needs of the business.


Benefits of an SEO Consultant

  1. Consultants charge less. Consultants simply don’t have the overheads that agencies do. They tend to work from home so have no office rental to consider. They also don’t need to pay for employee benefits and perks.
  2. Consultants are experts. Generally SEO Consultants have worked at agencies before making the decision to go it alone. I was Head of Search at a B2B Marketing Agency in my previous working role, which gave me a wealth of experience.
  3.  Consultants give a more personalised service. As a general rule, you have a better chance of building long term business partnerships with consultants, compared to when working with an Agency team.

SEO Consultant Disadvantages 

  1. The main disadvantage that an SEO Consultant has compared with an Agency is they are, by definition, one person. This may not suit some businesses, depending on what their marketing goals are.
  2. An SEO Consultant is an expert in SEO and may have limited knowledge of other skill sets required by the client e.g. content writing, web development etc. However, many Consultants overcome this challenge by building relationships with freelancers that can take care of any additional work needed as it crops up.


Benefits of an SEO Agency

  1. Expanding on the previous point above, with an SEO Agency, you get access to a team, rather than one individual. The client will therefore be able to request additional services eg web design from the in-house team.
  2. Having access to a team will also mean that the SEO strategy can be scaled faster. 


SEO Agency Disadvantages

  1. Having access to an Agency’s team will obviously come at a cost in the form of expensive monthly retainers. This is one of the main drawbacks of hiring an Agency - you’re paying for a team but how frequently will the business need the entire team?
  2. With an Agency, you don’t really know who is actually doing the work. It is unlikely that the expert who was present during the pitch will be the one involved in the day to day tasks.
  3. Agencies (like many businesses) can be negatively impacted by employee turnover. This means new relationships need to be built when this happens. As consultants are individuals, a true business partnership can be forged.

When hiring in SEO talent, it is important to consider the needs of the business. If you foresee the need to scale quickly and require other marketing skills such as copywriting, web design etc, an agency would be the better choice.

On the other hand, an SEO Consultant is the perfect choice when the business already has other marketing skills in-house and is looking to form a partnership with an expert to spearhead the SEO strategy.

Message me if you'd like to set up a free SEO Consultation to discuss the needs of your business.

  • seo
  • Seo consultant
  • freelance seo
  • seo agency
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Alastair Kane Alastair Kane Search Marketing Internet Marketing Consultant

I am an experienced Search Marketing Consultant.

I specialise in B2B SEO, helping businesses drive growth and revenue through organic search.
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