Outsourcing SEO: A Definitive Guide for 2024

Do you think you need an invisible helping hand at your SEO table? Enter SEO outsourcing.

But wait. Is it worth outsourcing your SEO project to an agency? Won’t it affect the quality of your deliverables and your reputation?

Let me be brutally honest. It will, but only when you make the wrong choice.

How do you make the right choice in outsourcing SEO? Will you still have control of your SEO project if you choose to outsource it? Again, will it work for your business?

It’s perfectly fine if you have these many questions in your mind because you aren’t the only one asking these questions.

In this blog, I will explain everything about outsourcing SEO, and by the end, you will have all of your questions answered.

Before you deep-dive, here is what Agency Coach, Owner, and Founder Mike Schmidt said during our SEO On-Air Podcast episode about why SEO agencies should consider outsourcing.

What is SEO Outsourcing?

SEO outsourcing is when you bring in an SEO consultant or agency to help build your SEO strategy and optimize your website for search engines like Google.

Imagine you are running a coffee shop chain. Your business keeps you busy, but you still want more people to get to know your brand and visit your coffee shops.

To do so, you need to improve the online discoverability of your coffee chain website. But where is the time? That’s when you need to outsource SEO.

Your SEO partner will take care of everything your website needs to attract traffic and achieve improved online visibility. This includes keyword research, content creation, link building, technical SEO, local SEO, and more.

Why Companies Choose to Outsource SEO

Outsourcing SEO has great benefits for businesses like yours. Here’s why companies prefer to outsource SEO.

Expertise and Specialized Knowledge

Given the complex and dynamic nature of SEO, it is essential to have a deep understanding of search engine algorithms and monitor frequent algorithm changes to drive significant results for your website.

Google implements an average of 500 to 600 algorithm updates in a year. That’s too much to track, especially when you have a business to run, right?

Don’t worry. SEO professionals can help you there. Outsourcing to SEO professionals ensures that your business gains access to specialized expertise.

This way, your website’s optimization process will be handled by experts who are up-to-date with the latest trends and best practices in the SEO space..

The convergence of specialized knowledge and field expertise in SEO outsourcing can result in crafting more effective strategies that drive quantifiable results for businesses.

Cost Efficiency

Building an in-house SEO squad requires investing in recruiting resources, allocating a budget for their training, and purchasing specialized SEO tools. This can be pretty expensive, especially for small—to medium-sized businesses.

On the flip side, outsourcing SEO services can be more cost-effective as you can leverage the expertise of the third-party agency to bolster your site’s SEO without maintaining a team on a full-time basis.

This allows you to use your budget and resources to improve your core business operations.

Access to Advanced Tools and Technologies

Access to advanced SEO tools can offer focused insights, help enhance the effectiveness of your strategies, and provide a competitive edge to your business. However, these tools can be expensive for individual companies, both in terms of purchase and maintenance.

SEO agencies often have access to premium tools and technologies that can provide actionable insights into keyword rankings, competitor analysis, website performance, and much more.

That said, SEO outsourcing can give you access to advanced SEO tools and technologies without draining your pocket.

Types of SEO Services Commonly Outsourced

So, what SEO services do companies outsource to agencies? Check them out below.

On-Page SEO

On-page SEO involves optimizing individual pages of your website to boost its search rankings for relevant queries.

This includes optimizing title tags, meta descriptions, headings, page URLs and your main content using the right keywords.

Interlinking relevant pages within your website is also part of on-page SEO. This allows the search engine bots and users to better sense of your content and send positive SEO signals to Google.

This way, on-page SEO focuses on improving the overall user experience by making your site easy to navigate and offering useful content to your target audience. As a result, Google will rank your site higher for more specific searches and drive qualified traffic your way.

Off-Page SEO

Off-page SEO focuses on activities outside your website to improve its visibility and rankings.

As a rule of thumb, off-page optimization focuses primarily on building high-quality backlinks from authoritative websites to enhance your site’s credibility and get it on Google’s good side.

Reaching out to influential bloggers and creating high-quality content for guest posts is one of the best ways to get backlink placements on those sites. While this can be a tiring and time-consuming process, you can still get it done without breaking a sweat by outsourcing SEO.

Technical SEO

Technical SEO deals with fixing technical issues that hinder your website’s online visibility. Technical aspects include site speed, mobile-friendliness, structured data implementation, and more.

Technical SEO involves everything, from fixing crawl errors to creating XML sitemaps, to prompt search engine bots to crawl and index your web pages properly.

Local SEO

Local SEO involves optimizing your website for local search results to attract users from specific locations.

This includes creating location-specific web pages, infusing local keywords in your content, building citations in local directories, optimizing your Google Business Profile (GBP), managing your online reputation, and more.

Choosing the Right SEO Partner

When it comes to SEO outsourcing, it is important to choose the right agency partner, especially because your SEO success depends heavily on who you choose to work with.

What to Look for in An SEO Outsourcing Company

Consider the following factors when looking for an SEO outsourcing partner.

• Experience and Track Record- Choose your SEO outsourcing service provider based on the professional history of the company and their performance in the past.
• Transparency and Reporting- Opt for an SEO partner who commits to transparency and provides regular reports on the progress of your SEO campaigns.
• Understanding of Your Industry- Work with an SEO outsourcing company that has experience doing SEO specific to your industry.

In the next section, I’ll explain how you can practically apply these factors to find the right fit for your business. Keep reading.

How to Evaluate Potential SEO Outsourcing Partners

Now you know what to look for when choosing an SEO outsourcing agency. But, how do you scrutinize and shortlist the best SEO outsourcing partner for your business? Let me explain.

Case Studies and Client Testimonials

Take a look at the case study portfolio of the SEO agency to make sense of their approaches, strategies and the results they have achieved for other clients.

Look for testimonials from their existing clients to gauge their satisfaction levels and the quality of service provided by the SEO partner.

Examine the diversity of clients and industries the partner has worked with in order to evaluate their ability to handle various SEO challenges.

This should give you an idea of the agency’s professional side, how trustworthy it is, and how committed it is to helping its clients achieve their business milestones.

With over a decade of field presence, we, Stan Ventures, have worked with 2500+ global brands from various verticals and have driven tangible results for our clients.

Check out our case studies here.

Communication and Project Management Processes

Effective communication drives successful partnerships. Learn about the SEO partner’s communication process in connection with the project. Try to understand how they plan, execute, and monitor SEO campaigns.

Also, check if they use project management tools that allow you to track the project’s progress and ensure end-to-end transparency.

At Stan Ventures, we allocate a dedicated account manager for each client to facilitate seamless communication and keep our clients updated about the progress of their projects at all times via dedicated dashboards. Book a free consultation call to get a closer look into our process.

Pricing Models and Contract

Check the pricing packages offered by the SEO partner. Make sure they are transparent so there is no room for hidden charges.

Also ensure that they are affordable and align with your SEO budget and are not beyond the scope of services provided.

Evaluate whether the pricing package of your choice will allow you to achieve the SEO objectives you have in mind.

Please read the contract’s terms and conditions, including the deliverables, duration, potential exit options, and other policies.

Client satisfaction is the touchstone of our service quality. Stan Ventures has a 100% money-back guarantee policy in place to ensure that you are fully satisfied with our SEO services.

Outsourcing Vs. Inhouse SEO

Are you still debating SEO outsourcing and doing SEO with an in-house team?

Let me help you weigh the pros and cons so that you can make an informed decision.

Here you go.

As you know, SEO outsourcing involves getting an SEO specialist or an agency to build your SEO strategy and manage your SEO campaigns professionally.

On the other hand, in-house SEO denotes maintaining a personal team within your organization to take care of your website’s SEO.

Honestly, both approaches have their own set of advantages and challenges.

Cost Implications

Outsourcing SEO can be an economical option as it eliminates the need for hiring full-time resources, training them and investing in expensive tools.

In-house SEO requires a huge initial investment in terms of hiring and training resources.

However, it can be cost-efficient in the long-run, especially if the team can manage SEO effectively.

Access to SEO Expertise

You need seasoned SEO experts in place to drive substantial SEO growth for your business.

When you outsource SEO from a dedicated SEO agency, you can leverage the experience and expertise of core SEO specialists to boost your site’s organic traffic and search rankings faster.

When it comes to In-house SEO, the higher costs for recruitment and training involved is likely to limit the experience and expertise of your resources significantly. This will affect the success rate of your SEO campaigns considerably.

Control and Communication Considerations

As your in-house team is a part of your organization, in-house SEO offers better control over your SEO strategy and opens doors to hassle-free communication with the SEO squad.

On the contrary, SEO outsourcing offers comparatively less control over the strategy and may create communication challenges.

However, you can mitigate this problem by choosing an SEO partner who offers process transparency and is available for providing support through a well-defined communication channel.

That said, choosing between SEO outsourcing and in-house SEO depends on your budget, the expertise level your website needs, and the business goals in question.

Now, what if I told you you can get the best of both worlds? Let me give you an example from our portfolio

A Utah-based premium full-service digital marketing agency approached us to improve their clients’ online visibility. Using our white label SEO service, we meticulously aligned our process with the company’s existing workflow to help them manage link building orders, generate white label reports,track progress, and make on-time delivery to their clients. The convergence of their in-house workflow and our SEO outsourcing process catalyzed the overall success of the project. Want to know how we made it happen?

Check out the full case study here.

Managing Outsourced SEO Projects

SEO outsourcing can bring great results if you know how to handle your SEO project outsourced to your agency partner.

