There are 100’s of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) businesses operating in the Australian marketplace. Many have great success stories, where it is clear experienced specialists have delivered on the expectations of their clients, whether that be delivering more leads to a business or sales increases. But let’s be clear, this is not the story for all businesses.
I’ve heard of horror stories where tens of thousands of dollars have been spent by small businesses delivering outcomes where other marketing avenues could have been considered in delivering better results. Like any marketing tool, simple business fundamentals need to be considered in any investment.
i.e., are you better of investing in hiring an SEO agency for your organisation or another form of digital marketing?
Why an SEO Agency is not for every business
There are a lot of reasons why hiring an SEO agency is not for every business. Here are some of the most common ones:
- You need to be patient – SEO is a long-term strategy: If you’re looking for quick results, then SEO alone is not for you. It can take months, or even years, to see the results of your SEO efforts.
- SEO is expensive: SEO agencies typically charge a lot of money for their services. If you’re on a tight budget, then hiring an SEO agency is probably not the best option for you.
- SEO is complex: SEO is a complex and ever-changing field. If you’re not willing to put in the time to learn about it, then hiring an SEO agency is probably not the best option for you.
- You need to have a good website: If you don’t have a good website, then hiring an SEO agency is probably not the best option for you. Your website needs to be well-designed and optimised for search engines in order for your SEO efforts to be successful.
- SEO eats into your overall marketing budget: Putting your eggs in the same basket is not going to provide you with a portfolio of marketing options and SEO should be considered as a portion of your marketing spend. If you don’t have the funds to ensure your other marketing initiatives such as Social and Paid Search cannot be implemented effectively, then you may need to look at other options for SEO implementation.
So, can SEO be done by yourself?
Yes, you can do your own SEO, but it will take a lot of time and effort to get it right and it won’t be easy. If you have zero technical knowledge about how websites work (e.g., no understanding of HTML), it will be even more difficult. But if you are willing to invest your own time and (possibly some budget) into learning about the basics of SEO and gaining an understanding of basic HTML, there is plenty of work you can complete yourself to improve your websites SEO.
Here’s the disclaimer to the above: there are dangers in undertaking SEO if you don’t have experience in the field. The main danger is that you could do more harm than good. If you’re not sure what you’re doing, you could end up making your website less visible to search engines. This could result in a drop in traffic and potentially even a drop in sales.
Another danger is that you could be penalised by Google if you are undertaking practices that do not comply with Google’s policies. If you’re not careful, you could end up with a Google penalty. This could mean that your website is removed from Google’s search results altogether.
There are many factors to consider, and it can be difficult to keep up with all the latest changes in Google Search Algorithm, so you will need to commit to keeping abreast of the latest news through forums such as Google announcements, groups or SEO news websites. It is also important to keep up with your competition, and to make sure your website is visible in the search engines, so you will need to ensure you have the right tools in place to be able to complete these tasks.
Alternatives to hiring an expensive SEO agency
To reiterate, if you have the funds in your marketing budget, there are benefits of having professionals assist you with your SEO needs. They are the experts in the field with the knowledge required to assist with website SEO. SEO is a complex task and cannot be completed by anyone without some knowledge in the discipline.
But if you don’t have the funds, how can you complete SEO marketing for your own website without having to spend the $1000’s of dollars every month with an SEO agency?
- Complete a course on SEO and learn the basics (A must): There are plenty of great courses out there that cover the basic fundamentals of Search Engine Optimisation. We suggest you take a look at Google Digital Garage’s Search Engine Optimization Fundamentals course (https://learndigital.withgoogle.com/digitalgarage-au/course/seo-fundamentals), a free beginner’s course covering SEO basics.
- Complete a few basic simple SEO updates to your site taking advantage of these three tools: The most basic changes you can make to a website revolve around the websites content and performance. If you want to learn more about improving the performance of your website on Google, make use of the Google Search Console Tool (https://search.google.com/search-console/about). Ensure you have your business listed and up to date with Google Business (https://business.google.com/) and find an online SEO tool that can assist with the basics of on and off page SEO (such as https://ahrefs.com/ or https://www.semrush.com/) so you can either yourself or with the assistance of your website developers and website content managers make simple changes to your website to improve SEO. SEMRush (https://www.semrush.com/blog/diy-seo/) and Ahrefs (https://ahrefs.com/blog/seo-basics/) also have some very simple guides to get you started.
- Hiring an agency that specializes in small businesses: There are a number of agencies that specialize in working with small businesses. These agencies typically have lower overhead costs and can pass these savings on to their clients. You may also find an agency such as DL Consulting Group (https://www.dlconsulting.com.au) who will provide a mentoring service to assist you with covering SEO basics to get you started.
- Negotiating the fee: Many agencies are willing to negotiate their fees, especially if they believe that the client is a good fit for their services. Why not work with an agency and complete the grunt work for them, while they guide you through the technical aspects of SEO.
- Add an SEO plugin to your website: Many platforms such as WordPress and Shopify have SEO plugins that you can add to your website to assist with on-page SEO needs. Plugins will assist, but it won’t complete the full task that a professional would.
Last thoughts – DIY SEO
The cost of hiring an agency can be prohibitive for some businesses, and the results of SEO are not guaranteed. In addition, the time and effort required to manage an SEO campaign can be significant. For these reasons, businesses must carefully consider whether hiring an SEO agency is the right decision for their needs.
Remember, SEO is complex and isn’t something should be undertaken without committing to understand the basics and gaining knowledge in the space. If you have no alternative but to complete your own SEO for your business, ensure you take the time to gain the knowledge required to undertake SEO or align yourself with a Mentor or agency prior to undertaking any SEO work.
p.s. Regarding plugins – The SEO score for this article is apparently 88/100 according to the installed plugin on my browser. That doesn’t mean that even one person apart from myself will be reading it!