Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, has become the lynchpin of digital marketing strategies. When done right, SEO can boost the performance of your content, your page, and even your website, so you receive a high rank on Google.

In the digital age, when e-commerce businesses create a marketing plan, they must do so with SEO as a central focus. 

This push toward SEO has resulted in a great deal of competitiveness between brands, many of whom are trying to rank for similar keywords, even when they belong to different industries.

But working on SEO for every piece of content can be time-consuming and labor-intensive for marketers. And educating an entire company on how to create material that satisfies the marketing’s team’s SEO requirements isn’t feasible either. SEO is an excellent tool to learn, but not everyone is cut out for it.

For companies who want to ensure that their content and website stays above their SEO demands, looking to outside help is often the only option.

But how does one go about outsourcing SEO? We look at some SEO basics that web agencies need to know; what the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing are; and the process of outsourcing SEO.

SEO Basics

For e-commerce stores that are starting out—and even for established stores—and for web agencies as a whole, SEO is of extreme importance. SEO can get eyes on your site for free. But it needs to be done right.

The best way to get attention to your store is by ranking on Google’s first page. Are you selling silver filigree jewelry? Then you want people who are searching for ‘silver filigree jewelry’ on Google to see your website on the first page, if not right at the top of the page.

While you can achieve this by paying for an advertisement on Google, many new e-commerce stores do not have the budget to pay for this, especially not in the initial stages.

That is where SEO comes in. If you optimize the use of keywords on every page of your site, the chances of your pages or Shopify store ranking for those keywords will be high.

But your heading and content also need to be good enough for people to consistently click on it and want to stay on your page, instead of leaving immediately.

Additionally, if other sites link back to your pages, Google will deem your pages and your site worthy of attention. The more links you receive, the more your authority will increase in Google’s eyes, and so will your ranking.

Why Outsource SEO?

The above SEO basics should have made it fairly clear that SEO requires a fair amount of work to be done right. 

It is difficult for e-commerce stores, particularly startups, to get the basics of SEO right. It is even harder when a store is being run by a single individual who has numerous other tasks to manage. 

But when SEO is the biggest (or only) marketing draw for your company, you can hardly ignore it. Should you attempt to do it all by yourself? Not only will you have to do a great deal of research, but mistakes could potentially sink your business.

Instead of struggling to handle SEO by yourself, when you are juggling multiple duties, it is a better plan to turn to some good SEO companies or freelancers who can do the SEO for you. 

Advantages of Outsourcing

Mastering on-page SEO takes time and practice, and unfortunately time is one thing startups rarely have. By investing in a company that has a great deal of experience in the area, you save time and energy. 

Outsourcing also removes any worries associated with doing SEO wrong. Plus, you don’t have to waste initial setup time trying to create SEO content—your outsourced team will know exactly what to create and how. 

The great thing about outsourcing SEO is that you don’t need to hire in-house experts—who would likely be very expensive. Instead, by hiring an SEO agency, you have access to a whole team of specialists without having to break the bank.  

This frees up your in-house staff to focus on tasks that are related to their skills, which will benefit your company in the long run.

Disadvantages of Outsourcing

However, despite the many advantages of outsourcing, there are some drawbacks you should be aware of. Chief among them is the fact that you need to pay for a company or freelancer. Unfortunately, there is no workaround for this, unless you want to do the SEO yourself.

You are also unlikely to find a local SEO company in your geographical location—many of these companies work remotely, and often on the other side of the world. 

Managing an external agency or freelancer who is working in a different time zone comes with its own inconveniences, but it is nothing that can’t be managed by using some of the best project management software.

You do need to do a fair amount of research to find the right SEO company for your needs. When you are short on time in the initial stages of launching your e-commerce store, this is time that you may not have. 

Of course, the benefits of using an SEO agency far outweigh the time spent researching one, but it is still something you need to consider. 

