5 reasons why SMBs should avoid DIY their SEO

One of the biggest challenges for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) is finding ways to compete with larger organizations. A popular way to level the playing field is by doing your own SEO. However, this can be a risky move, as it’s easy to make mistakes that can hurt your ranking and visibility. In this post, we’ll discuss five reasons why SMBs should avoid DIY SEO and leave it to the experts.

1. It’s hard to understand where to start

For small businesses, the appeal of do-it-yourself SEO is strong. After all, there are a lot of free resources available online, and it doesn’t seem like it should be that difficult to get started. However, the reality is that DIY SEO is often more trouble than it’s worth. To begin with, it’s hard to understand where to start. There are a lot of different factors that go into SEO, and it can be difficult to keep track of all of them. First, keyword research is essential. You need to understand what terms your customers are using to find your products or services. Second, once you have targeted keywords, you need to make sure that they are integrated into your website in a way that is both user-friendly and search engine friendly. Finally, you need to regularly monitor your results and adjust your strategy as needed. The world of SEO is always changing, so it’s important to stay up-to-date on the latest trends. That’s why it’s better to leave SEO to the experts if you want to ensure your site is well-optimized and stays ahead of the curve.

2. You won’t follow the industry’s best practices

By the way, talking about the latest trends. SEO is a complex and ever-changing field, and it can be difficult to keep up with the latest best practices. If you choose to do your own SEO, you may not be aware of the recent changes and how to implement them. As a result, you could inadvertently end up doing more harm than good. For example, keyword stuffing was once a popular SEO tactic, but it is now considered an outdated and spammy practice. If you stuff your website with too many keywords, you could end up being penalized by Google. Similarly, link farms used to be a common way to boost search rankings, but they are now also considered spammy. So, if you’re not up-to-date on the latest changes in the SEO world, it’s best to delegate it to the professionals.

3. Good SEO steals time from your core business

Maintaining a good SEO ranking can be a full-time job in itself, which is why many businesses choose to outsource their SEO to experts. However, there are some business owners who feel that they can save money by doing their own SEO. While it is possible to do your own SEO, it is important to keep in mind that it will likely steal time away from your core business because a good SEO requires a significant commitment of time and energy. According to Robert Kyosaki, DIY SEO could be considered a liability because it takes up internal resources and distracts from the core business. With a professional, you buy time for the core business and receive the service equally. Therefore, SEO could be considered an asset.

Another point is that if you’re not willing to devote the necessary time to learning about keyword research, link building, and other aspects of SEO, then you’re not likely to see the results you want. In addition, unless you have some experience with coding and website design, you may not be able to implement all of the changes that are necessary for better rankings. Also, you will need to familiarize yourself with the latest algorithms and trends, and then keep your site up-to-date on an ongoing basis. For most business owners, taking all these steps along with fulfilling other important tasks simply isn’t feasible. As a result, they end up sacrificing their core business in order to try to maintain a good SEO ranking. Hence, outsourcing your SEO needs is usually the best option for businesses that want to stay focused on their core products and services.

4. You have to invest in tools and SEO services

Those who have made up their minds are now faced with another problem. There are now a multitude of SEO tools on the market. If you Google “SEO tool”, you’ll see about 128 million results. Each tool has its own functions and possibilities. You have to decide which package is right for you and your business needs. First of all, you need a keyword research tool like Ahrefs or Ubersuggest. You also need a way to track your progress, such as Google Analytics and Rank Tracker from Ahrefs. For agencies, the use of such tools is usually cheaper than individual licenses as the costs of agency accounts are passed on to clients on a pro-rata basis. An Ahrefs license costs about CHF 1’200. Within the framework of a cooperation with Lean & Sharp, the client is charged CHF 600 for the services of a higher license. Finally, you may want to invest in professional SEO services, such as link building or content creation. So, DIY SEO may be cheaper in the short term, but it is important to remember that it still takes a lot of time and effort to get good results.

5. DIY SEO vs. hiring an agency

Till this point, we’ve covered the main reasons why SMBs should avoid DIY their SEO. Now, let’s directly compare the two options: DIY or hiring an agency. If you’re considering DIY SEO, it’s important to be aware of the time commitment required. SEO is an ongoing process, and success depends on continual optimization and monitoring. This means that you’ll need to set aside time each week (or hire someone to do it for you to update your website and track your progress. Additionally, unless you have prior experience with SEO, it can be tricky to know which strategies to use and how to measure their effectiveness. As a result, many businesses find that it makes more sense to hire an agency that specializes in SEO. Of course, quality services of this kind can be quite expensive. However, an agency can provide expert guidance and help you stay up-to-date on the latest trends. They can also perform the ongoing work of monitoring and optimizing your website, freeing up your time to focus on running your business. So, the decision of whether to DIY or hire an agency comes down to the matter of whether you can provide the same level of SEO services as an agency does, at the same time fulfilling your other business responsibilities well.

Conclusion

If you’re feeling confident in your DIY SEO skills, that’s great! But if you need a little help boosting your website to the top of the search engine results pages, our team at Lean & Sharp is here for you. We have years of experience helping small and medium businesses achieve their SEO goals. Contact us today to chat about your specific needs and how we could help you achieve the results you desire. Thanks for reading!