Want to have a little fun and kill some spare time while doing it? Then try Googling the following question: should I pay for SEO services or just do it myself? Sit back and start reading the full spectrum of opinions that show up in the results. You will experience a glorious time of trying to figure out who is right and who is wrong.
On the one extreme are those who believe you should never pay for SEO services. You should never search ‘SEO services near me’ and follow up by contacting local service providers. Then there are those on the other end of the spectrum. They believe business owners should always pay for professional SEO services. Between the two extremes you have all sorts of opinions leaning one way or the other.
So, what is the right answer? There isn’t one. Like everything else in business, company owners and executives need to look at their own circumstances and then determine the best course of action. There are legitimate reasons to handle SEO in house. There are also legitimate reasons to pay for SEO service. There is no one-size-fits-all formula that works for every company.
Understand How SEO Works
Assuming you are a business owner trying to answer the question for yourself, the most important thing you could do is learn exactly how SEO works. Some of the tools SEO providers utilize can be difficult to understand, but SEO’s basic principles are pretty simple.
SEO is an acronym that stands for ‘search engine optimization’. It is the practice of utilizing content, strategies, and tools to improve how well a website ranks on Google and other search engines. At the heart of it all are keywords and phrases.
If you were to Google ‘SEO services near me’, Google’s algorithm would do two things. First, it would search for websites that focus heavily on paid SEO services. Second, it would rank the companies behind those websites based on geographic position. The idea would be to list firms closest to you near the top of the list.
Keywords Are the Key
Salt Lake City’s Webtek Digital Marketing offers SEO services throughout Utah and the rest of the country. They explain that keywords truly are the key to successful SEO. Despite the fact that Google likely relies on dozens of ranking factors, if not hundreds, keywords are still the most important. They tell search algorithms what users want. Keywords are what enable algorithms as they seek to match websites with visitor needs.
In essence, you could handle your own SEO by mastering keyword research and a few other basic techniques. So then why do so many businesses pay for professional SEO services? Because doing SEO properly is time consuming.
You Have Other Things to Worry About
Keyword research is just one component in successful SEO. Maximizing your keywords is a matter of creating content that utilizes them effectively. But guess what? Creating good content takes time. Its time added to what you already spend on keyword research. Yet you have more important things to worry about. As a business owner, you want to focus on your core products and services.
Companies that pay for professional SEO services are able to spend valuable time doing other things. They can give their customers the time and attention they deserve. They can put time into developing new products and services. In essence, paying someone else to handle SEO gives companies the opportunity to focus more of their time and energy on being the best at whatever they specialize in.
