Having worked as a freelance SEO Consultant for over 3 years now, I’ve learnt to always have an eye out for opportunities to work with my ideal clients. Recently, I noticed that an awesome local travel company were hiring for an in-house SEO Executive, so I reached out to see if they’d be interested in working with myself on a freelance basis instead of hiring a full time employee. The MD took a look at my website and decided he wanted to find out more, so he put me to the test and offered me a challenge; “Let me know why we should consider freelance vs full time in house.” I put together my reply and as of writing this blog, I am waiting to hear back from him, however I thought it would be worth sharing my answer to a wider audience.
Of course, I am biased, but my opinions here are all completely honest. I write this article having experienced being a junior SEO Executive when starting out my career at a digital marketing agency, hiring junior SEO’s when working for that same agency as the Head of SEO and now, working as a freelancer.
The main concerns people have with freelancers
The main concern that many people have when considering an SEO freelancer vs. in-house SEO, is the cost. You are potentially going to pay the same amount of money for a freelancer as you would for a full time junior employee, yet you’ll only get the freelancer for 25% of the time (ish). Although I’ll touch more on this later, my main argument against this is that with less time, I can get more done, and the work will likely be higher-quality too. I have over a decade of experience in SEO and can hit the ground running. A junior SEO Executive is going to take a very long time to be able to put together the type of strategy I will be able to create from day one.
The other concern I often hear is about when the work will be completed. With an in-house employee, managers know exactly when a project is being worked on and can check in on it regularly, particularly if the role is office based. With a freelancer, the management team has slightly less control as freelancers often won’t work set days for specific clients (as one of the many benefits of freelancing is the ability to schedule your own work at times that suit you best, and who would want to give that benefit up?!). Honestly, this doesn’t need to be a concern at all if you are working with a reliable freelancer. I can only speak for myself, but as a freelancer, I take deadlines very seriously. If a client needs something done within an hour, a day, a week or a month and I have the capacity to get it done, I’ll agree and I will meet that deadline, no matter what. If I don’t think I can hit the deadline, I won’t agree to it. So, whether I do the work during 9am-5pm on a Monday, or 4pm-10pm on a Saturday, it really doesn’t matter as long as the deadlines are hit and the quality of work is high.
Just as an FYI here though, most of my work is completed during normal weekday working hours, because that works best for me.
So, why should you choose an SEO Freelancer over an in-house Junior SEO Executive?
Let’s dive into the main reasons I believe working with an experience SEO Freelancer like myself is a much smarter choice for your business than hiring a full-time junior SEO Executive.
Immediate impact and efficiency
One of the strongest arguments for hiring an experienced SEO freelancer like myself is my ability to hit the ground running. With over 10 years of hands-on experience and 7 of those years spent agency-side where you encounter a huge variety of different clients, SEO issues and challenges, I already have a solid understanding of the common and complex issues that websites face.
From day one, I know exactly how to audit your site, identify SEO problems and implement strategies that will drive results quickly. A junior Executive, with only 1-3 years of experience, will need time to learn, experiment and grow comfortable before they can make impactful changes. In contrast, I can begin delivering a results-driven strategy almost immediately because I know what works and what doesn’t. My approach will save you time and reduce the learning curve that comes with hiring less experienced staff.
Depth of SEO knowledge
SEO is a multifaceted discipline, with areas that range from technical SEO to keyword research and content optimisation, as well as an ability to keep up with and understand changes to search engine algorithms, user behaviour and search intent. While a junior Executive might be familiar with the basics, their limited experience means they haven’t yet faced the wide variety of SEO challenges that I have solved throughout my career.
There are many intricacies and nuances that take years to master, and without this knowledge, there is a higher risk of mistakes. For example, a less-experienced SEO Exec may suggest strategies that sound good on paper but could negatively impact your rankings, such as deleting low-performing content without doing their due diligence or improper use of canonical tags. With my expertise, I can ensure your website avoids such pitfalls.
Having worked agency-side, I also have a great deal of experience in a wide range of industries, so chances are I’ll have some level of experience in your sector or may have faced the challenges you are currently facing before.
Commercial understanding
In my 10+ years in SEO, I’ve not only honed my skills but also developed a strong commercial acumen. Having served as the Head of SEO at a digital agency and having run my own business for 3+ years, I possess a commercial understanding of how business works that a junior employee will not have. I focus on creating SEO strategies that drive real value and ROI. On the other hand, a junior Executive may be more focused on SEO basics like improving rankings or increasing traffic without a clear understanding of how to connect those efforts to actual business growth. With my broader perspective, I tailor SEO strategies that are aligned with your business goals, ensuring that the SEO work contributes to the bottom line.
Time and resource savings
Hiring a full-time employee means investing significant time in their onboarding, training and management. A junior SEO Exec will likely need close supervision and guidance to navigate their tasks and responsibilities, which can take valuable time away from your own priorities. By working with me on a freelance basis, you’ll save time, as I’ll handle everything from technical SEO audits to content strategies independently. You won’t need to train or manage me, freeing you up to focus on other critical areas of your business.
Cost savings
When you hire a full-time employee, there are many other costs beyond their salary. You’ll need to account for employee benefits such as paid holiday, bonuses, pension contributions, hardware, desk space, training and potentially expensive SEO software subscriptions. As a freelancer, I cover all of these costs myself. You only pay for the services I provide, making this a much more cost-effective solution than hiring in-house.
Flexibility and reduced risk
One of the biggest advantages of hiring a freelancer is the flexibility in contract terms. If an employee isn’t working out, the process of termination can be complex, potentially requiring a lengthy notice period, legal steps or severance pay. By contrast, working with me as a freelancer comes with far less risk. If, for any reason, you decide it’s not a good fit, you can end the contract with 30 days’ notice – no fuss and no lengthy HR procedures.
To conclude…
I didn’t write this article with the intention of badmouthing junior employees. I was once a junior SEO Executive and I earned my stripes by working hard and, fortunately, thoroughly enjoying SEO. I actively sought out new challenges and demanded exposure to areas of SEO that I wasn’t comfortable in at the time, so I know that genuinely hungry juniors can grow to become highly experienced and competent in SEO. So, if you have the time and patience for them to grow and they are perhaps entering part of a wider SEO team that they can quickly learn from, then I absolutely encourage that. If, however, you are a business looking to hire just one person to manage SEO for your website with limited support, then I believe that a highly experienced freelancer is a much better choice for you.
So, if you’re currently weighing up your options, I’d be happy to have a chat!