When you want to increase awareness of your services or products, many turn to SEO strategies and consultants. In recent years, the use of websites has surged, with Dentsu reporting that internet advertising expenses in 2022 grew by 114.3% from the previous year, making up 43.5% of Japan’s total advertising expenditure.
However, some may hesitate to use SEO consultants because they do not fully understand what services are provided or the benefits and drawbacks of outsourcing SEO efforts.
This article explains the main services offered by SEO consultants, the advantages and disadvantages of hiring them, how to choose the right consultant, and how to determine an appropriate budget for outsourcing SEO. If you’re considering SEO consulting, you’ll find plenty of valuable information here. Please read to the end.
Main Services of SEO Consulting
SEO consulting firms offer a wide range of services. The primary services include “providing SEO know-how,” “strategy planning,” and “performance measurement and reporting.”
Let’s take a detailed look at what each of these services entails.
Provision of SEO Know-How
One of the main services provided by SEO consulting firms is offering SEO know-how. By utilizing SEO consulting, you can gain a broad range of information, from basic SEO knowledge to the latest trends and the most suitable methods for optimizing your website.
SEO is highly dynamic, and skills that were effective a few years ago may no longer be valid. Therefore, a significant advantage of using consulting services is the ability to always access and implement the latest SEO strategies without much hassle.
Conducting SEO in-house requires considerable time and effort for information gathering and trial and error. In contrast, professional advice from consultants significantly reduces the time and effort needed to acquire SEO know-how.
Moreover, getting specific advice tailored to your company’s issues and goals is another benefit of using SEO consulting services.
SEO consulting is not just outsourcing; it is also recommended for those who want to learn SEO efficiently.
Strategy Planning for Improving Website Ranking
Another primary service provided by SEO consulting firms is planning strategies to improve website ranking. Typical strategy planning to improve website ranking includes the following methods:
- Site structure design
- Keyword selection
- Competitor analysis
- Proposals for modifying existing content
In strategy planning, consultants create strategies to improve website ranking by comprehensively considering the necessary elements for SEO optimization.
For example, in site structure design, you can receive technical advice on making your site structure easy for both users and search engines to understand.
Keyword selection is a particular area where SEO consultants showcase their skills. Among the vast array of related terms for a site’s concept, they extract keywords based on various aspects like ranking difficulty, search volume, and user needs to build titles and headings that search engines will evaluate positively.
To achieve a speedy and effective ranking improvement for your website, essential tasks include site structure design, proper keyword selection, and content creation. By commissioning an SEO consulting firm, you can aim for effective website ranking improvement through comprehensive strategy planning.
Performance Measurement and Reporting of SEO Optimization
The third main service provided by SEO consulting firms is performance measurement and reporting of SEO optimization. This service involves regularly measuring the effectiveness of SEO strategies, including “site ranking,” “visitor numbers,” and “user behavior patterns,” and reporting the results obtained from consulting.
SEO optimization is not a one-time task but requires continuous optimization to adapt to ever-changing search engine trends and user behavior. Therefore, regular performance measurement and reporting are crucial to ensuring successful SEO optimization.
Additionally, the service of performance measurement and reporting reduces the effort needed to check the results of SEO consulting.
The client’s primary task is to review the current status during regular reports, while most of the actions necessary for improving website ranking can be entrusted to SEO experts.
Benefits of Hiring an SEO Consultant
By hiring an SEO consultant who specializes in SEO, you can reap various benefits such as “saving time and resources,” “avoiding the risk of ranking penalties,” and “implementing strategies based on the latest know-how.”
Let’s explore the benefits of hiring an SEO consultant in more detail.
Save the Time and Effort of Trial and Error In-House
One significant advantage of hiring an SEO consultant is that it saves your company the time and effort of trial and error, allowing you to focus your resources on core business activities and other growth strategies.
