SEO agency, SEO freelance or on staff?

More and more companies are deciding to invest in professional SEO services in order to improve the online positioning of their websites.

SEO expert services can be contracted through several options: SEO Agency, freelance SEO or SEO on staff. What factors should a company consider in determining which of these services best suits their needs?

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) consists of a set of methods, techniques and strategies to improve the visibility and positioning of a website in search engines such as Google. The best results in SEO are usually achieved through investing in the recruitment of SEO experts.

In this article we want to delve into these concepts: SEO Agency, SEO freelance and SEO template. With the aim of helping you decide which service is most convenient for your business.

Definition of SEO concepts

Let’s start by defining each of them.

SEO Agency

An SEO Agency is an organization composed of a team of experts in working the organic positioning of a website. With the aim of improving its ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs).

There are some agencies dedicated exclusively to SEO, but the most common are the so-called digital agencies, which offer (in addition to SEO) other services such as web development and online marketing.

They have teams of experts specialized in their different departments: web developers, SEO experts, SEM, experts in Social Media, drafting content Etc. In parallel, with web design and development, digital agencies are dedicated to Inbound Marketing and; have specialized teams in all the strategies of the Inbound methodology, including SEO.

Organic positioning on Google and other search engines requires constant work and optimization.

SEO agencies are responsible for being constantly informed of Google’s possible changes in its algorithm. Its function is oriented to your visibility, get traffic to your web positioning and be located in the first results in organic searches.

Freelance SEO

An SEO consultant or Freelance SEO is an independent professional who works autonomously. The Freelance SEO must have extensive knowledge in SEO web positioning so it can offer advisory services to those who request it.

An SEO consultant can have his own office, or provide telework services from home. It also offers the possibility of being a worker in house working temporarily in the contracting company.

The methods or strategies that the SEO freelance implements on your website in order to enhance the visibility of your online business in the results of the different search engines; by increasing web traffic, and turning more visits into possible sales.

It is necessary that the freelance SEO / SEO consultant has knowledge of SEO and also certain necessary technical knowledge. So that, it can carry out those modifications and changes in the structure of your website that can benefit SEO and position you in the top positions of the SERP.

SEO expert on staff

Another possible way to improve your website’s visibility is by hiring an SEO expert within your Marketing department.

This can be a very suitable option for large businesses that already have a marketing department with members specialized. Social networks, lead generation, etc. In this case, we strongly recommend investing in one more member that is dedicated to SEO, as it is an essential element.

If your business does not have a multidisciplinary marketing team, we recommend outsourcing SEO services. As the costs of hiring one more worker may be higher than outsourcing the service.

In this case, it is essential to have an SEO consultant or an SEO agency, who leads the whole process. So the question arises: Do we hire an SEO agency or a freelance consultant?

Major differences between SEO and freelance agency

Any SEO expert, whether seed agency or freelancer, must have sufficient previous experience based on previous projects in order to offer you guarantees and earn your trust.

• Differences between SEO and freelance agency are not limited to the price. Although it is true, that in many cases, SEO agencies have a higher cost. Depending on the size of the company; the client cannot face the monthly fee of an SEO agency and, for this reason, ends up hiring the SEO services of a freelancer. The ways of providing services of a freelancer who teleworkes; for example, reduce costs to the individual entrepreneur, which results in being able to offer more competitive prices.
• SEO agencies can take on more workflows. SEO agencies often work for relevant clients and larger companies. Larger companies and large budgets available do not usually hire the services of a freelancer due to their large turnover; so they prefer to hire the SEO services of a larger specialized entity.
• The SEO agency team is usually made up of more people; which makes the SEO process always covered and under no circumstances is affected by leave or vacation. In addition, thanks to more equipment, it provides greater capacity at times of higher peak work.
• The SEO Agency has a multidisciplinary team: digital agencies have other departments besides SEO; which can directly influence positioning, such as social media, UX usability, WPO, social networks, content writing, etc. This allows the SEO agency to apply a more effective Inbound Marketing strategy.
• The freelance SEO develops the web positioning project individually to the 100% by implementing the entire strategy from start to finish; (analysis of the customer’s professional niche, studies of keywords to position, SEO on Page Off Page and Link Building, etc.). In some cases, your level of deepening your customer’s knowledge is higher.
• The freelanceSEO communicates directly with the customer. This more direct communication can also speed up work because changes, doubts and consultations are resolved much faster

SEO agency or SEO freelance?

Based on all of the above, what is the best answer to the eternal question: Agency vs Freelance?

Our advice for all online businesses is as follows:

When a company wants to start a project positioning its website; the one who is hiring an SEO Agency or an SEO Consultant should not be the main criterion or factor to consider.

The most important thing is to determine what your online business wants, and what the objectives of the project are. When it is clear, you can contact both SEO agencies and freelance to present your objectives and needs. They can propose a positioning project, with their corresponding strategy.

You can then evaluate each proposal and determine how it fits your company’s approach to consider all the relevant factors that will help you choose between hiring an SEO agency or a freelancer.