Should I Learn SEO, or Outsource it?

[CKoski90]

So i've been working on a website now for a few months. Its basically a review site that provides great information on the products and links to affiliates. I recently ordered and SEO report on fiverr since my traffic has stayed at about 10-14 visitors a day for a few months.

It came back with a load of things wrong with it. Included problems were code to text ratio, failed google and alexa page rank test, fialed inline css test, failed html page size test, failed html compression/GZIP test, failed page cache test, my site loading speed was trash, failed URL canonicalization test, failed Libwww-perl Access Test, failed server signature test, failed IP canonicalization test, and failed media query response test. In addition to that i've only tried ranking for one keyword and haven't even used it nearly enough in my content or headers.

I plan to add my main target keyword to more headers and include it more in content, in addition to targeting 3 more similar keywords. That part i can handle.

I just started looking into link building strategies so i'm hoping i can do that on my own. I'm currently not even in the top 50 on the only three search engines i'm even being picked up by. I honestly haven't done any link building besides a handful of blog comments. I've really been focusing on generating content up until this point.

Im wondering if i should actually take the time to learn what all of the other tests are, what they mean, and how to fix them, or if i should hire someone to take care of all of this.

Also do you guys suggest i do a link building campaign on my own or should i outsource it? Id rather not blow a bunch of money so i'm thinking its best if i just learn it. It feel it would be invaluable to learn because i could also apply it to future sites i create. The only thing that worries me is how long it will actually take to become effective at this stuff.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Should I Learn SEO, or Outsource it?

Neither.

Get a great product that doesn't rely on SEO. Do that and your thoughts about SEO will be the least important thing on your mind.

 

[ZCP]

What value does the SEO provide to your customer?

 

[CKoski90]

What value does SEO provide to my customers? The customer actually seeing the content. I am writing quality content that would help anyone thinking about purchasing this type of product. I'm not just selling, i'm writing about topics relating to the product that has nothing to do with getting a sale. My goal is to inform the reader as much as possible so they don't waste their money on stupid purchases.

I cant help my reader if i don't have them on my site in the first place. I understand that you guys are stressing on delivering the best quality content i can possible create, but will that alone help me reach the masses? I thought this is where SEO and marketing comes in, am i wrong?

 

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[healthstatus]

What value does the SEO provide to your customer?

The same as any form of marketing. It is another channel for a user to find the amazing thing you have.

 

[pickeringmt]

SEO is a great thing to understand, and is interesting to boot.

It has helped me greatly.

Even if you want to outsource it, you need a fundamental understanding of it to do that effectively.

What value does the SEO provide to your customer?

That doesn't really make any sense unless SEO is your product

that is like asking what value does ppc or facebook ads provide for your customer.

Anything that puts the right product in the hands of the people that want it is inherently good. It is really a question of if the product you are putting there is valuable to the customer you are getting in front of.

 

[splok]

Im wondering if i should actually take the time to learn what all of the other tests are, what they mean, and how to fix them, or if i should hire someone to take care of all of this.

Also do you guys suggest i do a link building campaign on my own or should i outsource it?

If you're intent on running a content-based site as your business, you should realize that traffic generation needs to be your core business activity. Making content is great, but if no one sees it, then it doesn't matter. Of course, content can help attract people via seo, and once you actually get people to your site, good content will keep them happy and possibly returning (depending on the type of site).

So, being that your site lives and dies by its traffic, you need to know everything you can about generating it. That doesn't mean that you need to do everything yourself, but you DO need to know exactly what needs to be done so you can outsource it effectively. Just going out and buying a bunch of random seo packages is absolutely NOT what you want to do. Develop your own systems, and then hire a VA to repeat the process as needed.

 

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[CKoski90]

If you're intent on running a content-based site as your business, you should realize that traffic generation needs to be your core business activity. Making content is great, but if no one sees it, then it doesn't matter. Of course, content can help attract people via seo, and once you actually get people to your site, good content will keep them happy and possibly returning (depending on the type of site).

So, being that your site lives and dies by its traffic, you need to know everything you can about generating it. That doesn't mean that you need to do everything yourself, but you DO need to know exactly what needs to be done so you can outsource it effectively. Just going out and buying a bunch of random seo packages is absolutely NOT what you want to do. Develop your own systems, and then hire a VA to repeat the process as needed.

This does sound like a good idea. Since i've seen so much about people getting scammed on SEO services, i should at least know what to look for. I like the idea of learning my own process then outsourcing it. Keeps the quality control in check. Thanks

 

[splok]

This does sound like a good idea. Since i've seen so much about people getting scammed on SEO services, i should at least know what to look for. I like the idea of learning my own process then outsourcing it. Keeps the quality control in check. Thanks

It's not even the scams that I would worry about. If you go out and buy a bunch of shitty/tainted links, it can actively destroy your site's rankings.

 

[healthstatus]

Im wondering if i should actually take the time to learn what all of the other tests are, what they mean, and how to fix them, or if i should hire someone to take care of all of this.

Neither, keep writing QUALITY content on your topic and all its associated keywords, post the content in more places than just your website.

 

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[integrity]

Sounds like you paid someone on Fiverr to run a free GTMetrix test on your site.

It's good to understand the basics of SEO, but I personally wouldn't invest money or too much time into it. If you want free traffic, learn to leverage social media. But not only is relying on search engines incredibly unstable, it also takes a very, very long time to see results.

All your hard work and money spent on buying links, writing articles to rank, ect.. are only one Google algorithm update away from disappearing from the search results. Don't build your business around that sort of foundation.

 

[CKoski90]

Sounds like you paid someone on Fiverr to run a free GTMetrix test on your site.

