SEO is the key to staying afloat in the digital landscape. However, the journey to the top of search results is arduous and time-consuming. So why struggle with it yourself when there’s a better way?
Less than 1% of users click on the second page of Google search results.1
With SEO outsourcing, agencies and marketers can delegate the work to experienced professionals without the hassle of building their own SEO team. This allows you to efficiently boost the rankings of your clients’ projects while freeing up capacity for other strategic tasks.
But how does it actually work? In this article, you’ll learn what SEO outsourcing is and how it can give your agency a competitive edge.
What Is SEO Outsourcing?
SEO outsourcing refers to the delegation of search engine optimization tasks to external service providers or agencies. Instead of handling all aspects of your SEO strategy internally, you hire experts who have the necessary knowledge and resources.
This includes a wide range of tasks, from keyword research and on-page optimization to link building and content creation.
White-Label SEO for Agencies
For agencies looking to expand their service offerings, SEO outsourcing is the perfect solution. Instead of overloading your internal resources or hiring a new team, agencies can rely on white-label SEO services. This allows you to easily and cost-effectively extend your service portfolio without needing to increase in-house capacity.
At Blogtec, we offer tailored solutions specifically designed for agencies, enabling them to provide high-quality SEO services to their clients without needing to develop their own expertise.
SEO Outsourcing for Marketers
Marketers also benefit from SEO outsourcing. Instead of handling every SEO task themselves, they can tap into external expertise, boosting their efficiency. Outsourcing allows marketers to focus on core strategic tasks while the technical aspects and implementation of SEO measures are handled by professionals.
With Blogtec, marketers get a partner who not only develops SEO content and strategies but also ensures clear communication and transparent results.
SEO Outsourcing – What Can Be Outsourced?
SEO is like a diamond.
It has many facets that must be perfectly aligned to shine at its best – they just need to be polished correctly. Fortunately, you can outsource these tasks to experts.
Here are some of the key areas where SEO outsourcing comes into play:
Keyword Research and Analysis
The foundation of any successful SEO strategy is proper keyword research. When outsourcing, experts identify the most relevant keywords for your industry, analyze search volume, and assess the competition.
This ensures that your website is optimized for the terms your client’s target audience actually uses.
On-Page Optimization
On-page optimization includes all the measures carried out directly on the website to improve its visibility in search engines. This includes optimizing meta tags, headers, internal links, and improving loading times, especially for mobile use.
A specialized agency can professionally manage all these aspects for you and your clients.
Content Creation
High-quality content is at the core of every SEO strategy. Blogtec can provide SEO-optimized content that agencies and marketers can use as a white-label solution to offer their clients premium content that’s perfectly aligned with search engines.
This includes blog posts, landing pages, and product descriptions tailored to the client’s target audience.
About 57% of B2B sellers find the content from their marketing teams to be “generic and irrelevant.”1
Link Building
Link building is one of the most complex and time-consuming tasks in SEO. It involves acquiring high-quality backlinks from other websites to improve the ranking of your client’s website.
SEO agencies often have a network, so you can buy backlinks, and they have the right strategies to implement this efficiently.
Websites with the highest number of backlinks typically rank the best on Google.1
Off-Page SEO
Off-page SEO encompasses all activities that occur outside of a website to improve its ranking. This includes not only link building, but also social media marketing and building relationships with other websites and influencers.
A professional agency can develop and implement an effective off-page strategy to strengthen a website’s presence in the online community.
International SEO
If your client operates internationally, international SEO is a critical aspect. It involves optimizing the client’s website for different countries and languages. This includes translating country-specific content, implementing language tags, and adapting to different search engines like Baidu or Yandex.
An experienced agency can help account for cultural differences and search habits in various markets.
Local SEO
For businesses that operate locally, local SEO is crucial to visibility in local search results. This includes optimizing the Google Business Profile, creating locally relevant content, and gathering local reviews.
By outsourcing to an SEO agency, you ensure that all important local ranking factors are considered, helping your client’s website get discovered more easily in their region.
