In this DIY-everything world, can DIY SEO work for you? When is it the right time to do it yourself versus hiring an expert?
With the ongoing debate in searchengineland on the topic of “Can Small Businesses Really Afford SEO?” it really comes down to two main points-- cost versus benefits, and the ability of the business to balance the numerous investments (monetary and non-monetary) to make the cost justifiable. Balance is really key. Invest too little and you won’t see the return you need, invest too much and you commit SEO overkill.
If you decide to hire someone, finding the right expert to work with is critical. Judging SEO talent can be difficult. In the SEO world, it's not always easy for nonprofessionals to differentiate between meat and potatoes and smoke and mirrors.
Bruce Clay also responds to this quandary in his blog. He makes an important point when he says that small businesses have pieces of SEO that they can do themselves at first, and later bring in an expert when managing the SEO strategy becomes unwieldy. Some good references if you want to get started, would be the LED Digest discussion on “Finding a Qualified SEO” and the online SEO checklist .
On the SEM front, Success Magazine’s recent article on “Should You Outsource Your Search Engine Marketing or Keep It In-House?” goes through some advantages and disadvantages of hiring an SEM agency. Here are some to note (more descriptions can be found in the post):
Advantages- Focused Expertise
- Technology
- Research
Disadvantages
- Loss of control or intellectual capital
- More expensive
