Running an SEO campaign can be tough, especially if you’ve never done it before. SEO is an essential element of any online marketing strategy. But just because it’s essential doesn’t mean that you have to do it yourself. In fact, depending on your budget and your business plan, you may find that outsourcing your SEO efforts can be far more cost-effective and time-efficient than trying to do it in-house.
Search for candidates and shortlist
One of the best ways to find an SEO outsourcing company is by using online tools. You can start by searching for SEO freelancers on popular websites like Upwork.com or ask around for a reliable SEO company that has all the resources to help you through the whole process. The next step is to shortlist a few top candidates. Before you hire anyone, ask them to provide you with samples of their work. Analyze their sample projects and hire the best one.
Create an SEO plan yourself and set goals
It is important to have a plan when it comes to outsourcing SEO. A plan will ensure that all SEO duties are completed in a timely manner, provide a baseline for tracking the progress of your SEO campaign, and serve as a guide for future SEO efforts. Remember to include the SEO tasks that you will be outsourcing, along with the timeline for the SEO campaign. You should also set goals for the SEO campaign. For example, you may want to achieve a certain page ranking, increase the number of backlinks and increase traffic.
You should know the basics of SEO and the basics of your industry. Understanding both of these topics will help you decide which goals you want to set. Here are some questions you should ask yourself:
- What is my goal?
- What are my competitors doing?
- What are my strengths?
- What are my weaknesses?
- Where am I currently ranking?
- Where do I want to rank?
- How will I know if I reach my goals?
Screen progress regularly
Outsourcing can be a costly process, especially when you’re a small business. When you hire someone to do SEO for your business, you should be regularly monitoring their progress and giving feedback on their work. This is important because their work can directly affect your business. Although SEO is a technical field, it will still play a role in how your website is managed, how it is built, and how your business is represented online. If you’re not willing to dedicate your time to monitor your SEO, you may want to reconsider outsourcing your SEO.
Create a spreadsheet containing a list of all of your tasks, the status of the task, and the date of completion. Then add a filter that shows you only the completed tasks. Once a week, print out the spreadsheet and mark off all the tasks that you completed that week. This will help you stay on top of tasks and ensure you don’t get too far behind.
Measure and analyze
SEO is not a one-person job; you need to have someone who is responsible for measuring the performance of your SEO campaign. Data, metrics, and reports are the only way to know if your SEO campaign is successful. Analytics are the way to understand what content is working and what you need to improve, but it also helps determine where you need to focus your efforts. Having a good SEO expert, like an intern, who knows how to interpret and use the data will be a game-changer for your SEO campaign.
Set a budget
Today, a growing number of businesses are realizing that outsourcing their SEO is necessary. However, they don’t realize that they are not approaching it the right way. To make sure you get the most bang for your buck, you need to set a budget. How much you spend is up to you, but it’s important to have a budget, or else you risk wasting money on an ineffective provider.
