Outsourcing SEO Services: Having Your Cake and Eating It, Too

Is your in-house marketing team constantly fighting to get everything done during the day?

Or maybe you’re an independent site owner who doesn’t have a marketing team, meaning you’re spread even thinner (and are likely approaching burnout). 

Between social media marketing, managing paid ads, and engaging in email marketing campaigns – there’s not much time for anything else. 

The problem?

You’re forgetting about SEO, one of the most critical marketing channels. 

The good news is outsourcing SEO services is easier than ever, as there’s no shortage of freelancers and SEO agencies out there ready and willing to help you. 

However, finding the right SEO partner for your specific needs is where things get challenging. 

For example, suppose you need help building high-authority links. 

In that case, you’re better off going with an experienced SEO agency equipped to handle the challenge instead of hiring a lone freelancer for $5 who makes grand promises they can’t back up.   

That’s because effective link-building takes a vast network of link partners, media outlets, and news sites – which is something SEO newbies with ultra-cheap rates on freelancer marketplaces likely won’t have. 

You also need to define your goals beforehand to pinpoint exactly what your SEO strategy needs the most. 

For instance, if you’ve already got a robust backlink profile, outsourcing link-building would be a waste of your resources. 

There’s a lot to consider when outsourcing SEO services, so stick around to learn everything you need to know to do it correctly. 

Why is Outsourcing SEO Worth Your Time and Money?

If you aren’t implementing any SEO tactics on your website, you’re leaving a TON of money on the table. 

Paid ads and social media marketing can only generate so much traffic to your site, as the vast majority of your potential customers will use search engines to find products and services in your industry. 

For instance, a whopping 89% of internet users begin their buying process on search engines like Google and Bing. 

So, if your website isn’t optimized to rank high on search engines, you’re missing out on all that potential traffic. 

Besides capitalizing on users ready to make a purchase, SEO content works at every level of your sales funnel. 

Even if users aren’t ready to buy anything yet – informative blog content that answers their questions will establish you as a thought leader, which is an extremely valuable position to hold. 

Planting a seed: Outsourcing SEO will help your business grow 

At The HOTH, we’ve helped countless websites significantly grow their online presence, reputation, and customer base with our SEO prowess, so we can attest to its power first-hand. 

Here’s a look at the referring domains and organic traffic growth of one of our clients:

As you can see, shortly after we started working with them, the results started rolling in, and they haven’t let up yet. 

If we hadn’t taken the wheel for their SEO strategy, they’d still be virtually unknown online. 

Instead, they’re ranking for thousands of keywords (63 of which are in the top 3), and they’re consistently generating $1.3k worth of organic traffic. 

Besides expanding your online reach and earning more money, let’s take a look at the other benefits involved with outsourcing SEO services. 

More money in the bank: It’s extremely cost-effective 

Building an in-house team of SEO professionals is EXTREMELY costly, especially for smaller websites that don’t have large marketing budgets. 

Hiring and recruiting top SEO specialists isn’t cheap, and that’s not to mention other expenses like onboarding, salary, benefits, and training. 

It will also take some time to assemble the right team for your needs, as you may have to go through a few professionals before you find what you need – which will cost even more money. 

Instead of spending six months to a year trying to make your in-house SEO team get along, you can start outsourcing SEO services in a few days or less, depending on how long it takes you to find a suitable provider. 

With an SEO agency, you won’t have to waste any money on recruiting, benefits, or salary – which is a huge benefit. 

You’ll also see results faster, as a professional SEO agency will know how to get the ball rolling as soon as possible. 

Your personal Einstein: SEO knowledge, expertise, and skills 

You may think you can save some money by hiring inexperienced SEO interns, but this is a terrible idea. 

Proper SEO requires a lot of expertise that goes far beyond the basics. 

Also, experienced SEOs are extremely familiar with all the latest Google algorithm changes, as well as how to handle the upcoming shift to SGE – which is something every website on the planet needs to prepare for, by the way. 

You’ll want to trust your SEO campaign with a highly experienced agency that’s been around the block a few times. 

The last thing you should do is trust your search campaign to a newbie that nosedives straight into a beginner pitfall, like paying for low-quality backlinks. 

Trust us, you’ll likely wind up spending more money trying to undo problems inexperienced SEOs cause, so your best bet is to stick with the pros. 

Outsourcing is the best option here, as you gain access to knowledge and expertise from seasoned professionals who have been in the game for a long time. 

Gear up: Access powerful SEO tools and resources  

Decorated SEO agencies (like yours truly) have many tricks up their sleeves, so to speak. 

In our case, we’re home to experienced SEO gurus who know search engine algorithms inside and out, and we also have a Batman-style utility belt packed with advanced SEO tools and resources. 

These include tools for:

• Analyzing crucial metrics like SERP position rankings, organic traffic, conversion rates, and more 
• Viewing competitor backlink profiles
• Segmenting audiences into different groups 
• Auditing the ranking power of other websites
• Generating high-quality copy and blog ideas (AI-powered tools)

Besides our impressive arsenal of gadgets and gizmos, we’ve also built large networks of link partners, news sites, and media outlets. 

These networks are what make our impressive link-building services possible, and they took many years to build. 

