Hiring an In-House Team vs Hiring an SEO Agency: What’s Your Best Bet?

When you’re ready to launch an SEO campaign for a dominating online presence, there are two options for you if you are a mid to large enterprise – either assemble an in-house team or hire an SEO agency.

Both have their own set of advantages and disadvantages that we will talk about today. We believe our in-depth comparison will help you make an informed decision that will align with your SEO and business goals.

Key Roles in an In-House Team

When you employ SEO professionals, you build an in-house team that works exclusively for your business goals. They are involved in your day-to-day operations and will either follow your command if you have a well-planned strategy or run the campaign on their own if you have no SEO knowledge.

An in-house SEO team usually consists of:

• SEO/Project managers
• SEO strategists or analysts
• Technical SEO experts
• Content creators
• Link builders
• Social media specialists
• UX/UI designers
• Web developers
• Business analysts and more depending on the overall scale and demand of your project.

The team will craft white hat SEO strategies, audit your site for any SEO issues, fix them quickly, and implement new techniques for long-term success.

They will strategize and make use of all the known SEO strategies like competitive research, keyword research, content writing, on-page and off-page SEO optimization, performance measurement, and link building to help you achieve your vision.

Pros:

• Full Control

You can have almost complete control over your SEO campaign with an in-house team and closely monitor the implementation of every strategy and if it is working.

Regular meetings with the team members will help make the process more transparent and build a stronger employer-employee relationship. This will also help you avoid black hat techniques and eventually, any unexpected results.

• Unmatched Dedication

Since the team members have signed your contract, they are going to focus solely on what they are paid for and do their best. They will have a deeper understanding of how your company works and what to do during a crisis.

This will help maximize their potential and carry out the tasks in a way that aligns with the work culture and values that your brand stands for.

• Necessary Changes

One of the benefits of an in-house team in any department is that you can tailor your methods to specific needs (e.g. user intent or market demands) with time. It’s easier to have a productive session with the team any time you want and discuss what works best in a given situation.

• Smoother Communication

The SEO team can easily reach out to the designers, developers, or sales team if needed. You need this type of collaboration in your firm for a smooth workflow and to maintain a healthy office environment that uplifts the morale of the employees.

Cons:

• High Expense

SEO is not a one-man job! It’s broad and complex, requiring expertise from different other sectors e.g. content development, link building, and so on. An SEO specialist may be good at building backlinks or using SEO tools but they might need to rely on other professionals like content creators and web designers for a holistic outcome.

So, you have to hire a whole group of related professionals. The estimated costs considering salaries, pricing of tools, and other resources can add up to about $150,000 or more annually.

• Training

SEO is always evolving; so even the experts need constant training after each update. This is again an expensive campaign. Besides, recruiting and retaining the best individuals is not always possible. So, you may have to arrange training sessions for the newcomers.

• Time-consuming

Training and working with an internal SEO team takes up a lot of time. Besides, while managing all of these members, you might as well forget about the deadlines.

• Limitations

Since the team has always played by the same set of rules of a single company for years, the members may lack the experience to adapt to a wide range of real-life situations. This might hurt their efficiency.

What About an SEO Agency?

An SEO agency is an external organization that provides a comprehensive range of SEO services. They have a team full of experts from many different disciplines. The agency collaborates with its clients and solves their SEO-related issues.

They usually offer-

• On-page SEO
• Link building
• Technical SEO
• SEO Audit
• Content Marketing
• Competitive Analysis
• Keyword Research
• Backlink Analysis

They also have different packages for different client needs while some offer customized pricing for the unique needs of a business.

Pros:

• Professionalism

The biggest upside to hiring an agency is tapping into the proficiency of the best professionals in their respective fields. Highly knowledgeable and experienced, they work to polish your strategy and make it shine. This helps eliminate any chance of clumsy and ineffective methods you’ve used before.

• Cost-effectiveness

SEO is not free! However, when you hire a reputable agency, you can make it worth your cost. What’s more, they offer many packages that you can pick from. Just go for the one you feel is convenient for you.

• Time Saver

Since the agency assigns a lot of experts to the clients, it takes relatively less time to complete a project.

• Access to Modern Tools

SEO is always advancing with time. Newer tools are coming out. These companies have to work with cutting-edge tools and technology to compete and survive in the industry.

Remember that you won’t pay for the tools either. Why should you pass up the opportunity to have your SEO done through the most updated tech stack?

• Strategic Solution

As said before, the agency might be well-experienced because of their proven track record in several fields. They can easily point out any issue you have with tricks in the bag to boost your rank.

