Is an SEO Consultant a Better Fit for Your Business?

While it’s easy to see the value of custom SEO in an age of business where search engines control the internet turnstiles and dictate website visibility, it’s much harder to effectively tackle the challenge of unlocking that value. Have you ever thought about why it’s so difficult?

For many businesses, it’s because:

• … you don’t completely understand all that SEO is – especially in light of ongoing algorithm changes
• … you are not up-to-date on all that SEO is – especially in light of ongoing algorithm changes
• … you don’t have the in-house man-power to tackle all that SEO is
• … you simply do not have the in-house expertise to manage all that SEO is

Are you struggling defining SEO and targeted search marketing strategies for your website? And while you know that search engine optimization (SEO) is an important part of your Internet marketing strategy, you just don't know where to begin.

What can you do? Without specialized training and experience, SEO can be very difficult and hard to stay current on. You might delegate this task to an employee, but unless you hired an SEO expert, you are likely to get unsuccessful results.

Consider the Value of Working w/an SEO Consultant

SEO is one of those things that is tempting to pass off on your marketing department and let your employees figure out; however, this is far from the best approach. Instead, it may be wise to consider whether a dedicated SEO consultant is a better fit for your business. Here are a few of the advantages and benefits to using a consultant:

• Dedicated expertise. Often, a business’ marketing department has a full plate. Using an SEO consultant – who dedicates all their time to the industry – can provide your business the expertise, strategy, added man-power, and training necessary for insightful, successful SEO campaigns.

• Business partnership. A SEO consultant will work with you as a partner to transform your website into an effective customer magnet. An SEO consultant becomes a valued, trusted partner – invested in your company’s success – online and offline.

• Personal approach. With a consultant, you get a personal approach to specific SEO needs – something that you don’t have when it’s just another task on your marketing department’s to-do list.

• Hands-on approach. SEO consultants take a very hands-on approach when dealing with their clients’ SEO or search marketing tasks. Consultants become a valued collaborative member of the internet marketing team.

• Communication and support. Having a dedicated SEO expert on your team not only keeps your business on the cutting-edge within search, but is your ongoing resource for staying on top of ongoing algorithm changes – keeping your business up-to-date with ongoing communication and support.

• Training. Partnering with a consultant instantly provides your IT and marketing department seasoned professional training in all things SEO. And as the SEO industry changes (which is a given!), an SEO consultant can train your in-house staff and keep them current with industry changes.

• Learning about your business. It sometimes takes an outsider’s perspective to truly understand what’s happening within your business and provide an objective perspective; a good SEO consultant will invest in learning your business model and company culture. Often a business will gain from an outside consultants much needed perspective, insight, and discovery. Teaming with a seasoned SEO consultant can be an asset for your business.

• A leg up on your online competition. It is a competitive market place, and you have to hustle to keep growing. With everyone developing a digital marketing strategy, it is no longer enough to have nice looking website. You need to be on the cutting edge to get a leg up on your competition. A SEO consultant can help you reach this goal by analyzing and ongoing monitoring of the competitor search space. If you want to dominate your competition online, an SEO consultant can give you that competitive edge.

• Added perspective. How often do businesses hire an SEO ‘vendor’ and do not get the expected results? Many companies reach out to an SEO consultant because they either are unhappy with their current SEO firm’s results, been burned by an unethical SEO firm, or simply want a second opinion. SEO consultants are often brought in for an objective perspective, analysis, and/or another opinion.

In Summary

No matter the business, it’s been proven time and again that high quality customized SEO and search marketing are an integral part of moving customers through the buying cycle. However, not all SEO is considered equal. To truly unlock its value, hiring an SEO consultant may actually be an ideal fit for your business.