That’s why it’s so beneficial to outsource SEO services to an agency like ours, as we’ve already built the infrastructure necessary to build lots of high-quality links for our clients. 

If you’re building an in-house SEO team from scratch, you’re starting at square one in terms of access to tools and link networks, which is a disadvantage. 

Therefore, you have a choice. You can outsource your SEO and hit the ground running on day one, or you can try to build everything in-house – which will feel like rubbing two sticks together to make fire. 

How to Select the Right SEO Outsourcing Partner for You 

You should be pretty picky when looking for an SEO agency to outsource with, especially if you want to see amazing results. 

There are quite a few factors to consider, including your needs, budget, and goals, so let’s take a look at each. 

Set your goals first

Before you start looking up SEO agencies online, you need to clearly define your goals to understand which services you need and the types of results you want to see. 

This will help you avoid A) ordering the wrong services and B) not having a benchmark to hold the agency accountable for achieving. 

Ask yourself what you ultimately hope to achieve by engaging in an SEO campaign. 

Do you want to boost your online visibility and influence, or are you more concerned with generating more leads and sales? Are there any technical issues holding your site back?

Answering these questions will let you know which services to outsource. 

For example, if you want to boost your online visibility, content creation, and link-building are the services you need. 

If your site loads slowly and has a lot of broken links, a technical SEO audit is the way to go. 

You should also be as specific (and realistic) as possible with the goals that you set. 

Here’s a good example:

Our goal is to boost our organic traffic by 50% in 12 months. 

This is a specific, realistic goal that any reputable SEO agency should be able to meet for you. 

Research providers online (case studies, reviews, etc.) 

Now that you know what you want, it’s time to start doing your homework by researching SEO agencies. 

First things first, ensure the agencies you look into actually offer the SEO services that you need, as every agency differs in what they offer. 

It’s usually best (and more affordable) to find agencies that offer packages instead of selecting multiple services from different providers. 

Don’t stop there, though. 

You need to look up case studies, independent reviews, and testimonials from each agency to verify they’re the real deal. 

Try to find reviews on third-party websites, as those tend to be more neutral than the ones found on agency sites. 

If you’re a marketing agency yourself, you’ll benefit the most from working with agencies that offer white-label services. 

What are those?

A white-label SEO agency allows other marketing agencies to repackage their SEO services as their own for a fee. 

That means you’ll be able to advertise that you now offer SEO services to your clients, even though you’re outsourcing them to a white-label agency. 

The white-label provider will work hand-in-hand with you and your clients to ensure optimal results, and your brand gets to take credit for everything.

White labeling is an excellent way for marketing agencies to expand their service offerings without having to hire more staff. 

Agree on services, budget, and a timeline 

Once you have a preferred provider, it’s time to hash out the nitty-gritty details. 

During your initial consultation, work with the provider to agree on the specific services you’re ordering, how much it’ll cost, and how long it’ll take to see results. 

For pricing, decide whether you want to do one-time, monthly, or performance-based pay. 

If content creation is involved, ensure that the agency will create and use a content calendar that they keep you in the loop on. 

Each deliverable should have a deadline, so don’t forget to set those up, too. 

Once you’ve worked everything out, you’re ready to sign on the dotted line and start working with your new SEO partner. 

Which SEO Services Can You Outsource?

Here’s a look at the types of SEO services you can outsource to an agency. 

Once again, you should double-check that each agency you look into offers the services you want, as not every agency will offer every service on this list (except us). 

Link-building 

If you want to dominate the SERPs on Google, then you need a lot of high-authority websites vouching for your content via backlinks. 

This is one of the most challenging aspects of SEO, which is why so many businesses and websites choose to outsource it. 

At The HOTH, we offer targeted Link Outreach, Link Insertions, Press Releases, and Content Syndication services that leverage our network of 300+ media outlets and news sites. 

Keyword research and content creation 

You must publish a staggering amount of content to achieve thought-leader status in your field. 

Outsourcing your content creation is a great way to keep up with the Joneses without having to work around the clock. 

Our Blog Content and Website Content Writing services ensure our clients’ content remains remarkably consistent in both quality and publishing frequency. 

Currently, lots of businesses are using AI to keep up with their content demands, but AI content creation is a subtle art that few have mastered. 

We offer AI Content Plus, which is our AI-plus-human-powered content creation service that achieves the best of both worlds (speed plus creativity). 

Technical SEO 

There are loads of factors going on behind the scenes that affect your performance on search engines. 

If your site runs slow or if you have lots of duplicate content, you could all but disappear from the SERPs entirely. 

If you’ve been having problems with these types of issues, a technical SEO audit will restore your website to optimal health.

Local SEO 

Local businesses face a whole host of unique SEO challenges, which is why local SEO is its own subgenre (sort of like acid jazz). 

Google My Business plays a massive role in local SEO, as it’s integral for getting featured in local map packs. 

Local keyword research is also unique, as you’ll want to target keywords that include cities, towns, and states. 

Start Outsourcing Your SEO Today 

Working with a trusted SEO agency to boost your online visibility while you focus on more important things is a tried-and-true formula for success. 

You won’t have to worry about things like Google algorithm updates, yet you’ll enjoy higher SERP rankings anyway. 

If you want to enjoy a winning SEO campaign for your business, don’t wait to sign up for HOTH X, our coveted managed SEO service.