• Flexibility

SEO service providers regularly update their client dashboards where you can monitor the progress of your campaign. In most cases, they assign a project manager – your primary person of contact – who tracks the progress and reports back to you.

If you want to suggest something or scale up your campaign, you can let them know. They are well-equipped to tailor their workflow to your needs.

Cons:

• Lack of Context

Since the agency is an external entity here, they may not understand how everything works in your company and even your unique business needs and goals.

• Less Control

They have their own methods of doing things. It’s unlikely that they will compromise their strategies to suit your requirements even if you want it. So, you may end up losing control over your project to a great extent.

• Communication Gap

If the agency you hire is in a different time zone, then keeping contact with them can be a challenge.

• Risk of Spam

You are entrusting your project to an external company that may have confidential policies. That means you may not know how transparent they are. If they follow black hat strategies, that might hurt your business badly.

• Bottom of the Barrel

An SEO agency is an independent business that takes clients from many different industries at the same time – each with a unique problem. So, there is no reason to think you are exactly at the top of their priority list. This may affect your communications and the timeframe you need your job done in.

In-house Team vs Hiring SEO Agency: Key Differences

• An in-house team leaves you with more control over your campaign as the business owner. SEO agencies usually have their way of dealing with stuff. So, you don’t have a lot of say in this. However, agencies usually apply proven methods to get the job done better.
• The budget is always a matter of concern but you are guaranteed a more decent return on investment (ROI) from a prestigious SEO agency than an in-house team.
• As a full-fledged SEO or digital marketing company, you have to take care of many aspects at the same time. So, the internal team usually builds your SEO slowly whereas an SEO agency deals exclusively with SEO-related projects and makes quick work of them.
• It’s easier to do a cross-department collaboration when your team is functioning uner the same roof. With 3rd parties, you may have to focus on reducing a communication gap first although modern technologies have made it easier now e.g. a dashboard where you can see the progress in real-time and reach out to them for more info.
• In-house team predicts your growth based on your company resources while an SEO agency merges your forecasting with their keyword forecasting and then gives you an overall picture.
• Your team creates monthly reports citing metrics and KPI that align with your business goals. In other words, they tell you exactly what you want to hear. SEO agency inputs overall data from your campaigns so far and produces a comprehensive monthly report you can use to improve your strategies.

In-house Team vs Hiring SEO Agency: Decisive Factors

Even though we are trying to pit one against the other here, the ultimate decision is yours. Know that your choice depends on the context and the situation you are in as a business or marketing company. So, there is not really a competition here – more like an analysis to decide which works better in what condition.

Let’s look at some of the factors that might help you see more clearly and our advice for each consideration-

SEO Budget

Having an in-house team permanently may sound like a smart choice when considering your budget. Trust us – it’s not!

The average salary of an SEO specialist in the USA is $69,714 per year according to GlassDoor. Remember, you are building a team of specialists from different areas like this. Also, you have to buy SEO and link building tools and software which might cost about $15-25,000 per year.

You may have to spend up to $5000 per year for the training programs. Add other resources in the office, hiring costs, and health benefits, you could be looking at a massive amount of over $150,000 annually!

Now, if you consider hiring an SEO agency instead, you should see the real difference.

WebFX reports that an SEO agency costs about $2,500 to $7,500 per month for the length of a contract and a fixed amount of $1,000-5,000 per project for a specific task e.g., SEO audit only. The pricing depends on the size of your company and the scale of your project. That’s why, 49% of businesses prefer paying for their SEO than working with an in-house setting.

Our Advice: If you are not an established company with plenty of resources, hire an SEO agency. Save your time and money and get your SEO done by the best of the best in this field. The only thing to keep in mind is you have to choose a reputable agency for the job or you might risk black hat SEO.

Project Scale

The scale of your project determines not only your SEO cost but the choice of where you should invest as well.

You need professional help to handle large-scale projects and critical eyes to look over your technical issues.

Our Advice: If you have less experience in managing bigger projects, don’t waste your resources for a subpar result. Go for a good agency and let them guide you through the process effectively.

SEO Experience

The experience of your SEO professionals matters a lot since you are going to face a lot of issues almost every day.

Ask yourself this- are they well-equipped to take on every challenge that comes up?

If yes, you don’t have to look elsewhere. However, that’s not always the case.

High authority agencies usually offer a greater level of experience in working with clients from all walks of life.

Our Advice: Self-explanatory at this point. If you can’t put your trust in the experience level of your team, seek expertise from the best-known agency in your area.

