SEO is a heavily misconstrued traffic channel. Even in 2015 where online visibility and organic presence stands of utmost importance. Many brands still attempt to perform DIY SEO with intent of cutting costs. Truthfully, after nearly two decades of combine search expertise I am yet to stumble across a company that handles DIY SEO correctly. There’s a few of those out there but only a few in between. 

For the sake of clarity, what I mean by DIY SEO is any company or brand taking a stab at Search Engine Optimization with little or no knowledge of the field. That type of effort is about as equivalent to handling your own indoor plumbing when in fact you’re completely incoherent to it. Sure, I get it. Companies want to cut costs and keep overhead slim. That is usually one of the main reasons I have personally stumbled across in the past.

Some Proven Reasons Why DIY SEO May Not Be Your Forte

When it comes to SEO in general, I would strongly discourage anyone with little to no technical agility to take a stab at it. Trust me, you are doing yourself a favor. From a broad perspective, SEO is broken down into two areas that are easiest to comprehend. Frontend, or also known as storefront or brand appearance. Typically what any user would interact with when it comes to your brand such as your website. Backend, is all the technical stuff or also commonly referred to as “code”.

Ok, so that was a quick glimpse into SEO. Simple enough, right? Well, when it comes to DIY SEO here are a few reasons to strongly consider before you dive both feet in.

• Time – SEO takes time, quite a bit of it. Time that you will need to invest to educate yourself on current SEO trends, patterns, and best practices. Time that is precious for your business and can be allocated elsewhere on other efforts instead of self-education.

• Effort – anyone that tells you SEO is simple, quick to profit from, or get you Page 1 rankings on any search engine is probably lying to you. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news on that one. You will need to put in effort in applying newly learned SEO knowledge into practicality. You know, doing the actual optimization. This includes anything from strategy keyword research, UX/UI adjustments, content writing, data analysis/traffic assessment, SEO plan, SEO audit, and much more. I’m sure you get the gist.

• Trial/Error – regardless of your level of SEO expertise, be prepared for plenty of trial and error encounters. Believe it or not in the SEO world there is a a lot of that. But there are also plenty of proven tactics that will generate positive results for your brand. Unfortunately in your scenario, trial and error endeavors will ultimately assist with your SEO learning experience.

• Money – one of the components that tends to shake up most brands is the fact that SEO requires a financial investment. That’s right! Like anything else worthwhile in business, it takes money to make money and SEO is no exception to that. SEO is a multi-faceted field that requires a variety of different skill sets in order to be truly successful with one particular campaign. In most cases, in order to achieve maximum potential it will require the participation of different individuals with respective skill sets. I am particularly referring to a Marketing Specialist, Social Media Strategist, UX/UI Expert, Backend Developer, Content Writer, Project Manager, Designer/Art Director, and Data Analyst. Ok, got all of that? So, if you combine the time, effort, and investment of all of these individuals then, well you get the gist. An SEO campaign can quickly turn into bottomless money pit.

• Patience – results will not be achieve overnight. Quite frankly, I am yet to encounter a brand that has acquired optimal performance and ROI from SEO endeavors in no less than a 3-6 month period. For the most part it is reliant upon the indexing behavior of search engine robots which unfortunately operate at their own pace. Building up that organic brand repertoire takes time. Sad but true. Many brands unfortunately do not have the level of patience, time, and money to follow through on a full SEO campaign.

Ok, my rant is over. Are you following me thus far?

3 Reasons Why Hiring an SEO Specialist Is In Your Best Interest

I am by no means am forcing any of my services onto anyone. As a matter of fact, everyone gets a peace of mind with the complimentary 1-hour consultation. So, let’s be realistic here for a moment and evaluate the essentials which contribute to SEO success by hiring an experienced specialist.

• Time – when you have a plumbing issue in your house, you call a plumber, right? If you need your floors remodeled than you find a floor remodeling company assist with that. If you run into car trouble, well you take the vehicle to the dealership or nearest car place of choice. An experienced SEO specialist will save you time and hassle by giving you the peace of mind, advising on the best approach for your brand, and ultimately guiding you in the right direction.

• Effort – you don’t have to worry about doing any grunt work. It’s actually a bit self-explanatory. Hiring an SEO specialist will allow focus on what they do best while giving you the opportunity to run your business.

• Trial/Error – one of the most common issues most SEO DIYers encounter is trial and error. As humans, we run into plenty of trial and error situations. So, naturally when something seems unfamiliar to us then the next closest thing is to take a stab at it. Using an SEO specialist eliminates trial and error. Any seasoned SEO specialist should be able to provide guidance and strategic approach to achieving the best SEO results for your company.

The Moral of This Story

Over the years I’ve seen a handful of hiccups. Companies taking a stab at SEO in an effort to save money. Companies trying SEO because they think that they are experts in it. In the end, it creates a giant hodge-podge with no results, lost time, and wasteful spending. Not a good combination!

Want SEO results? Consult with an experienced SEO specialist today. You will receive a complimentary 1-hour consultation with no strings attached.