Steps in Outsourcing Your SEO

There are definitely more advantages to investing in an SEO agency or freelancer—having a team, or an SEO expert, deal with one of the most technical aspects of digital marketing is definitely worth whatever money and time your spend on them.

When you have decided to outsource your SEO, here are the steps you should be following to begin your collaboration.

Company Research

Your first port of call when looking for someone to outsource your SEO to is Google. The top ranked agencies may seem the most attractive, but they aren’t necessarily the best. 

You should definitely check out the reviews for these companies, not only on Google and Glassdoor, but also on social media channels. What are people saying about them—not just the results, but their work ethic? 

Find out if their employees are happy. If the internal structure is in flux, the company may not be able to deliver on their promises. 

Learn whether or not they are using above-the-board SEO tactics. Use a website like Ahrefs to study the backlinks the agency has been receiving. If they are only linked on low-ranking sites, then they are of little use to you, and may even be evidence of underhanded SEO tactics.

If you can speak to someone offline who has worked with the company, and they recommend the agency, that is a plus in the company’s books.

Freelancer Research

The research you do for SEO freelancers should follow a similar pattern. Remember that the ones who have the most followers on social media may not be the best at their job.

Keep in mind that freelancers are unlikely to have reviews on sites like Google and Glassdoor—and the testimonials on their website will obviously be wholly positive. 

Instead, visit forums or freelance websites like Upwork and PeoplePerHour, where you can see rankings for freelancers and reviews by people who worked with them.

You should also speak to their previous clients and find industry professionals who may have come across these freelancers.

Filtering Applications

If you choose to post an ad for agencies and freelancers, you are likely to get numerous applications. 

Once you do the initial sifting process by reading the reviews, you need to filter the applications to find the right company or individual for you.

The applications you receive should answer the question you posed, or address your problem in the opening paragraphs. 

And if the applicant hasn’t caught your attention in the first two paragraphs, there really is no point in reading further. It is highly likely that they have responded to your ad with a generic reply instead of taking the time to craft a response to your specific needs. 

If they are so lackadaisical with their proposal, they are unlikely to put in the effort for the actual SEO work.

You should also be skeptical of anyone who promises guaranteed results. If it sounds too good to be true, it definitely is. 

The most anyone can do with SEO is give you a guesstimate of what can be achieved and how long it might take—but they can’t definitively ensure that your page will rank number one on Google by the end of their contract period.

Establishing Contact

Once you have shortlisted the companies or freelancers that appeal to you, try to meet a representative before beginning a collaboration, either in-person or via a video conference.

Research in advance what questions you should ask them, or whether you want to give them a test. 

If your knowledge of SEO isn’t good, take someone with you who knows something about it. Otherwise you will be lost during the interview, and a scammer may take advantage of your lack of knowledge to over promise or take you for a ride.

Don’t be afraid to quiz them on recent SEO trends, and their own SEO practices. Ask them about their successes, and their failures, and what they learned from both. You should also ask for references.

Once you have spoken to the agency or freelancer, you will have a better feel of how well they will work with you and your company. 

Outsource Your SEO Today

Having completed your due diligence in finding the right SEO expert for your e-commerce store or web agency, you can move onto the next steps. 

Get the legal documents out of the way first. These include the contractual agreement and the non-disclosure agreement (if you need one).

The contract should outline what is expected of the SEO agency and by when. Set out your parameters and get a lawyer to look over it. Also, be prepared for a negotiation period.

With that part completed, you need to ensure that the company or freelancer you will be outsourcing to knows exactly what they need to do.

Be as clear as possible about what your vision is—increasing brand awareness, ranking pages, launching new products. Communicate whenever and wherever possible—nobody can read your mind.

Give the agency or freelancer the key performance indicators for the project, so they have solid goals to work towards. 

If you are clear and communicative about your needs, the agency will be better able to deliver results. This way, the exercise of outsourcing SEO will be a success and your company will take the first crucial steps towards growth.