Should I hire a digital marketing agency or SEO firm? This is a question everyone with or contemplating a web site is should be asking. Many companies spend significant money on creating a web site only to then realize that “if you build it, they won’t come”.

Generally the only time their site is found through a search is when the actual brand name is typed in. After doing some web research the realization sets in that in order to generate any inbound activity they need to optimize their site for search engines to cast a bigger net. They need a blog. And they need to have a presence on various social networks. They conclude that if they are going to have a successful web presence they need a real-ongoing digital marketing effort. Suddenly, the task seems daunting and the cost was probably not in the budget.

So what do they do?

The first hurdle is knowing that creating a successful web presence will require investment. But where do you spend it? What return should you expect from this investment? The choice is simple – hire or designate an employee to do it all or hire an outside firm to do it for you.

Hire an Employee

What is the talent set I need to find in an employee to make my web presence a success? Well, they need a blend of many skills:

• Technical competency in building and maintaining a web site
• Deep understanding of how search engines work and what optimization really is and how to use the tools that are required to perform optimization
• Ability to establish and maintain a blog relating to the company’s business. If they will write the blog, they need to be able to write well and convey a message succinctly but also ensure keywords are used through out the article.
• Ability to establish and maintain an ongoing presence on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Linkedin, and Google+. If they are creating the content for these social sites, they will have to wear their creative marketing hats a lot
• And yes, they will need to do this constantly…like every day.

You will have to find, or pay someone to find, a candidate with these skills. Someone who is part technical and part marketing – unless you delegate the tasks to multiple resources.

Costs of an Employee

The cost of this type of resource (if they are in fact truly competent) will be between $85k and $130k, plus all the company benefits that may be offered. All in, you are looking at a monthly cost that may range from $10k to $15k. So, the justification for this expense should be a measurable increase of business from, or due to, the web efforts that exceeds this cost.

PROS: Your resource is focused on only your business; They can easily interface with a cross section of the company for guidance / information and you control what they do.

CONS: Significant expense and investment is required; Risk that such resource can perform to your expectations and generate a return on your investment.

Hire a Digital Marketing Company

There are a large number of firms that provide SEO, Social Media and digital content marketing services to companies and organizations. Some are great – many are good – many are bad. It is clear, however, that great or good digital marketing firms not only have deep expertise, but allocate sufficient resources to make your site a success. So how do you determine which may be right for you? Narrow the selection process by determining these factors:

• Level of Consultation – do they do a good job of understanding your requirements for revenue, leads, website hits and conversion rates? Do they articulate these requirements back to you for agreement?
• Thorough Investigation – Your current marketing efforts – what works and what doesn’t. What shape is your current web site in? Is it SEO compliant? What do you use to promote your site – Social Media? Blogs? Keywords? Adwords? Etc. What’s your competition doing?
• Detailed Proposal – A digital marketing company should detail all aspects of their intended work including how much time /effort will be dedicated to you and how often they will interface with you.
• References and Research – Observe their clients – speak to them. Ask them about their experience with the firm. How long have they used the firm? Search on the firm? Have they gotten good press? Bad? None?

Costs of a Firm

The cost associated with hiring a Digital Marketing Firm varies greatly depending on what is required, how much effort is needed and how long it will take. These costs generally range from $2,000 to $10,000+ per month. Terms vary from month to month to annual agreements. PROS: Lower cost than hiring an employee; Diverse expertise on all aspects of SEO, Social Media and Digital Marketing; Low risk if results do not meet your expectations – you terminate the agreement; Current on latest technology and techniques to achieve results. CONS: You don’t completely control the resources allocated; The firm may not always be transparent; Your investment is an expense.

Whichever route you take to make your website a success depends on what is important to you. However you decide it should be clear that simply doing nothing will result in nothing and doing it all yourself (or thinking you can do it all yourself) will generally lead to admitting that you can’t. Remember just because you build it doesn’t mean they will come!