While it is possible to handle SEO in-house, it requires a comprehensive approach, from information gathering to strategy planning, execution, and performance measurement. The trial and error involved in SEO can be time-consuming and labor-intensive.
However, by entrusting these tasks to an SEO consultant, you can significantly reduce the time and effort needed for SEO trial and error. Consultants are well-versed in the latest SEO trends and can leverage their knowledge and experience to develop effective and efficient strategies.
This enables your company to achieve results more quickly and reliably compared to handling SEO solely in-house.
Avoid the Risk of Penalties that Lower Rankings
Another advantage of hiring an SEO consultant is the ability to avoid the risk of ranking penalties, ensuring the long-term growth of your site.
SEO is a powerful web marketing strategy, but incorrect implementation can have adverse effects. Particularly, actions that violate search engine guidelines, such as those of Google, can result in penalties that negate the efforts and time invested in developing your website.
SEO consultants, being experts in search engine algorithms and guidelines, can help you avoid the pitfalls that might lead to penalties. They can propose and execute appropriate SEO strategies that mitigate the risk of ranking penalties while fostering the steady growth of your website.
Implement SEO Strategies Based on the Latest Know-How
Search engines like Google frequently update their algorithms, causing the know-how required for effective SEO to change continuously. Managing SEO in-house means you must always stay updated with the latest information.
Even if your current state is satisfactory, straying from the latest trends can result in a sudden drop in search rankings.
By hiring an SEO consultant, you can ensure that your website operations are always based on the latest know-how without much hassle.
With an SEO consultant, you can implement effective strategies that adapt to changing trends, continuously improving your website’s search rankings.
Disadvantages of Hiring an SEO Consultant
While there are many benefits to hiring an SEO consultant, there are also some disadvantages. These include “costs,” “no guaranteed top rankings,” and “potential issues due to lack of resources on the client’s side.”
Understanding these disadvantages is crucial for making an informed decision. Let’s delve into the disadvantages of hiring an SEO consultant.
Higher Costs Compared to In-House SEO
One of the primary disadvantages of hiring an SEO consultant is the cost. Unlike in-house SEO, hiring a consultant involves paying for their services. Typically, SEO consultancy fees are based on projects for one-off tasks or on a monthly or annual basis for ongoing support, which often results in higher costs than in-house efforts.
Even though in-house SEO also incurs costs such as salaries, time, and learning expenses, the initial and ongoing fees of hiring a consultant can be more substantial.
No Guaranteed Top Rankings
Another disadvantage is that even if you hire an expert SEO consultant and they devise an appropriate strategy, top rankings are not guaranteed.
Achieving top rankings on search engines like Google is influenced by many uncertain factors beyond the control of your website content.
Factors such as competitor websites and changes in search engine algorithms can cause fluctuations in rankings, meaning top positions are not assured.
Inability to Implement Advice Due to Resource Shortages
Even if you receive appropriate advice from an SEO consultant, there are instances where the advice cannot be implemented due to a lack of resources within your company. Without the necessary personnel, time, and technical skills to execute the suggested strategies, it becomes challenging to achieve desired results from the advice.
This is a notable disadvantage of hiring an SEO consultant. However, some consultants offer additional services such as “content planning and creation” and “technical website improvements” to help increase page visits.
Consultants who provide comprehensive support, including content creation necessary for achieving top search rankings, allow you to effectively leverage external resources for SEO efforts without straining your internal resources.
Key Points for Choosing an SEO Consultant That Fits Your Company
When choosing an SEO consultant suitable for your company, several key points should be considered: the specificity of the services offered, past achievements and reputation, and pricing. Selecting a consultant that best matches your company’s needs is crucial for successful SEO strategies. Let’s delve into these points in detail.
Check the Specific Services Provided
When selecting an SEO consultant, it’s best to confirm the specific services they offer. Many consulting firms provide common services like “SEO know-how,” “strategy planning,” and “effect measurement.” However, the specific content and approach can vary. Some consultants also offer direct involvement in practical tasks like content creation and website improvement.
