SEO: 6 Signs It’s Time to Internalize

To accelerate on multiple marketing channels simultaneously, outsourcing your SEO to an agency is a common and relevant strategy… but only up to a certain point. The benefits of internalizing SEO for marketing managers are undeniable:

● Better control of the overall marketing strategy

● Increased responsiveness to market changes

● Cost savings on agency fees

● Better understanding of customer needs

● Increased visibility and organic traffic

👉 Semactic clients have shared 6 signs that led them to internalize their SEO optimization.

📌 Level 3: Delegating SEO to an Agency

Outsourcing your SEO optimization means entrusting this complex task to experts and being able to focus on other marketing aspects that need to be internalized.

Social media, email marketing, online advertising, organic search… your digital strategy requires optimizing your presence on multiple channels at once. Digital marketing is becoming more complex and specialized. Without internal skills, organic search is one of those acquisition channels that gets outsourced.

But at a certain stage, internalizing SEO becomes crucial to take control of your digital strategy. On the way to level 4: internalizing SEO. 👇

6 Signs It's Time to Internalize Your SEO

SIGN #1: Lack of Transparency

Imagine entrusting the recipe for your success to a chef who keeps his secrets.

This is what happens when your SEO agency doesn’t share its SEO action plan with you. Delegate without becoming blind.

Organic search cannot be isolated from the rest of your marketing strategy. You need to keep a systemic view of your marketing. Your SEO consultant should be able to share a roadmap of completed, ongoing, and upcoming optimization actions.

Without visibility into the actions taken, it’s impossible to know if your SEO is on the right track and aligned with your overall marketing roadmap.

How can you know what works for YOU in SEO if the insights are not shared?

● Tips:

○ Avoid the silo approach. Demand a transparent and detailed SEO action plan from your agency.

○ Share it internally and ensure its implementation aligns with your overall marketing strategy.

SIGN #2: Unrealistic Promises

Beware of promises like: “On the 1st page of Google in X weeks”. It’s like losing weight without effort… enticing, but unrealistic. SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. Three short months of SEO service and then they’re gone.

No, that won’t suffice! Organic search is like a garden. A lot of effort at certain times, but always a little bit each day. And it’s easier when you’re on-site!

● Tips:

○ Favor a realistic and sustainable approach to organic search.

○ Clearly distribute SEO optimization tasks between your internal teams and your service providers, but keep control of your action plan.

SIGN #3: Not Up-to-Date with Best Practices

Your SEO agency will invariably recommend several technical optimizations for your site. The “on-site” optimizations. You will implement them, then new web projects will come and override all the gains made.

Without internal SEO knowledge, your web managers might unknowingly implement actions that are counterproductive for organic search.

● Tip:

○ Train your internal teams on SEO best practices! This will allow you to keep control of your SEO strategy and avoid costly mistakes.

○ SEO-trained teams will enable you to optimize your web projects from the start, save time, and improve your results.

SIGN #4: Lack of Availability

An SEO consultant in an agency manages multiple clients simultaneously. You are not their only priority.

Questions, urgent reporting for a meeting, and you might be left hanging. The lack of availability of your consultant can have significant negative impacts on your SEO strategy.

● Tips:

○ Set up regular communication points on SEO actions.

○ Have direct access to SEO tool reports and your roadmap so you’re not dependent on the availability of a third party.

SIGN #5: Lack of Responsiveness

Imagine a fire breaking out in your house and your alarm system doesn’t go off. This can happen when your SEO consultant is not responsive to issues affecting your SEO. Suddenly, an action on your site negatively impacts SEO. Your rankings plummet, but you don’t notice it right away. Your SEO consultant, alerted by SEO tools like Google Search Console, might not see the alert immediately. By the time they react, you’ve lost several crucial days impacting your marketing results.

● Tips:

○ Take control of your SEO by equipping your internal teams with an SEO tool.

○ Proactive SEO monitoring will help limit losses and optimize results.

SIGN #6: Weak Knowledge of Your Industry

Although your SEO consultant is presumably competent in their area of expertise, there’s a good chance they don’t know much about your industry. That’s normal, you can’t be an expert in every field.

But without an in-depth understanding of your sector and the needs of your end customers, SEO advice and actions are likely to be very generic. Like artificial intelligence. Trying to create something new based only on what already exists… it doesn’t add value.

● Tip:

○ Combining sector expertise with deep SEO knowledge will allow you to achieve exceptional results and stand out from your competitors.

○ Save even more by internalizing; train your team members on SEO!

Ready for Level 4 of Your SEO?

Mastering your SEO internally not only allows you to react quickly to market changes but also synchronizes your entire marketing strategy.

● Systemic Approach : Elevate your marketing strategy to a holistic level, ensuring consistency across all channels and initiatives.

● Quickly Adapt to Market Changes : Stay at the forefront by adopting an agile approach, allowing rapid adjustments to your marketing tactics in response to evolving market trends and customer preferences.

● Reduce Your Marketing Budget : Streamline your costs by taking control of your SEO efforts and leveraging internal expertise.

● Deepen Your Understanding of Customers : Gain a deep understanding of your clientele, their needs, and pain points, enabling you to craft targeted marketing messages that resonate.

● Amplify Visibility and Organic Traffic : Drive an increase in organic traffic by implementing effective SEO strategies, attracting qualified visitors to your website, and enhancing your brand’s online presence.

Do you want to move to level 4 of SEO internalization?

Semactic offers a hybrid approach (SaaS tool + personalized advice). Once your account is created, a Semactic consultant will help you define your personalized strategy and action plan.

On a daily basis, the Semactic SaaS tool becomes your companion and allows you to manage your SEO program independently:

● Personalized Kanban SEO action plan

● Competitor analysis

● Keyword ranking tracking

● Plan your content calendar

● On-site optimizations

● Backlink opportunities

● SEO resources to stay updated

Your personalized SEO action plan – Kanban View in Semactic: