Should We Hire Search Consultant For Our Startup Companies?

As a small-business owner with a Web site, you know that one of the most important things you can do is get your site ranked high on a search-results page at Google, MSN and Yahoo!. But how to achieve that high ranking?

You've learned all about keywords, link building and unique page titles. The question is, how do you do it? And should you go it alone or call in the hired guns?


"The right answer is somewhere in between," says Gord Hotchkiss, CEO and president of Enquiro, a search marketing agency, and the chairman of SEMPO, a nonprofit organization serving the search-engine marketing industry. According to Hotchkiss, outsourcing every aspect of search-engine optimization would mean giving up complete control of your Web site--something most small-business owners would, and should, be unwilling to do. "It needs to be a partnership," he says. "You don't want to lose control."

But Hotchkiss believes that within that partnership, search-engine-optimization consultants can bring some good value to the small-business owner. "Any consultant will have a good understanding of search engines and algorithms," he says. "There is a learning curve that is fairly steep."

What's Your Time Worth?

Indeed, Google's (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ) continuous changes in its algorithms keep small-business owners like Matt Mavir, managing director of Last Night of Freedom, a 10-employee company that puts together bachelor party weekends, busy with search-engine optimization for nearly a third of his working hours. Little wonder: Search-engine results account for nearly 90% of his business.

Mavir has kept his SEO work in-house since he founded the business eight years ago, but he said that businesses in very competitive fields should take on SEO consultants. "It's a constant battleground," he says. "I constantly have to be on top of this."

Aaron Rubin, founder of S&A Industries, a 23-employee company with six Web sites, also does all his SEO work in-house. He says that he spends about 20% of his work time on SEO, and that search engine rankings are a very important part of his business: "It's how we generate sales." For his part, Rubin doesn't see a benefit to hiring an SEO consultant. "They will change tags, change filters and factors, like page titles and keywords, on the page, and it will help to a small degree," he says. However, "most are not going to make a significant difference to your business."

Danny Sullivan, editor in chief of Search Engline Land and a Web consultant, agrees that small-business owners don't need to hire an SEO consultant--as long as they are willing to do the work on their own. "Many people can and do learn the basics of SEO and do well with just that," he said. "But many people find it easier to find outside help, just as they might want outside help to write press releases or do other types of marketing."

In addition to saving time, consultants also bring a fresh perspective--a valuable resource for small-business owners who can have a hard time viewing their businesses dispassionately. "Consultancies have a good understanding of how people use search," said Hotchkiss. "Small-business owners sometimes have a hard time stepping back and understanding how people do that."

Finding Your SEO Soulmate

If you're convinced you need outside help, choose wisely. Search engines are swarming with ads for SEO deals. "There are a lot of crooked SEO consultants and a lot of popular scams," says Elizabeth Osmeloski, editor of Search Engine Watch.

First, beware guarantees. "If it sounds too good to be true, it is," says Hotchkiss. "We would all love to have guarantees, but no one has that influence over what Google shows as No. 1. A guarantee is a red flag." Over-promises can lead to "black hat" practices--like keyword stuffing and link farming--which can get a site banned from search engines. Once that happens, it's very hard to get back in Google's good graces.

Osmeloski also warns against using any consultant who wants to sell you a service that requires you to download a toolbar. These companies are often getting you a top spot, but your exposure is only limited to Web users with that toolbar.

A final consideration: To be effective, consultants should want to know everything about your business--and that means asking a lot of questions. Says Hotchkiss: "If you are talking to a vendor and if you are spending more time listening than talking, that's a red flag."

Via-Forbes