Is outsourced SEO or in-house SEO better?
Whether outsourced SEO or in-house SEO is better depends on factors unique to your business, like your budget, team size, and workload, and your team, like your SEO knowledge, goals, and scale.
The following table expands on these considerations:
| Factor | Outsourced SEO | In-house SEO |
| Time | Limited time | Dedicated team member(s) in SEO role |
| Skills | Skill gaps in on-page, off-page, or technical SEO | Full-stack SEO knowledge (team members can effectively research and implement updates) |
| Performance | Plateaued or lagging performance | Performing effectively and meeting leadership’s goals |
| Reporting | Require reporting for rankings, traffic, and ROI | Require basic reporting, like for rankings and traffic |
| Age | Established business or new business with outside funding | New business (without outside funding) |
| Omnichannel | Integrating SEO into omnichannel marketing campaigns | Operating SEO as a siloed marketing campaign |
| Budget | Available budget ($1500 or more / month) | Small budget (Less than $1500 / month) |
Keep reading to learn more about choosing between these two options!
What’s the difference between in-house and outsourced SEO?
The difference between in-house SEO and outsourced SEO is who manages your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts. With in-house SEO, internal employee(s) manage your SEO while outsourced SEO sees a third-party, like an SEO agency, manage your SEO.
With WebFX (the team behind SEO.com), this business saw an 89% increase in keywords on page 1, plus a 65% increase in total leads.
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Inside in-house SEO
Learn more about using in-house SEO for your business:
Cost
In-house SEO costs include:
| Cost | Average price |
| Dedicated SEO | $40,000 / year (this amount does not include fringe benefits, like taxes) |
| SEO tools and software | $1200+ / year |
Additional costs to consider include:
- Employee turnover
- One-time costs, like hiring a freelancer for writing or design
Cons
The cons of in-house SEO include:
| Disadvantage | Description |
| Cost | High cost to maintain (SEO specialist salaries start at $40,000, which doesn’t include other company expenses, like taxes, insurance, and equipment) |
| Maintenance | Teams must maintain their SEO knowledge, from algorithm updates to optimization tactics |
| Recruitment | Finding in-office, hybrid, or remote team members can take months |
| Competition | Competing for internal resources, like development or writer time, to complete SEO optimizations |
Pros
The pros of in-house SEO include:
| Advantage | Description |
| Control | Maximum control over strategy, optimizations, and reporting |
| Company knowledge | Dedicated brand expert(s) in your brand, products or services, and more |
| Accessibility | Easy and convenient access to SEO marketing team members |
| Time | An SEO team member spends all their time on your site |
Inside outsourced SEO
Learn more about using outsourced SEO for your business:
Cost
The average costs for outsourced SEO depend on the SEO service frequency:
- Monthly: $2500 – $7500
- Hourly: $50 – $100
- Project-based: $1000 – $5000
These costs bundle individual expenses together, which can make SEO more affordable. These expenses can include:
- Talent
- Tools
- Deliverables (like content created, optimizations implemented, etc.)
Cons
| Disadvantage | Description |
| Specialization | An agency may not have experience with specialized niches |
| Control | Less control over your strategies, depending on your SEO partner |
| Contract | Most SEO agencies typically require a six-month commitment |
| Buy-in | You’ll often need leadership’s buy-in to outsource SEO |
| Site access | Typically, you’ll need to give your SEO service provider access to your site. However, some agencies can operate without site access, but will require your team to make the necessary site updates. |
Pros
| Advantage | Description |
| Cost | SEO services cost $2500-$7500 / month on average, which is usually more cost-effective than in-house SEO because the services bundle talent, tools, reporting, etc. |
| Expertise | Get experienced SEO professionals and some of the best SEO services, which can help revitalize stalled SEO performance. |
| Scalability | Able to scale your strategy with a dedicated SEO team. |
| Integration | Full-service agencies offering SEO solutions can integrate SEO into an omnichannel campaign or offer digital marketing services. |
| Technology | Access advanced technology for site optimizations, reporting insights, and syncing marketing data to build a more competitive SEO strategy. |
How to decide between in-house vs. outsourced SEO
When deciding between doing SEO internally or with a partner (as well as when comparing SEO agencies), here are some questions to ask:
1. What’s your SEO budget?
SEO specialist salaries start at $40,000 while SEO services start at $2500 – $10,000 per month.
At first glance, it may seem like doing SEO in-house is the cheaper option. However, keep in mind that SEO specialists have a starting salary of $40,000. If you’re looking to build an SEO team, your price can climb quickly.
On the other hand, you can expect to pay $2500-$7500 per month for outsourced SEO services.
Your project scope and goals will determine the final amount you’ll pay for SEO, so that’s an important decision point to evaluate.
2. What’s the scope of your SEO project?
Large-scale, technical SEO projects often require expertise consistent with outsourcing your campaigns.
An experienced SEO partner can guide you through the steps needed to tackle a large SEO project that may require technical SEO solutions or something like enterprise SEO services, from the ground up. If your internal team lacks technical SEO savvy, it will be difficult to manage in-depth SEO projects.
