Should you Hire an In-House SEO Manager or Outsource?	Visited: 2114 4.9/5.0 (30 votes total) Rate: Select 1 - Terrible 2 - Poor 3 - Average 4 - Good 5 - Outstanding
by Nick Stamoulis May 25, 2009

During these tough economic times companies everywhere must make some difficult decisions when it comes to how they spend their money. The hiring of new employees is a very fragile and gentle topic for most businesses right now. There is no exception when it comes to SEO. Many companies always ask themselves whether they should hire an outsourced company or an in house SEO manager. Both have significant advantages and disadvantages.

In House Advantages:

There are many advantages to having an in house SEO manger. Some are the obvious like convenience to be able to speak with your SEO person regarding new projects at almost any given moment. You also know that this person is 100% onboard with your companies project at all times and you don’t have to compete for their time and attention with other companies. You can assure yourself that there will not be a conflict of interest with another client in the same industry.

In House Disadvantages:

Some of the disadvantages to hiring a full time SEO manager for your business are that to get someone that really knows what they are doing you will have to shell out a considerable amount of money for a yearly salary including benefits. Chances are in this economy a business can find a very reputable marketing firm for a fraction of what they would have to pay a full time employee. If you find the right firm it will cost you much less than having to hire a full time internet marketing manager.

Outsourcing SEO Efforts Advantages:

The costs of outsourcing SEO efforts would be much less leaving most businesses to be able to use that additional money trying to create new business in other ways. Also a business has the flexibility of trying out a different firm if the current one does not work out. If an in house SEO manager doesn’t work out the costs to let that employee go and rehire a new one are much higher.

Outsourcing SEO Efforts Disadvantages:

One of the biggest disadvantages to outsourcing your SEO efforts is that you are out of touch with your account manager handling your SEO. The ability to walk into their office and get a meeting together to brainstorm new ideas doesn’t really exist. That person might also be managing a handful of other clients as well so the amount of attention spent on your account is going to be much less than if you had an employee in house.