Over the years, mobile search has increased annually.
Just look at the following categories involving the growth of mobile search trends:
- Auto – 30%
- Apparel – 40%
- Home and garden – 45%
- Consumer electronics – 40%
- Beauty and personal care – 30%
- Media and entertainment – 20%
- Travel – 25%
- Food and beverage – 30%
- Finance – 35%
You may find that one of these categories are within your industry.
Which goes to show how you could possibly benefit from mobile search and SEO overall.
And if you don’t really quite understand, you can always go with expert SEO services.
Meanwhile, continue reading to learn whether you should go with a freelancer or an agency for your expert SEO services.
Why In-House SEO Team is Out of the Question
Some businesses – typically those of a larger size – consider hiring their very own in-house search engine optimization team.
While this may seem like a great idea, you’ll quickly learn it’s a waste of money, time and resources.
Although SEO takes a lot of work, it doesn’t really require you to pay someone 40 hours per week.
Of course, doing so could come with certain benefits, but the cons tend to outweigh the pros.
Like for instance, a return on investment is barely witnessed when you have in-house expert SEO services.
Simply put, it’s just not cost-effective.
So wouldn’t it make more sense to hire a freelancer or agency that delivers results?
And if they don’t, you can easily retire them for other expert SEO services.
Outsourcing to an SEO Agency
An SEO agency is a company with dedicated marketing experts.
They spend all of their time doing what they do best – optimizing the sites and content of their clients.
When you have an in-house team of SEO experts, they are more than likely going to be delegated with other irrelevant tasks, such as answering emails, making calls and so on.
This takes away from what they should be doing.
But when you outsource to a team at an agency, you don’t have to worry about this.
There’s always someone working on your search engine optimization strategy.
And that’s where the results pour in.
But agencies aren’t the only expert SEO services out there.
Outsourcing to an SEO Freelancer or Consultant
Now, the number one difference between an SEO freelancer and an agency is that you are working one-on-one with a professional versus a team.
With an agency, there’s no particular person working on your account.
So one day you may speak to Bob, then Dave the next day.
For some business owners, this can be problematic, especially when there are issues or concerns to iron out in the strategy.
Constantly repeating yourself because the last guy is working elsewhere or not it can become irritating.
That’s what makes SEO consultants attractive, especially to small business owners.
With these guys (or gals), you are working closely together on your optimization strategy.
So you get to know the freelancer quite well, and in most cases, they are more affordable than going with an agency.
Compared to an agency, freelancers and consultants handle fewer accounts, so they’re not as busy or distracted.
This can mean better quality for your campaigns. But this all comes down to the quality of their expert SEO services.
And what’s even better is that there are no contracts, so you can hire them on an as-needed basis or month-to-month.
So What Are the Pros of Hiring Freelance Expert SEO Services?
As a business owner, you know how important it is to thoroughly analyze a solution before using it.
So let’s review what it’s like having an SEO freelancer on your squad:
Those with websites containing less than a hundred pages will find SEO consultants effective.
When you have questions or need changes done to your site quickly, you can easily get in touch with the freelancer.
Your work is rarely outsourced to other professionals, which is always a good thing.
With a freelancer, you get the opportunity to pay a one-time fee.
A consultant can be used to review the work of an SEO agency (you know, to keep them in check).
When issues are identified by an SEO consultant, they tell you right away and can then be hired to fix it.
There’s no long-term contract to deal with like with SEO agencies.
The cost is much lower than going with an SEO agency.
Freelancers typically have a specific skill you need (SEO, social media, etc)
Freelancers are just way more flexible than your average agency
What Are the Negatives of Working with SEO Freelancers?
As always, there are cons that come along with the decisions you make.
So if you decide to work with an SEO consultant, you may have to put up with the following:
Limited range of skills and knowledge, since they are typically experts in key areas of SEO and website marketing.
The one-time fee you’re charged may be higher than you’d pay with an agency.
If this turns you off with the freelancers, then maybe you’d prefer to hire expert SEO services from an agency.
Where to Find Quality SEO Freelancers
Now, the SEO freelancer you hire will determine how great of a service you’ll receive.
So as always, you want to do your due diligence.
For starters, if you can find the freelancer on Google or social media, that’s a great sign they know what they’re doing.
Let’s review some of the best places to begin your search for a quality SEO freelancer.
Browse On Social Media
There are various platforms you can use to find a freelancer.