In 2022, around 87% of consumers researched local businesses through Google Search, a 6% increase from 2021. Companies with a complete business profile are 70% more likely to attract customers and 50% more likely to have them consider making a purchase.1
Technical SEO
Technical SEO covers all the technical aspects that ensure your client’s website is properly crawled and indexed by search engines. This includes improving the site’s structure, optimizing the XML sitemap, and fixing crawling errors.
By outsourcing these tasks, you can ensure that the website is technically flawless, leading to better rankings.
What Are the Benefits of Outsourcing SEO?
SEO requires ongoing work, extensive expertise, and, most importantly, resources. That’s why many companies choose to outsource SEO to a specialized agency.
But what makes this so advantageous? Here are some of the key benefits of SEO outsourcing:
✅ Access to Expert Knowledge
SEO agencies have a team of specialists who focus on various areas of search engine optimization. By outsourcing, you gain access to this wealth of expertise.
These professionals stay up-to-date with the latest SEO trends and algorithms, allowing them to respond quickly to changes and continuously optimize your clients’ websites.
✅ Time and Resource Savings
Implementing an effective SEO strategy requires both time and resources. By outsourcing this task to an agency, you can focus on your core business while ensuring that SEO efforts are carried out professionally.
This not only saves you time but also reduces costs associated with hiring and training an in-house team.
✅ Scalable Solutions
An agency offers flexible and scalable SEO solutions tailored to your business’s needs. Whether you require a one-time optimization or a long-term SEO strategy for your clients, an agency can adjust its services accordingly.
This means you can easily scale up or down, depending on how your agency evolves.
✅ Measurable Results
SEO agencies use specialized tools and methods to monitor and analyze a website’s performance. They provide you with regular reports showing how rankings, traffic, and conversion rates are improving for each client’s website.
This ensures you have a clear understanding of the success of the SEO efforts and can share these results with your clients.
✅ Continuous Optimization
SEO work is never truly finished. By partnering with a specialized agency, you ensure that your clients’ websites are continuously monitored and optimized. The experts stay on top of new developments and adjust the strategy as needed to achieve the best possible results.
This helps keep the websites competitive and visible in the long term.
What Are the Potential Drawbacks?
While SEO outsourcing offers many benefits, there are also some potential challenges to consider. It’s important to be aware of these aspects to make an informed decision:
⭕ Loss of Control
One major drawback of outsourcing is the potential loss of control over the SEO strategy and its implementation. Since the work is being handled by an external agency, you may have less influence over the specific actions and changes made to a client’s website.
To avoid this, it’s essential to establish clear communication channels, receive regular feedback, and maintain a change log.
⭕ Dependency on the Service Provider
Outsourcing SEO for your clients can lead to a certain level of dependency on the chosen service provider. If problems or misunderstandings arise, they can impact the effectiveness of the SEO efforts.
It’s advisable to choose a reliable partner and carefully review the terms of the contract beforehand.
⭕ Quality Fluctuations
The quality of SEO work can vary significantly, especially if the agency lacks sufficient experience in your client’s industry. Not all agencies operate at the same level, and there is a risk of receiving subpar or ineffective SEO services.
To minimize this risk, be sure to check references and client reviews to better assess the quality of the service provider.
⭕ Cost Factor
Although SEO outsourcing is generally more cost-efficient than building an internal team, it can still represent a significant investment. Costs vary depending on the scope of services and the agency’s expertise.
It’s essential to carefully evaluate the price-to-performance ratio and ensure the investment aligns with the expected ROI (Return on Investment).
About 88% of marketers who already invest in SEO planned to maintain or even increase their budget that same year.1
⭕ Risk of Unethical Practices
Another potential drawback is the risk that the hired agency may use unethical SEO practices (Black Hat SEO) to achieve quick results. While these methods can lead to short-term ranking improvements, they can result in penalties from search engines like Google in the long run.
Therefore, it’s crucial to choose an agency that employs transparent and ethical SEO practices.
Decided on SEO Outsourcing: What Should the SEO Service Provider Offer?
