SEO Question

[12345]

Hi does anyone run a website and has some knowledge about SEO ?

I run a website and I worked with SEO agency for a few months. They did quite a lot of work in terms of content creation, technical stuff etc but at some point I felt like they are milking me and overcharging for basic work

Do you think I can just do SEO myself - pay for links on other websites and pay copywritters to write articles - is it enough or is it better to hire SEO agency ?

 

[polonieth]

Hi does anyone run a website and has some knowledge about SEO ?

I run a website and I worked with SEO agency for a few months. They did quite a lot of work in terms of content creation, technical stuff etc but at some point I felt like they are milking me and overcharging for basic work

Do you think I can just do SEO myself - pay for links on other websites and pay copywritters to write articles - is it enough or is it better to hire SEO agency ?

Possible, but it depends on your niche...

How much are you paying, and what are you getting in return?

And what are their goals?

 

[cuno]

Do you think I can just do SEO myself - pay for links on other websites and pay copywritters to write articles - is it enough or is it better to hire SEO agency ?

You need to know what you are doing and what links you are buying. Links are not links, if you spam your money site with bad links you get penalized by Google and put your domain into the grave.

 

[diatessaron]

Just hire a SEO agency or a marketing company that has it all in. I don't know what you're paying but from what I've seen, a lot of people who want to do it themselves usually end up hiring an agency, at that point the damage is done so they have to pay a lot more to get it all sorted out.

Like @cuno said, Google will penalize you and you will be lucky to have your site show up on page number 600. I use a marketing agency for my sites, tried doing it myself at first but it's time consuming and as long as these sites are making me money I'll invest into them, being a cheap f*** comes with a side of failure.

 

[polonieth]

Just hire a SEO agency or a marketing company that has it all in. I don't know what you're paying but from what I've seen, a lot of people who want to do it themselves usually end up hiring an agency, at that point the damage is done so they have to pay a lot more to get it all sorted out.

Like @cuno said, Google will penalize you and you will be lucky to have your site show up on page number 600. I use a marketing agency for my sites, tried doing it myself at first but it's time consuming and as long as these sites are making me money I'll invest into them, being a cheap f*** comes with a side of failure.

The problem with this is, if the SEO agency is any good, why aren't they just doing it themselves? You need to be careful doing your own SEO work, but you also need to be extra careful hiring someone to do it for you. And without more info, we cannot really advise on the best course of action; it will vary wildly due to whatever niche the OP is in. It could be hyper-local, e-commerce, or some lead gen, ad site, etc. All require different approach, and may require some form of outsourcing whether it's links, content or both. Or none at all.

I started out doing SEO work for clients; it was hard work dealing with customers, trying to prove value etc, etc, and I soon learned that running your own sites and selling leads, etc, is far better. Based on my experience I'd never hire a full blown SEO agency, I just outsource the areas I need.

 

[COLTEO]

Hi does anyone run a website and has some knowledge about SEO ?

I run a website and I worked with SEO agency for a few months. They did quite a lot of work in terms of content creation, technical stuff etc but at some point I felt like they are milking me and overcharging for basic work

Do you think I can just do SEO myself - pay for links on other websites and pay copywritters to write articles - is it enough or is it better to hire SEO agency ?

Hello, Greetings! I noticed your inquiry about SEO work. Could you please share your website URL? I'd like to take a look and discuss the details. I have experience with various SEO projects. Let's have a detailed conversation.
Check my progress

Screenshot

Captured with Lightshot

prnt.sc

Screenshot

Captured with Lightshot

prnt.sc

Screenshot

Captured with Lightshot

prnt.sc

 

[diatessaron]

The problem with this is, if the SEO agency is any good, why aren't they just doing it themselves? You need to be careful doing your own SEO work, but you also need to be extra careful hiring someone to do it for you. And without more info, we cannot really advise on the best course of action; it will vary wildly due to whatever niche the OP is in. It could be hyper-local, e-commerce, or some lead gen, ad site, etc. All require different approach, and may require some form of outsourcing whether it's links, content or both. Or none at all.

I started out doing SEO work for clients; it was hard work dealing with customers, trying to prove value etc, etc, and I soon learned that running your own sites and selling leads, etc, is far better. Based on my experience I'd never hire a full blown SEO agency, I just outsource the areas I need.

Same can be said for anything. If a hedge fund is so good at it why are they making you money? If a marketing agency is so good at it why aren't they marketing their own products? If Samsung is Apples competitor why do they sell them screens etc...!

Answer is easy, SEO agency does the job sitting on their a*s all day. Online seller has to prepare and ship products.

 

[12345]

Thank you very much for your helpful replies!
I think I will try luck myself, I target very small niche so it's not very difficult to handle SEO and hiring agency cost is damaging my margins a lot, this is just side gig business

Btw I have a general question, do you think it makes sense to hire seo agency from developing countries? should be much cheaper considering lower salaries, for example you run your site targeting USA market and you hire SEO from India/Balkans/Russia (they need to know english right) - does it make sense?

 

[polonieth]

Same can be said for anything. If a hedge fund is so good at it why are they making you money? If a marketing agency is so good at it why aren't they marketing their own products? If Samsung is Apples competitor why do they sell them screens etc...!

Answer is easy, SEO agency does the job sitting on their a*s all day. Online seller has to prepare and ship products.

I don't think a hedge fund is a good comparison. A better example would be a wunderkind trader, who, rather than trading his own money, has decided to teach you how to trade also

There is obviously a need for SEO as a service, but like I said, the need varies and depends on niche.

If some SEO seller tells me he can rank my site for short-term loans, then it's obviously snake oil. As he could just start his own website...

 

[JohnLocke]

Btw I have a general question, do you think it makes sense to hire seo agency from developing countries? should be much cheaper considering lower salaries, for example you run your site targeting USA market and you hire SEO from India/Balkans/Russia (they need to know english right) - does it make sense?

It does, but finding the right person or the right company for such tasks is like looking for a needle in a haystack. There are about 500 million Indians and Pakistanis who are SEO SPECIALISTS, and they will all get your site to number 1 if you ask them. They all have the world's best references.

But when things go wrong, then you just have to hear what they are also world champions in, excuses, lying, and otherwise they cheat with SEO so it looks like you're getting thousands of visitors as long as you pay. I have a string of examples that is so long that I can't even write about them here.

The raw thread is, you really need to know who you hire for such tasks when you look in those directions. And a budget of under $5000 a month gets you nowhere permanently.

 

[polonieth]

Btw I have a general question, do you think it makes sense to hire seo agency from developing countries? should be much cheaper considering lower salaries, for example you run your site targeting USA market and you hire SEO from India/Balkans/Russia (they need to know english right) - does it make sense?

Yes, but only for pre-set tasks you mapped out for them.

There is zero point in outsourcing an entire campaign to these places.

Maybe on-site stuff, page speed, etc, is an exception.