How Much Time Does SEO Really Take?
Getting started [with seo] is relatively easy, but in order to be successful in an especially competitive environment, you need to dedicate yourself to the strategy. You’ll have to acquire new skills…
The common solution for this is to simply hire an in-house SEO expert who can handle all these tasks. If you can’t, it’s on you to handle them all yourself. Either way, the cost can be prohibitive, especially if you’re an emerging small business. Likewise, spending all those hours doing it yourself can tie you up, preventing you from pursuing more productive activities that can’t be outsourced.
Before you make a decision, you need to know one thing: how much time does SEO actually take?
Sales Renewal’s insight:
How do you look at SEO? Does it seem like a daunting process? A set-and-forget item to check off your list?
Many small business owners believe they can “do” SEO themselves. But before you make that decision, please read this article. You might just gain a new appreciation for those who do SEO full time.
Consider the (what may appear to be) straight-forward process setting up on-page optimization (10-40 hours) and monitoring and troubleshooting on an ongoing basis (3-12 hours/week). Then there is content development, which could be something you can get away with spending a couple hours a week. Or, it could turn into a nearly full-time job (3-50 hours/week).
Off-page optimization opens up an entirely new realm of responsibilities and processes, from dabbling in looking for linkbuilding opportunities to following a well-thought-out relationship building program (5-25 hours/week).
Then there’s the additional work related to SEO for local businesses, like customer reviews (up to 15 hours/week), and then measuring and analyzing all you do to be sure it’s effective (1-2 hours/week).
Putting it all together, the author’s bottom line is sobering:
“Even for the small range of organizations I examined here (small to mid-sized businesses), you can see the vast range of potential time spent on an SEO campaign. Added up, it amounts to anywhere between 12 and 104 hours per week. If you put in 12 hours a week, don’t expect to climb to a top position anytime soon. On the other end of the spectrum, if you want the best results as fast as possible, you may need to hire employees, contractors, or an agency.”
Given this cost (in time and opportunity), we believe that the most cost-effective way to “do” SEO is to work with a specialist. That’s why, whether you’re a JointSourcing or Marketing Essentials client, we will work with our SEO partners to be sure your business receives the SEO attention it deserves.
Learn more about Sales Renewal’s Search Engine Optimization services.
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