If you decide to outsource SEO, choosing the right agency is naturally critical to the success of your SEO strategy. But what should you specifically look for when selecting an agency? Here are some key criteria a good SEO agency should have:
⭐ Experience and Expertise
A reliable SEO partner for agencies and marketers is characterized by extensive experience and expertise. They should have a proven track record of successful projects and ideally possess experience in your client’s industry.
The more expertise the agency has, the better equipped they are to address the specific challenges of your niche.
⭐ Transparent Workflow
Transparency is a crucial factor when selecting an SEO agency. The agency should communicate openly about its methods and strategies and provide you with regular reports on the actions taken and the results achieved.
A transparent workflow builds trust and allows you to closely monitor the progress of SEO measures for each client.
⭐ Personalized Consultation and Strategy
Every website is unique and requires an individualized SEO strategy. A good agency will first conduct a thorough analysis of your client’s website and then develop a tailored strategy based on that.
They should be willing to take your specific goals and requirements into account and be flexible in adapting to changes.
⭐ Use of White Hat SEO Practices
It’s crucial that the agency only uses ethical SEO practices (White Hat SEO). This means they adhere to search engine guidelines and avoid risky methods that could lead to penalties.
Ensure that the agency focuses on long-term success rather than short-term gains through questionable tactics.
⭐ Good Value for Money
SEO is an investment that should, of course, pay off in the long term. A professional agency offers good value for money by delivering high-quality services at fair prices.
Be cautious of offers that seem too good to be true—a reputable agency will always offer realistic and transparent pricing and won’t guarantee you’ll land the #1 spot.
⭐ Positive Customer Reviews and References
Customer reviews and references can give you a clear picture of an SEO agency’s work quality. Look for testimonials and reviews from other businesses, agencies, and marketers who have worked with the agency.
Positive testimonials and successful case studies are a good indication that the agency delivers on its promises.
Step-by-Step Guide: How to Outsource SEO for Your Clients
Finding the right partner for SEO outsourcing requires a clear strategy and careful planning. Here’s a simple step-by-step guide to help you successfully manage the process:
1. Define Your Goals
Before you start outsourcing, it’s important to set clear goals. Think about what results you want to achieve for your clients and what SEO services are necessary to accomplish that.
For example, if your goal is to increase your client’s organic visibility, focusing on keyword research and content creation might be the right approach.
2. Research and Choose the Right SEO Partner
Look for an SEO provider with proven success and positive client reviews. Consider their experience, the services they offer, and their expertise in your industry.
Things to consider:
- Expertise: Does the provider have experience in your client’s industry?
- Efficiency: How quickly can you expect to see results?
- Cost: Does the price-to-performance ratio fit your budget (and your client’s budget)?
3. Define the Scope of Work
Clear agreements on the scope of collaboration are essential to avoid misunderstandings and budget overruns. Define the specific services, timeline, and costs upfront.
Key points to consider:
- Services: What SEO tasks will be outsourced?
- Timeline: What deadlines and milestones should be met?
- Cost: What does the pricing model look like?
4. Provide Access and Relevant Data
For your SEO provider to work efficiently, they need access to key data and tools. This includes Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and of course, the CMS of the client’s website. Consider also providing historical data to enable a deeper analysis.
5. Monitor Results
Monitoring results is an important step to evaluate the success of SEO efforts and identify areas for improvement. Focus on metrics such as keyword rankings, organic traffic, and backlinks.
By the way: Through our customer portal, you’ll always stay up to date and can closely track all activities for each of your clients. Simply sign in and check it out.
Blogtec: Your Diamond Polisher 💎
With Blogtec, agencies and marketers have an experienced partner by their side, supporting them in all aspects of SEO outsourcing and helping them expand their service offerings. By outsourcing SEO tasks to seasoned professionals like Blogtec, you gain a competitive edge while saving time and resources.
Partnering with Blogtec, which has extensive experience and a wide range of services, sets you up for long-term success in SEO for your clients. It simplifies the process of tapping into a new revenue stream while ensuring that every facet of the SEO diamond is polished to perfection. Book your free consultation today!