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3. Do you have the experience and resources to do SEO internally?
Does your in-house team have the experience and resources to execute an ongoing SEO strategy that drives results? If so, that’s fantastic.
But if your crew lacks the know-how to implement SEO campaigns, especially the more technical aspects of SEO, it can spell trouble for your business.
4. Does your team have the bandwidth to keep up with evolving SEO trends?
SEO requires ongoing maintenance to continue driving results.
SEO isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it strategy. It requires ongoing maintenance to continue driving results.
In addition, your team will need to keep up with ever-changing technology, SEO trends, and SEO courses to be successful.
If your team is already stretched thin, they likely won’t be able to keep up with SEO at the level required to boost your ROI.
5. Do you operate in an extremely niche industry?
Depending on your industry and niche, you may find it harder to find SEO companies with experience in your field. Because of this, you may find it more profitable to work internally on your SEO.
6. Do you have the software and tech needed for SEO?
Without an SEO partner, you’ll have to pay for the tools and tech separately, which can hike up the total price you pay for SEO services.
Many times, agencies will bundle the price of software and advanced tech into the cost of SEO services. Without an SEO partner, you’ll have to pay for the tools and tech separately, which can hike up the total price you pay for SEO services. By leveraging these SEO software for agencies, you can benefit from integrated solutions that streamline your SEO efforts and reduce overall costs by consolidating necessary tools into a single package.
How to outsource SEO
If you’ve decided to outsource SEO, the following tips (based on our 25+ years of helping businesses optimize their websites) can help your company find the best partner for your unique needs:
1. Outline your requirements
Besides determining your budget, spend some time understanding leadership’s expectations for this partnership. Consider your expectations too, like how much ongoing time you want to invest, who the provider should contact, and more.
2. Create your shortlist
Gather a shortlist of potential of agencies (or freelancers) with tactics like:
- Asking for recommendations from your network
- Using search engines to find best-rated agencies
- Looking for agencies in your area (if you prefer to work local)
While compiling this list, consider these questions:
- Is the provider in budget?
- Does the provider have case studies and reviews online?
- What types of companies does the provider advertise working with?
Asking these questions will help you create an accurate shortlist — and save you time in the next step, which requires meeting with these providers to discuss your company’s needs for outsourcing SEO.
3. Meet your shortlist
Schedule some time to meet with your top SEO agencies (or freelancers) by contacting them. In most cases, the agency will conduct an initial call to see if they’re a good fit for your project. If not, they may recommend a different provider.
Use this call for the same purpose, like by asking:
- Have you worked with companies in my industry?
- Do you guarantee results? (Note: It’s often a red-flag when agencies offer guaranteed SEO.)
- How do you measure results?
- How long does onboarding take?
- How much ongoing time would you require from me or my team?
You can also compile questions based on your discussions earlier with your team and leadership. Based on this initial conversation, you can decide if you’d like to hear more from the agency — and if you’d like to partner with them.
How to do SEO in-house
Looking to do SEO in-house vs. outsourcing? The following steps can help you get started:
1. Determine your goals
Before creating a job listing, you need to consider the following questions:
- What is the state of your site’s SEO?
- What are you looking to accomplish with SEO?
- How will you measure SEO results?
- How much will you spend on SEO initiatives?
Your answers will provide guidance when hiring an SEO. For example, if your business has a smaller budget for SEO, you might hire freelancers to help with SEO tasks vs. hiring a full-time team member.
2. Find your SEO
Next, go through the appropriate channels to hire your:
- Freelancer
- Contractor
- Full-time team member
Depending on the role type, you can do the hiring without your human resources (HR) team. For example, if you’re looking to hire a freelancer for writing SEO content, you can likely complete this step through platforms like Upwork.
For full-time roles, you’ll need to collaborate with your HR department.
3. Onboard your SEO
With your SEO hired (which can take months for full-time members), you can start onboarding. Onboarding processes will vary by company and also by role. A freelancer producing SEO content will need fewer resources than a full-time SEO.
If opting for a full-time SEO, onboarding can also include:
- Reviewing business objectives for SEO
- Completing a website audit
- Outlining opportunities and prioritized action items
- Generating strategy ideas
Your support and their work during this phase can set the stage for your SEO program.
With your SEO onboarded, you’ve taken your first steps towards doing SEO in-house. As you continue managing your SEO internally, consider the following tips to maximize your success:
- Recognize that SEO typically takes 3-4 months to work
- Measure SEO performance regularly, like quarterly with monthly spot-checks
- Check-in regularly to see if additional SEO support is needed
Partner with a trusted SEO agency
Deciding whether to outsource or keep your SEO strategy in-house is a big decision for any business, no matter if you’re a business to business (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C) company.
Hopefully this guide gave you some more insights into which option is the better choice for you. If you’re fully equipped to handle your SEO campaigns internally, that’s great. We wish you the best of luck.
But if you need an extra hand, we’d love to help. Ready to take the in-house vs. outsourced SEO conversation further? Our strategists at WebFX (the team behind SEO.com) would love to connect with you!
Contact us online today to receive your custom SEO proposal!
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