Understanding the differences in services provided by each consultant is essential for selecting the one that best suits your needs.
Review Achievements and Reputation
Checking the achievements and reputation of an SEO consulting company is vital. Specifically, look at what kind of results they have achieved for which companies. Success stories from companies of similar size and industry can be good indicators of suitability.
Reputation and reviews are also important. Hearing from companies that have used the consultant’s SEO services can provide insights into service quality and responsiveness that may not be apparent from the official website alone.
Don’t Choose Based Solely on Low Cost
While cost is an important criterion when selecting an SEO consultant, focusing only on the lowest price can lead to issues. Low-cost services might compromise on quality, responsiveness, or include hidden costs for essential services.
Choosing an SEO consultant based solely on cost can result in significant problems. It’s best to compare “service content,” “responsiveness,” and “past achievements” comprehensively to select the most suitable consultant for your company.
Key Points for Determining an Appropriate Budget for Outsourcing SEO Consulting
The cost of SEO consulting varies widely depending on the agency and the services provided. Therefore, it is important to set a budget that fits your company’s needs. Here are some concrete steps to determine an appropriate budget for SEO consulting:
Investigate the Search Volume of Target Keywords
When deciding on an SEO budget, an essential step is to investigate the search volume of the keywords you aim to rank for.
This metric indicates how often a specific keyword is searched within a given timeframe. The higher the search volume, the more traffic you can potentially gain if your site ranks high for that keyword.
Based on search volume, estimate the potential increase in traffic if your SEO efforts succeed. By considering the business value of the projected increase in traffic, you can set a budget that aligns with these expectations. Google Keyword Planner and other SEO tools can help you find precise search volume data.
Estimate Potential Sales from Increased Traffic
Another critical step in setting a proper SEO budget is estimating how increased traffic from SEO will translate into sales. For this, you need to know your website’s conversion rate.
This metric indicates the percentage of visitors who take a desired action, such as making a purchase or an inquiry. You can calculate the conversion rate by dividing the number of conversions by the number of visitors in a specific period.
For example, if a website has 10,000 monthly visits and 100 conversions, the conversion rate is 1% (100 ÷ 10,000). This means the site can convert 1% of its visitors into customers. If traffic doubles to 20,000, you can expect around 200 conversions at the same conversion rate.
By knowing your conversion rate, you can hypothesize how much your sales might increase with higher traffic, helping you estimate how much revenue the increased traffic will generate.
However, note that as traffic increases, the quality of visitors may change, potentially affecting the conversion rate. Therefore, use these sales projections as a guideline for budget planning, rather than as precise forecasts.
If you are about to create a new website or do not yet have conversion rate data, use average conversion rates from your industry to estimate potential sales increases.
Determine the Budget Based on Expected Traffic and Sales
Based on the projected increase in traffic and sales from SEO efforts, you can decide how much to spend on consulting services to achieve these results.
For instance, if SEO efforts are expected to boost monthly sales by 1,000,000 yen and increase profits by 300,000 yen, investing 50,000 to 100,000 yen per month in SEO consulting can be justified, as the benefits outweigh the costs.
Comparing the expected outcomes with the costs helps you set a proper SEO budget. Through this process, you can select the most suitable SEO consultant and set an optimal budget for your business.
Summary
In this article, we discussed the benefits and drawbacks of SEO consulting, how to choose the right consultant, and how to budget appropriately for these services. Achieving successful SEO requires not just improving search rankings but converting those rankings into sales. Collaborating with an SEO consultant who aligns with your company’s needs and setting a suitable budget can significantly simplify this process.
At MASS DRIVER, we prioritize business growth and offer SEO strategies designed to boost sales. Our expertise in the latest search algorithms ensures optimized strategies with swift and flexible implementation. If you’re considering SEO, feel free to contact us for a consultation.