Availability of Resources

Even your best employees can’t do much if they don’t have access to the state-of-the-art tools and resources in the world of SEO today.

An SEO agency has to keep up with the latest developments in SEO trends to survive in the competition. So, when you sign up with an agency, you are sure to have your analysis done by the state-of-the-art tools available.

Our Advice: Even if you have the latest tools handy today, you don’t know about tomorrow. SEO is always changing its directions and so more tools are being released. You can’t expect to keep buying tools every time a new update comes out unless you have a lot of money lying around. So, it’s better to invest in a system that will always roll with the running trends – in this case, an SEO agency.

SEO Trends

Speaking of trends, if your team is not aware of what’s new in the SEO then that’s a problem. They need to stay in the loop at all times. But sometimes, that might not be possible.

An SEO service provider can’t survive if they don’t go toe-to-toe with the rising competition in SEO market. So, they have no choice but to follow the trends.

Our Advice: You can manage without the best trends although the result will most probably be poor. The question is – why should you settle for less when the door to a better service is wide open? Giving the job to a high-profile agency will only make your life easier. If you’re worrying about the cost, we have already discussed why you shouldn’t.

Niche Type

Some industries have specific demands for SEO. That means if you can’t comply with the strict regulatory requirements of a niche, your campaign might suffer.

In this case, both methods have unique pros and cons. For example, if you cater to a local niche, your in-house team can do better because of their familiarity with your business. In terms of a global niche, you need unique experiences and expertise to cut it in the broad market and so you should turn to a high authority agency for in-depth processing of your SEO.

Our Advice: Study your niche and find out what they are asking for. Take your measures accordingly. Overall, if your industry wants you to adapt to the modern, competitive and technical side of SEO, you shouldn’t think twice about hiring an agency. For more regulatory and local niches, your in-house SEO team will do just fine.

Hire LinkBuilderPros as Your SEO Agency

LinkBuilderPros has been serving as one of the premier link building and SEO companies for about 10 years now. Our team specializes in white-hat link building and SEO practices and our list of case studies speaks for that.

If you want an SEO solution for your company, you can expect a sincere and personalized response from our end. Just get in touch with us!

Wrapping Up

We don’t want to put it like it was a debate! It shouldn’t be. Just look at the facts and decide for yourself!

The prospect of hiring an SEO agency looks good in every one of the discussions we brought up. It’s cost and time-effective, compatible with advanced SEO and market trends, and guaranteed to succeed.

Limitations are a part of nature. SEO agencies have their limitations too but you can overcome them if you stay aware of your choices.

You have to be picky about the agency you’ll trust your SEO with. Choose the most reputable brand from the bunch. Always stay in touch with them and keep track of your progress.

Reach out to us if you are still confused. We will meet you with the best offers you can find!

FAQs

Q. In-house vs agency – Which one offers more flexibility?

Ans. For one-time projects, an SEO agency provides more flexibility. For long-term projects, you should consider an in-house team.

Q. Can an in-house team match the expertise of an SEO agency?

Ans. It’s not impossible but an SEO agency usually offers a diverse range of expertise, which is difficult to match by a body within a single organization due to lack of experience.

Q. How can an SEO agency stay updated with industry trends and changes?

Ans. A good SEO agency focuses on continuous training, industry events, and conferences to go with the flow of the latest SEO trends.

Q. What metrics should I use to evaluate the success of my SEO efforts with either option?

Ans. Key Performance Indicators (KPI) include organic growth, keyword ranking, return on investment (ROI), and conversion rates.

Q. Can I take a hybrid approach?

Ans. Yes, sometimes industry trends necessitate a hybrid technique that means collaboration between both your in-house team and an external SEO organization – to maximize your SEO for a balanced and flexible approach.

Q. How quickly can I expect results with either choice?

Ans. Results can vary for each option. It depends on the niche, competition, and project scales. In general, in-house teams take longer to cover your SEO while agencies give you a quick result.

mothasim

SEO & Growth Manager

A distinguished SEO and Business Development Consultant with a proven track record of helping businesses achieve outstanding results in the digital landscape. Throughout his career, Mothasim has worked with a diverse range of businesses, from startups to Fortune 500 companies.

His strategies are characterized by his meticulous attention to detail, data-driven decision-making, and a deep understanding of search engine algorithms. In his personal life, Mothasim enjoys hiking, photography, and volunteering in his community. He believes in giving back and is actively involved in mentoring aspiring SEO professionals. LinkedIn .