It's good to understand the basics of SEO, but I personally wouldn't invest money or too much time into it. If you want free traffic, learn to leverage social media. But not only is relying on search engines incredibly unstable, it also takes a very, very long time to see results.

All your hard work and money spent on buying links, writing articles to rank, ect.. are only one Google algorithm update away from disappearing from the search results. Don't build your business around that sort of foundation.

You're right, in addition to a few other things that could be easily found publicly. Wasn't even aware of this test, not to mention what half of it means. Luckily it was only $5.

Do people really leverage social media to make it an effective sole form of traffic generation? To be honest, i rented out 3 books from the library on twitter marketing before i thought it might be better to spend my time on SEO. Do you think my time is better spent on social media rather than building links?

 

[ZCP]

What value does the SEO provide to your customer?

Let me expand..... as my response to the question from the OP...... What would provide more value to your customer, 'you' learning SEO or could 'you' provide more value to the end customer by working on some other element of the product while you hire out the SEO?

Can you do it better than you can hire it out? Do you have a method that fits the customer better? Or would your time be better spent on improving content and the product itself?

The avenue that provides the most end value to your customer is the one to pursue.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

I'm sorry but creating a content website which a bunch of affiliate links sounds so 2008... hasn't Google totally annihilated these types of sites? And does that not concern you? If SEO is your only source of traffic you don't have a business. An algo change will put you out of business in 24 hours.

 

[CKoski90]

It wouldn't be my only source of traffic in the end, but I need to start somewhere.

If this is truly a bad idea and a time waster then id rather know now then keep going and find out months down the road this was stupid to begin with.

 

[integrity]

If SEO is your only source of traffic you don't have a business. An algo change will put you out of business in 24 hours.

Yep.

And lemme tell you, it sucks to see your hard work go up in smoke like that.

3 months to start seeing traffic, then just 1 night for it all to evaporate.

It's great to have an SEO'd site, but keep most of your eggs OUT of that basket.

 

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[CKoski90]

So is it worth my time trying to increase traffic through social media instead? Or is that a bad idea as well since I have no control over social media sites

 

[integrity]

Do people really leverage social media to make it an effective sole form of traffic generation? To be honest, i rented out 3 books from the library on twitter marketing before i thought it might be better to spend my time on SEO. Do you think my time is better spent on social media rather than building links?

I see tons of people every day on Instagram that have a massive following and use it to promote their own brands, or brands that sponsor them.

One example is in the fitness industry with all these ripped girls posting their gym selfies all day, along with quick recipe videos and paid product plugs. They have millions of followers and I'm sure they generate tons of sales every time they share a "Hey guys, this is my fav protein! Check out the link in my bio for 10% off!" pic.

Whether they own the products or not, I don't know. But they could most certainly leverage such a massive following to promote their own fastlane. Just an example.

 

[integrity]

So is it worth my time trying to increase traffic through social media instead? Or is that a bad idea as well since I have no control over social media sites

It depends on what your ultimate goal is.

If it's for your own brand, most definitely yes.

If you just want to post affiliate links all day, perhaps not. Unless you have the goal of making a site like RetailMeNot or something (Your brand).

 

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[CKoski90]

Thanks a lot for the insight.

The biggest take from this is to not rely on SEO as my sole form of traffic and to create a brand out of my site.

I think I'm going to pass on the SEO for now and focus on branding through social media

 

[SerpKing]

There's a big learning curve when it comes to learning how to do good SEO right now. To sum it up as best as I can in cliff notes, SEO works like this:
- inbound Links are still the most important factor for ranking a site.

- There are good links and bad links. You want good links. Buying most links or hiring 95% of outsourced seo contractors/agencies will get you a load of bad links and likely hammer your site.

- do lots of internal linking, internal linking is huge and completely under utilized. Think about it, it's one of the easiest ways to tell a search engine what a page is about.

- the other important factor for ranking is overall authority+trust of the site. Which appears to be mainly judged by aged inbound links built up over the years. Look at any big authority site dominating the search engine results, they have a shitload of high value links built up over a period of time. That's the only way to do 100% "good" SEO, no secrets. What's the easiest way to do this? Build an awesome business that gets linked to by high authority sites/blogs/forums/etc.

OP take a step back and look at the project that you're working on. Ask yourself where you see it in 5-10 years and if you really think it's a fastlane business. Put your time into something that has huge potential rather than wasting it building an affiliate review site that relies on SEO. Unless you can execute like retailmenot you're going to be in for a tough time and I can pretty much guarantee it isn't going anywhere.

It makes way more sense to work on a project that has massive scale and can utilize any traffic source effectively. A product or service + content that people will like/share/link to/word of mouth about. This builds a base, it starts momentum. Once you build up a solid base of good links, social shares, etc. SEO becomes WAY easier, let me emphasize: WAY easier. But the key takeaway is to work on a real business and focus on the big picture, not just SEO.

 

[Lauryn]

All things being equal: Learn then outsource.

 

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[Silverhawk851]

If you have a good offer that provides value and converts people, I'd jump into the deep side of the pool and get some paid traffic going

 

[Timbonitus]

I found this article, might shed some more light on the topic: http://www.matthewwoodward.co.uk/experiments/google-webmaster-guidelines-experiment/

Personally, I don't think search engine traffic is that special. I bought a keyword research tool the other day and then I realized that I don't even care about search engine traffic so why should I use the tool, ended up canceling my subscription.

Network. Leave comments on related articles. Search for people who are interested in the products that you review and tell them about your website. Build a list. Write some guest posts. There are a thousand different things that you can do to market a website, it's NOT all about SEO...