Your Online Marketing: When To Do It In-House, When to Outsource

In present days every company needs online marketing. If you are responsible for the online marketing of your firm, you have three choices – hire an SEO company, learn how to do the work yourself or create a specialised in-house team to handle it. What would the best decision be?The marketing experts with long years of experience will tell you that there is no straightforward answer to this question. Every situation and each company are unique and require a different solution tailored to their specific needs. But while there is no quick answer, there are three important areas that every company owner should consider before making the decision for their own company.        Costs and BudgetHow much will it cost to outsource your online marketing vs. to do it in-house? Every company owner should think not only in terms of cash but also in terms of headache and time as well.If the online marketing budget of a company is less than £100 per month, then that amount it not enough for the company to outsource. With some very rare exceptions, any SEO company that wants to sell their services for that amount or less and promises all sorts of wonderful business advantages coming from them, is going to take that money and do nothing for the company they work for.Running an effective online marketing campaign, unless the company owner is doing it himself, will cost at least a couple of hundreds GBP per month. If it costs less, then there are big chances that the SEO company won’t deliver the promised results. Exceptions to this occur in niche industries where the level of competition is low or when we are talking about highly localized businesses like dental offices, doctors, etc.Business ModelEvery business owner should also consider whether online marketing is a critical part of their company model. If they get SEO wrong, would that mean that the company will fail? Online retailers and other such businesses rely exclusively on their online marketing strategies and their success as companies is deeply connected to the success of their online marketing efforts. Such companies are likely to have in-house SEO knowledge and teams that are involved with the online marketing process.If the business model of a company doesn’t entirely depend on online marketing, then they have fewer reasons to do their own SEO in-house. Such companies would be much better off if they focus on their core competency and dedicate their time and efforts to product and service development, rather than on their online marketing efforts.Is Required Expertise Available?If companies that rely heavily on online marketing don’t have the necessary budget to outsource, then their only choice will be to create in-house marketing departments and do it themselves. There are plenty of ways company owners can boost their company’s website online exposure and the Internet abounds in helpful guides from experts.If the company does have the necessary budget to outsource online marketing, they can still experience difficulties in finding the right professionals. This can be due to a couple of reasons – limited number of SEO firms or professionals in the company’s area, undeveloped online marketing sector and so on.ConclusionThere is no easy answer for when you need to outsource your online marketing rather than do it in-house. Every company owner will have to do their own research and consider all factors that influence their company. Outsourcing online marketing doesn’t necessarily mean that the company loses control over one of its vital processes, nor it means that it is out of touch with the marketing decisions made. Running a successful online campaign is completely within the reach of any company that takes into careful consideration its goals, budget and business model.