SEO Outsourcing Best Practices

Here’s a look at the best practices for outsourcing SEO projects.

Establishing Clear Goals and KPIs

Set specific goals for your SEO project. This will help you build a result-focused strategy and measure success based on the performance of your SEO campaigns.

Define key performance indicators (KPIs) such as organic traffic, keyword rankings, conversion rates, and backlink quality to track progress.

Ensure that the outsourcing partner understands your business needs, goals and KPIs. This way, they can come up with customized SEO strategies to achieve the specified KPIs.

Effective Communication with the Outsourcing Partner

Maintain regular communication with your SEO outsourcing partner to stay updated on the progress of your project and address issues at the earliest.

Use effective communication channels that facilitate easy and transparent communication, including email, live chat and other project management tools.

Regular Reviews and Adjustments Based on Performance

Conduct regular meetings with your agency partner and compare your current SEO standings against your business goals and KPIs. This will help you figure out the distance you need to cover to reach your predefined milestones.

Plus, scheduling these periodic meetings and review sessions will help you get your SEO strategy tweaked based on the current performance to bolster more positive outcomes.

Maintain a collaborative relationship with the outsourcing partner and share constructive feedback wherever possible.

Common Challenges in Outsourcing SEO and How to Overcome Them

Sometimes, managing your outsourced SEO projects may be challenging because of the following reasons.

Language and Cultural Barriers

Communication issues may arise due to language differences and cultural differences between you and your SEO service provider.

Prioritize choosing an outsourcing partner with proven proficiency in your language and an understanding of your cultural context. However, that should not stop you from outsourcing to some of the best SEO agencies out there.

Make sure the conversation between you and your SEO partner is clear and concise as far as possible.

As an Indo-American SEO agency, we are pretty familiar with the languages and cultural contexts in both regions. Our clients are our priority and we go the extra mile to remove all the potential barriers along the way to offer them what they exactly want.

Time Zone Differences

Large time zone differences between you and your SEO partner can wreak havoc in terms of project coordination and communication. Fortunately, there’s always one or more points of intersection.

Schedule meetings at a time that is convenient for both of you. Use channels like email and project management dashboard to communicate whenever immediate response is not mandatory. This way, you can keep the project going despite time zone differences.

Ensuring Quality and Consistency

Quality assurance and consistency of SEO deliverable can sometimes be a problem when working with a third-party agency.

Make sure that you clearly define your quality standards well in advance to your SEO partner. Carefully review the deliverables offered by them and provide constructive feedback.

At Stan Ventures, we make absolutely no compromise on quality. We are committed to achieving 100% client satisfaction and maintaining quality and consistency every step of the way.

Benefits of Outsourcing to a Reputed Agency

Choosing a reputed SEO partner to outsource your project can bring significant benefits for your business. Check them out below.

Leveraging External Expertise and Resources for a Wider Array of Projects

Outsourcing to a reputed agency allows businesses to access skilled expertise and SEO knowledge that may not be available in-house.

Most importantly, when you outsource SEO from a seasoned agency like Stan Ventures, you can procure an extensive range of SEO projects, either for you or your clients, without having to recruit and train additional resources.

Our SEO analysts have hands-on experience working with businesses distributed across niches and can efficiently handle the SEO needs of various industries.

Allowing In-House Teams to Focus on Strategic Growth Activities

By outsourcing certain projects to trusted agency partners, you can free up time for in-house resources so that they can focus on your core business activities and contribute more to your organizational growth.

This can lead to more efficient use of internal resources and greater emphasis on areas that directly contribute to business growth.

Cost-Effective Scalability and Enhanced Service Delivery

Outsourcing provides a flexible way to scale your business operations based on demand without having to worry about the overhead costs associated with maintaining a large in-house team.

Reputed agencies often have a streamlined process and access to advanced tools, which, in turn, leads to on-time and more efficient deliveries while saving costs for you.

Strengthening Competitive Advantage and Responsiveness to Market Demands

Partnering with a trusted SEO agency can help gear up your website’s metrics and search engine rankings faster using a tailored SEO approach. This will give you the competitive edge you need to crush your competitors and move forward in the SEO race.

Plus, such partnerships can help you be more aware of the altering market trends and tap into them quickly. This may not be possible when you are solely dependent on an in-house team with limited experience and capabilities.

When your SEO project puts too much on your plate, you can switch to SEO outsourcing. Unlike in-house SEO, SEO outsourcing does not require you to build a team, recruit and train your resources. SEO outsourcing is cost-effective and allows you to access and make use of industry expertise on the go and drive significant results for your target website.

Make sure you choose a trusted SEO service provider to make the most out of SEO outsourcing. Besides fetching good results, such partnerships with reputable agencies will help you to keep track of the changing industry trends so that you can leverage them to turn the table in your favor.