What It Is, Why You Should (and Shouldn't) Hire a Professional

Search Engine Optimization, or "SEO" for short, is the practice of improving the ranking of a website on search engines. The higher the ranking, the more likely people are to find the website. But why should you care?

Well, consider this: 93% of all online experiences begin with a search engine, and 47% of people click on one of the first three results. That means that if your website doesn't rank in the top three for relevant keywords, you're probably missing out on a whole lot of potential traffic!

SEO is important for any business that wants to be visible online, but it can be especially helpful for small businesses and businesses in competitive industries. This is because small businesses often don't have the brand recognition that larger businesses do, and they may get lost in the shuffle if they're not actively working to improve their search engine ranking. Likewise, businesses in competitive industries may find it difficult to rank highly for relevant keywords simply because there are so many other companies vying for those top spots.

So now that we've established why SEO is important, let's take a look at why you might (or might not) want to hire a professional to help with your SEO efforts.

The Pros of Hiring an SEO Professional

There are a few reasons why hiring an SEO professional can be beneficial for your business. First, an experienced SEO professional will have a deep understanding of how search engines work and what factors influence ranking. They'll also be up-to-date on all the latest algorithm changes and updates from Google (which seem to happen constantly!).

Additionally, an SEO professional can save you a lot of time. Optimizing your website for search engines can be extremely time-consuming, particularly if you're not familiar with all the technical jargon. And even if you are familiar with all things SEO, it's still a time-consuming process—one that you might not have time for if you're busy running your business.

Last but not least, an SEO professional can provide peace of mind. Once you hand over the reins to someone else, you won't have to worry about whether or not your website is properly optimized—you can just sit back and let them do their thing!

The Cons of Hiring an SEO Professional

Of course, there are also some downsides to hiring an SEO professional. The most obvious downside is cost—SEO services can be expensive, particularly if you're working with a large website or a competitive industry. Additionally, there's always the risk that someone could do more harm than good when it comes to optimizing your website. If they use black hat techniques or engage in other shady practices, it could result in your website being penalized by Google (which would obviously be bad for business).

So there you have it—a comprehensive overview of SEO! As you can see, there are pros and cons to both hiring an expert and attempting to tackle optimization yourself. Ultimately, it comes down to what makes the most sense for your business. If you feel confident in your abilities and have the time to commit to optimization efforts, then DIYing it might be the way to go. However, if you want peace of mind or don't feel like you have the time or knowledge necessary to effectively optimize your website yourself, then hiring a pro could be worth the investment!