The key burning question about SEO is whether to do it yourself or hire an SEO specialist.  It could be one big dilemma having to make a choice, especially if you are just starting out online.  There are pros and cons either way.  But what’s the best option for your business?

There is certainly no direct answer to the question.  So, let’s go through the benefits and drawbacks of both options in order to have a clearer picture of the best way forward.

Do It Yourself SEO

In all honesty, I do my own SEO and really enjoy the challenges it provides as the internet keeps evolving.  The one key benefit of going it alone is that it puts you in total control of your own destiny.  You can easily make changes to your website and boost your optimisation without relying on anyone else.

Besides, diy SEO will give you a great sense of personal pride for your achievements.  It will also save you a lot of money.  Because you won’t have to hire an expert and keep paying them to make changes.  If you are particularly on a tight budget or want to save yourself a fortune, it’s worth considering this option.

You’ll of course need to have some time to spare and know your stuff in order to do the job yourself.   As a beginner, you can possibly make bad mistakes or find the whole adventure a bit daunting.

However if you can just spare a few hours a week, you can easily learn SEO properly in quick time.  Then gradually develop your skill as the internet evolves.  In the long run, it will be worth the effort.   And if you have SEO Knowledge and end up hiring an expert, you can oversee what they do.  Both of you will also be able to communicate better about your website optimisation.

Going on a D.I.Y. seo trip definitely puts you in full control

Hiring SEO Specialist

Hiring an SEO specialist means you can save time to focus on other aspects of your business.  You’ll actually have someone on board who knows exactly what they are doing and will get results.   But unlike ‘do it yourself SEO’, it’s very expensive to hire an expert and there is ongoing cost involved to keep making required changes.

Finding an excellent SEO company is never straightforward but they are out there for sure!  Majority of companies claiming to be experts are not.  You need to be very wary of those promising the earth or top search engine ranking in quick time.  Avoid them, it just doesn’t happen.  It takes some time and effort to effectively rank high in the search engines.

Also stay away particularly from companies practicing black hat Search Engine Optimisation techniques.  You can easily fall into their trap. This method is applied to manipulate the search engine for quick high ranking results and if found out, you’ll get heavily penalised.

Thorough research is certainly required if you were to go for this option rather than diy SEO.  Company credibility, price comparisons, previous customer testimonials are other things to check before hiring an expert.

Conclusion

As you can see, Learning SEO or passing the responsibility to an expert clearly has its strengths and weaknesses.  I really hope the information I’ve provided will help you make an informed choice.  You can have your say on the subject matter by leaving a comment.