A great place to start is on LinkedIn.
You can also use Facebook and Google+ business pages to post your project and let them come to you.
Scour the Job Boards
You have quite a few options here – Craigslist, Upwork and Freelancer are exceptional places to look.
This is also ideal if you’re working with a limited marketing budget.
But remember, you get what you pay for, so don’t skimp out too much.
Then if you haven’t already tried, you can post a wanted ad on Smashing Magazine, Problogger and Inbound.org.
Read through Blogs and Online Publications
Guest blogging and personal blogs are big among SEO freelancers.
So you can typically find posts written by them on third-party sites used to showcase their knowledge and expertise.
Look through popular SEO blogs to search for skilled freelancers.
SEO Agency vs Freelancer: Which Should You Choose?
This is the ultimate question business owners come down to. And there’s really no clear-cut answer.
It’s all determined by several factors. For instance, if you have the budget to hire an agency and want a long-term relationship, then this would be ideal.
In reality, it all depends on your own preferences. Whether you decide to go with an agency or freelancer, it’s important to ask them the right questions before hiring them.
Can You Send Me a List of Your Clients?
Make sure you get your hands on the current and past list of clients of the SEO agency or freelancer.
Why is this important? Because you can see what type of customers and projects they’ve worked with in the past.
You can also reach out to these references to get their take on working with the SEO expert you’re considering.
They may not be able to share analytics data with you, but they can surely tell you if they were impressed or dismayed with the agency’s methods.
How Will You Boost My SEO Rankings?
Well, this is what the expert SEO services is promising.
So why not get them to dish out their tactics and methods?
Some companies will try to make it seem like these are trade secrets, but this is nonsense.
If an agency won’t share their methods with you, then run for the hills.
Any reputable SEO expert will have no problem going over their strategies with you.
After all, it’s about building your confidence in their services.
Do You Follow Search Engine Webmaster Guidelines?
It’s very important for you to hire an agency or freelancer that will follow closely to these guidelines.
This way, you don’t end up with a penalty for going against search engine’s rules.
For example, using black hat SEO tactics or creating spammy content.
Bing, Yahoo and Google have publicly listed webmaster best practice guidelines that can be researched and followed.
Can You Guarantee My Website Will Reach Number One?
Wouldn’t it be great to accept the expert who says yes?
But the truth of the matter is that’s the one you should avoid.
No one can promise this because there are so many factors at play.
So avoid anyone making steep promises such as this.
What’s Your Experience with Improving Local Search Results?
If you’re a small brick-and-mortar, then this is very important to know.
After all, you need to bring in foot traffic to your physical locations.
Optimizing your content and site using local SEO is key to ranking locally.
Will You Update Me Regarding All Changes Made to My Website?
Hopefully, the answer will be yes.
But if the SEO expert is acting reluctant to keep you in the loop, then that’s not a professional you want to do business with.
It’s your website code being tampered with, so it’s essential to keep an eye on what’s being tweaked and why.
How Do You Measure the Success of SEO Campaigns?
Just because there’s an influx of traffic to your website doesn’t mean this is a success.
This is especially true if the traffic is from the wrong audience.
Find out what analytics they collect to ensure they’re keeping track of all incoming traffic and their sources.
How Often Will We Communicate?
Again, you want to be in the loop of what’s going on with your website and campaign.
Some experts like to talk over the phone, Skype, email or text.
Determine the method and frequency of contact in advance to ensure it matches your needs.
What Are Your Rates and Payment Terms?
Obviously, you need to know what the SEO expert will charge ahead of time.
Are they to charge by the hour, retainer or per project?
Are you required to pay half up front, then the rest at the end? Or everything in advance?
What Type of SEO Will You Provide?
There are different forms of search engine optimization – technical, off-page and on-page.
With technical SEO, the expert is dealing with search engine spiders and ensuring they can crawl your pages.
Then the off-page SEO deals with inbound links coming from other sites.
The opposite is true for on-page SEO, which consists of the content on your site (the keywords, user experience, etc.).
Hiring Expert SEO Services
Now that you have some idea of the differences between SEO freelancers and agencies, you should be able to choose what’s best for your business.
David Carralon is an SEO professional that provides the latest news, insights, and ideas revolving around search marketing.
Stop by the site today to learn various strategies and methods you can begin using to improve your search optimization.
Or contact us with your questions and we’ll be happy to help!
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