In House vs.

Agency

IN HOUSE VS. AGENCY

Are you making the right choice for your company?

I N H O U S E O R A G E N C Y ? I n H o u s e v s . A g e n c y

In House or Agency? Link acquisi?on is an important part of any website’s online op?miza?on plan. With the recent emphasis Google and the other search engines have placed on high quality, relevant links, many companies face the challenge of determining whether link acquisi?on should be done through an in house team or be outsourced to an expert agency. When determining what works for your company’s business goals and budget, it’s important to take into considera?on several factors that can make or break your link acquisi?on program. From the ?me it takes to build a quality backlink network, to understanding the algorithm updates, managing and mi?ga?ng the risks, and everything else in between, this eBook will help you understand what is right for you.

Time is Money

You Get What You Pay For

MiEgaEng Risk and Understanding Penguin

Quality over QuanEty

Time is Money

Time is money, as the old saying goes, and the same holds true with link acquisi?on. Building a strong backlink network takes ?me; from researching poten?al sites to link to, nego?a?ng link placement and details, to managing the results and understanding the impact on your overall SEO strategy, there is no quick shortcut (and anyone that tells you there is, isn’t following white hat techniques).

T IM E I S MON E Y I n H o u s e v s . A g e n c y

The challenge with ?me is that most of us rarely have enough of it, especially when it comes to our responsibili?es that we need to fit into our workday. If your company has an SEO expert on staff that has the knowledge and experience to handle link acquisi?on, it can certainly be more affordable than looking at an outside agency. The problem is that many SEO experts have a broad range of responsibili?es within the company that extend above and beyond link acquisi?on. Staffing up with cost-­‐effec?ve resources at a lower level to support the SEO expert can also be an affordable op?on, although oYen can prove to be a risky one. Remember that much of the link acquisi?on communica?on is done online which means via wri[en word. Anything that is wri[en can be shared, posted, and tweeted (for example). It’s important to consider just who is doing the wri?ng and corresponding on your company’s behalf, and how it makes your company look. One mistake, one wrong email, or one slip up can have a vast impact on reputa?on as well as rankings. Even the best SEO expert can’t manage every detail of every intern or entry level employee otherwise they’d be doing the work themselves.

The problem is that many SEO experts have a broad range of responsibilities within the company that extend above and beyond link acquisition.

T IM E I S MON E Y I n H o u s e v s . A g e n c y

From an agency perspec?ve, they have (or should if they are a reputable white hat agency) in house staff that is trained and dedicated to link acquisi?on. They understand the algorithms from the search engines, have a clear-­‐cut process and methodology to review websites and blogs for quality and influence, and set communica?on guidelines for each company/brand they represent. The benefit here is they have the ability to work in a much more focused capacity with years of experience, oYen at a significantly reduced cost than if you were to staff up with similar exper?se in house. Remember, if the agency outsources their work (especially to anywhere outside of the United States for domes?c programs) that should raise a red flag. The most important thing to keep in mind is that you are considering an agency for their ?me and experience, so be sure they have both of those things in spades. An experienced marke?ng agency will understand that link acquisi?on is a manual process. They will u?lize the most up-­‐to-­‐date technologies executed by experienced employees. Link acquisi?on success is about building long-­‐term rela?onships; this cannot be automated and any company that says it can is selling you – and your company – short.

From an agency perspective, they have (or should if they are a reputable white hat agency)

You Get What You Pay For

Y O U G E T WH A T Y O U P A Y F O R I n H o u s e v s . A g e n c y

Whether you choose to do link acquisi?on in house, or through an agency, always remember you get what you pay for. Lower level resources yield lower level and oYen riskier results. The higher the amount of exper?se and experience, the more you can expect to pay, but within reason. When reviewing in house capabili?es vs. poten?al link acquisi?on agencies, keep in mind that teams with varied marke?ng responsibili?es generally do not have ?me to analyze their company’s website rankings for key terms or perform an in-­‐depth analysis in Google Analy?cs to show the value or success of link acquisi?on over

the long-­‐term.

A good link acquisi?on agency will communicate the value of their links to the client via in-­‐depth repor?ng.

Reports and presenta?ons should be easy to hand off to key people in the company that need to see the ROI from link acquisi?on. A quality agency will be well-­‐versed in the latest tools, strategies, repor?ng, and processes for the highest level of produc?vity and success at the best cost for your company.

Lower level resources yield lower level and often riskier results.

Always remember you get what you pay for.

MiEgaEng Risk & Understanding Penguin

Link acquisi?on is risky; perhaps the riskiest area of SEO in light of the recent emphasis Google Penguin has

put on it. Penguin updates have been devaluing sites that engage in black hat tac?cs, and it’s important to

know what’s white hat, what’s black hat, and what falls in the vast expanse of gray middle ground that Google

Penguin is taking an increased aim at cleaning up.

M I T I G A T I N G R I S K & U N D E R S T A N D I N G P E N GU I N In House vs. Agency

With the ongoing focus on Google Penguin, companies con?nue to get hit by these updates and many see drops in their rankings. As many as 94% of businesses hit by Penguin have s?ll not recovered (Search Engine Round Table: May 2013 h[p://www.seroundtable.com/google-­‐penguin-­‐poll-­‐16788.html). Ranking decreases have a major impact on company revenue and reputa?on, and shouldn’t be taken lightly. A junior-­‐level employee or quick-­‐results promising agency that is striving to for fast results can easily fall into these traps and put your company’s online presence in jeopardy. Choosing to work with a high quality agency can mi?gate these risks and provide your company with peace of mind. From reading industry news, following trends, and closely tracking algorithm updates, they can help your company stay ahead of the curve and in the top of the rankings.

With the ongoing focus on Google Penguin, companies continue to get hit by these updates and many see drops in their rankings

Top ranked organic keywords when worked on ethically, can hold their posi?on and con?nue to drive traffic with some regular maintenance. It is important to always track all important keyword rankings in order to understand where your company’s website is posi?oned and what keywords are contribu?ng to your website’s traffic and revenue. An experienced link acquisi?on agency can deliver these las?ng results while reducing the risk of any nega?ve impact from the Penguin updates, and in many cases you can even see ranking benefits when your link acquisi?on is done right!

An experienced link acquisition agency can deliver these lasting results while reducing the risk of any negative impact from the Penguin updates

M I T I G A T I N G R I S K & U N D E R S T A N D I N G P E N GU I N In House vs. Agency

Quality over QuanEty

All links are not created equal, and all link builders are not the same. A lot more goes into the link acquisi?on process than most companies realize, and the days of obtaining any 100 links per month to reach #1 in Google are long gone. Whether you choose to manage the program in house or through an agency, make sure whomever is in charge of your link acquisi?on is aware of all of the factors that can impact success. The SEO landscape is an ever-­‐changing one, so working with a team or agency that has the experience and exper?se to understand the detailed ins and outs is key. In many cases you will find that for the amount of knowledge required for long term success, an agency is the way to go. If you are one of the lucky companies with a budget that supports a full-­‐scale in house team, then by all means go for it! Just remember that at the end of the day, quality will always win out over quan?ty and be sure whomever is in charge of your link acquisi?on program has that in conjunc?on with the bo[om line in mind at all ?mes.

Teknicks has pioneered the art of link acquisition, engaging, and increasing quality search engine rankings, traffic, and ROI since 2004. The company’s portfolio of clients includes some of the most well-known brands in the world. The ever-evolving, dedicated team of SEM experts at Teknicks is always learning how to stay in lock-step with search engines, like Google, in order to implement the latest white hat strategies before algorithm changes take place.

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