UK SEM
UK SEM FROM E-GAIN NEW MEDIA
Sunday 15 July 2007, 12:07 AM
Search Engine Marketing: In-house or outsource?
Are more organisations now looking to bring their online marketing in-house rather than outsourcing such work to a specialist search engine marketing company? And what are the potential benefits and pitfalls of bringing SEO and SEM activity in-house?
After recently being involved in recruiting staff for a number of search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimisation (SEO) solutions it has become apparent that there is an increasing variation of skill set within the search marketing industry in the UK, as well as an increasing amount of competition, each vying for the best people available in the industry.
It has also become noticeable, by monitoring the UK recruitment boards, that many organisations are currently looking to bring their online marketing in-house, rather than outsourcing such work to a specialist search engine marketing or search engine optimisation company.
So what benefits can be leveraged from bringing SEO and SEM activity in-house, rather than outsourcing it to one of the many UK online marketing companies out there?
- Integration! Most obviously, integration with other marketing activity is probably one of the biggest driving forces behind the philosophy of bringing search engine marketing in-house.
- Focus! Search marketing organisations often work on a number of projects (for obvious economic reasons), juggling a number of campaigns and clients, and therefore not focussing clearly on any particular one. By bringing search marketing in-house, this focus can be ensured.
- Understanding! Nobody knows an organisation better than the organisation itself and it's staff, which can be a very valuable asset when heading down the search-marketing route.
However despite the advantages of bringing search engine marketing and search engine optimisation in house, it is still surprising that so many companies consider this route, for the following reasons:
- Economies of Scale! To effectively manage a full online marketing campaign an organisation would, in all probability, need a minimum of two key team members to effectively implement and manage on an ongoing basis. In today’s online marketing industry, such expertise could cost circa £60,000 in terms of annual salary alone, with this figure growing considerably when taking into account the direct costs involved.
- Return on Investment (ROI)! It is doubtful that many organisations would see a significant return on investment on a £60-100,000 online marketing outlay. However outsourcing such campaigns, really can result in significant returns on investment. For example, a typical ongoing campaign with a reputable SEO or SEM company could cost you around one quarter of the investment mentioned above.
- Utilisation of New Technologies! The benefit of focus, as mentioned earlier as an advantage, is a double-edged sword that could act to the detriment of a client. The incorporation of new methodologies, strategies, and technologies is often slower amongst in-house marketing teams than it is within SEM agencies.
Ultimately, organisations have to look towards the methods that they feel will benefit themselves. However in the haste to maintain control over all aspects of the business, is the potential for increased ROI through online marketing channels being overlooked because of naivety or bad planning?
Peter Young - A search engine marketing (SEM) professional with E-Gain New Media Ltd. Offering online marketing, pay-per-click management and SEO UK solutions.
PreviousComments on this post
Usually we ask people to not post ads, but this is an interesting case Peter :-) You obviously know enough about search engine optimisation and marketing to know that ZDNet.co.uk has a good Page Rank (well, we have been around for 11 years), and that spiking your blog with good keywords hyperlinked back to your site will work for you!
That aside, the issue of whether it is better to outsource or hire a resource for SEO and SEM is one that a lot of companies are dealing with. If hiring, who can afford more than one person, and if that is the case, what happens when that person leaves. I think one problem with SEO work is that much of it - unlike design, HTML and coding - is invisible to anyone not in the know. It can be embedded in the site structure, If your key resource does leave, a seamingly innocuous design desicion could unravel much of their work in minutes.
I do feel that online marketing is a different proposition, and can more easily be brought in house. And one final quick thought: I get a huge number of calls from SEO firms asking me to outsource to them, usually with the opening line: Do you know you rank low for notebook searches etc etc? My response is usually to ask them the name of their company, search on something like 'SEO' in Google, and when their company does not turn up, end the conversation pretty fast.
Thanks Matt
Well at least the post has its desired result - ie it has people talking. With demand far outweighing supply, I feel the discussion will continue.
As regards your points regarding Online Marketing as a whole being brought inhouse, I would agree to a certain degree. I can't help feeling SEO/PPC/Online PR and even Banner activity tend to fit better within an agency environment (would hasten to add a good agency - for reasons both you and I have mentioned - eg, key members leaving team, economies of scale etc), however some aspects of Online Marketing do as you say fit better internally, due to expertise that can be extracted ie fit of affiliate partners etc.
As regards your final point, we ourselves dont come up on the first page, however this has been more to the amount of client work done, for which results have been very positive. I would suggest this would be the case for a number of organistions (ie Latitude/i-Level/Greenlight - very high profile agencies - no visibiliy for SEO)
Thanks Matt
Well at least the post has its desired result - ie it has people talking. With demand far outweighing supply, I feel the discussion will continue.
As regards your points regarding Online Marketing as a whole being brought inhouse, I would agree to a certain degree. I can't help feeling SEO/PPC/Online PR and even Banner activity tend to fit better within an agency environment (would hasten to add a good agency - for reasons both you and I have mentioned - eg, key members leaving team, economies of scale etc), however some aspects of Online Marketing do as you say fit better internally, due to expertise that can be extracted ie fit of affiliate partners etc.
As regards your final point, we ourselves dont come up on the first page, however this has been more to the amount of client work done, for which results have been very positive. I would suggest this would be the case for a number of organistions (ie Latitude/i-Level/Greenlight - very high profile agencies - no visibiliy for SEO)
E-gain, hi. having seen your post here, I sent your company on Monday morning an email requesting to know if you could help us with carrier affiliate marketing negotiation. Perhaps what we are trying to do is too complex for your scope of business, but I'd appreciate a reply even if it's to say no can do. Now an email does not require a stamp does it lol !!
Regards Lindsay Fraser
Lindsay,
Apologies for not getting back to you, the email you used was from a Yahoo address, and as such our spam filters moved it into the Junk Mail folder.
We will evaluate your request and get back to you shortly
kind Regards
Peter Young
Peter, fine thanks. I understand about the junk mail folder. Our request is a bit complex and involved, and I would fully understand if you cannot help. It's not a case of simply sticking an affiliate's flag on a website business, but more like an advertising proposal to fund a venture.
Thanks for your reply here, and look forward to a response.
Lindsay
Peter, hi, I sent you two emails on 27th July. They may have gone into "spam", did you see them?
Regards Lindsay
