If you’ve spent any time researching how to improve your website’s visibility on Google, you’ve probably come across advice about search engine optimization (SEO). And like many small business owners, you might be wondering whether you need to hire a professional or if it’s something you can handle on your own.
The short answer is that it depends on your time, interest, and how competitive your market is. Many small business owners successfully manage basic SEO themselves, while others find it makes more sense to bring in help. Here’s what to consider before making your decision.
What Does SEO Involve?
At its core, SEO is about making your website easy for search engines and potential customers to find and understand. It involves several areas:
- Optimizing your website’s structure and content
- Researching and using relevant keywords
- Improving site speed and mobile-friendliness
- Claiming and maintaining your Google Business Profile
- Creating helpful, locally relevant content
- Building links from other reputable websites
Some of these tasks are fairly simple to tackle with a little research and time. Others require more technical skills or a deeper understanding of how search engines work.
Can You Do It Yourself?
Many small business owners start by managing basic SEO tasks on their own. Claiming your Google Business Profile, adding keywords to page titles, and ensuring your website is mobile-friendly are all practical first steps. There are free resources and tools available that explain how to make these updates.
If you’re comfortable learning new skills and have the time to commit, it’s possible to handle a good portion of your SEO yourself, especially for a local business. Just keep in mind that SEO requires regular attention.
- Google frequently updates how it serves websites in the search results pages (SERPs), and staying on top of those changes takes effort.
- The optimal keywords may not be what you think they are, so you need to be able to devote time to PROPER keyword research (not just checking what you THINK the keywords should be).
- Ensuring your on-page content isn’t too jargon-y and reads well to visitors and search engine spyders requires a good bit of copy editing sometimes.
Be honest with yourself when considering whether you have the time and desire to devote to all this on EVERY page of your website.
When It Makes Sense to Hire an Expert
There are situations where bringing in professional help can save time, avoid costly mistakes, and deliver faster results:
- Your website has technical issues.
If your site is slow, poorly organized, or difficult for search engines to crawl, a professional can quickly identify and fix these problems. - You’re in a highly competitive market.
If dozens of other businesses in your area are actively working on their SEO, it might be difficult to compete without expert support. - You don’t have time to manage it.
SEO isn’t a one-time task. It requires regular updates, new content, and ongoing adjustments. If your schedule is already full, hiring someone can help keep things moving while you focus on running your business. - You want to avoid easy-to-make mistakes.
While it’s possible to learn SEO through free resources, it often takes time to figure out what actually works. A professional can use their experience to develop a strategy tailored to your business and avoid common mistakes.
Finding the Right Balance
You don’t necessarily have to choose between doing everything yourself and handing it all over. Many small business owners start by handling the basics and then hire a professional for more technical tasks or to refine their strategy. Others work with consultants who provide guidance while the business handles day-to-day updates.
This approach can be a cost-effective way to improve your website’s visibility without committing to a full-time SEO service right away. (NOTE: SBN Marketing no longer offers SEO consulting services. In our experience, there is too much room for error when SEO instructions aren’t implementing correctly, and this can set a website back months if not years in how well it shows in the SERPs. And the guilt is more than The Maven can take. 😁)
Whether you decide to manage your SEO yourself or hire a professional, what matters most is having a plan and sticking with it. SEO works best when it’s consistent and focused on providing helpful, relevant information to your audience.
If you have the time and interest to learn, starting with the basics is a smart move. If your business needs faster results or faces heavy competition, it might be worth bringing in an expert. Either way, investing in SEO can pay off by helping more customers find you when it matters most.
Need some help? Give us a shout at hi@sbnmktg.com.
