SEO specialist or outsourcing? How an SME should choose

An SEO specialist is someone who improves your site’s visibility on Google and, increasingly, in AI answers. For a small business the question is rarely who to hire and more often who to work with. Here is a comparison of three options and tips for choosing.

What does an SEO specialist do?

• Finds out what your customers search for and which questions you do not yet answer.
• Improves the site’s structure, speed and content so Google understands it.
• Looks after the Google Business Profile, directory details and local visibility.
• Tracks rankings, visitors and enquiries, and reports what changed.

Three options

1. Hire your own SEO specialist

The upside is that they know your business from the inside. The downside is salary and overheads, and one person’s skills are limited: few are a technical expert, a writer and a local visibility specialist at once. For a small business this is rarely the best value.

2. Do SEO yourself

The basics are worth doing yourself: clear service pages, a Google Business Profile and reviews. The long-term work easily gets dropped when daily life takes over. This is a good start but rarely enough on its own.

3. Outsource it as a service

With outsourcing you get the technical work, content and profile care from one provider for a fixed monthly price. You do not manage tools or track what should be done. What matters is picking a provider who reports clearly and leaves the site in your hands.

How to choose

• Ask what work is done each month, not just what the "package" includes.
• Ask for an example from a real customer and what was done for them.
• Make sure the site and content stay yours after the contract.
• Avoid anyone who promises first place. Google decides the order, not the provider.
• Ask about AI visibility. More customers now ask ChatGPT who to hire.

What you get with us

With us, a new site, hosting, the Google profile and continuous improvement come from the same team for a monthly price. Basic starts at €259 a month and Pro is €399. Agreements run for 12 months and prices exclude VAT. You do not need your own SEO specialist or a new tool.

Frequently asked questions

Does a small business need its own SEO specialist?

Rarely. For most SMEs outsourcing is cheaper and faster, because the work is shared across several specialists.

How much does an SEO specialist cost?

Prices vary a lot depending on whether it is a salary, a freelancer or an agency. Always ask what the price includes. Read more in our article on SEO pricing.

How do I know the work pays off?

The report should show what was done, how rankings and visitors changed, and whether enquiries are up. If it only shows charts, ask for more.

Shall we talk?

Book a call. We will look at where your visibility stands now and tell you honestly whether some of it is worth doing yourself.