When a business decides to outsource some of its marketing strategy, design work, or content writing to a professional, there are two main choices available.
The first is to work with an agency, while the other is selecting a freelancer to partner with. In this blog, we’re sharing the benefits of both and how to determine which is right for your business.
Understanding the differences between agencies and freelancers
The first thing to note is that choosing between an agency and freelancer doesn’t always mean deciding which is right for your business. Sometimes, it requires more of a bespoke approach to the project at hand – considering your inhouse expertise and what level of support you want and need from a third party professional.
When it comes to something all-encompassing like a complete website redesign, the scale of the project and the plethora of different skills required means that you might prefer the multiple skills of an agency. If it’s regular blog creation or a logo design that you need, a freelancer might offer a more efficient and flexible solution.
As such, the main difference between the two from a client point of view is the way that they work and the type of work that you might hire them to do.
The benefits of working with an SEO agency
To look specifically at SEO, the number one benefit of working with an agency is access to a whole team of professionals – each of whom operate and specialise in a different area of work.
SEO has become an industry of its own, with multiple plates to juggle at one time. It’s little wonder business owners need to outsource their SEO strategy, with fully fledged agencies also recently needing to upskill team members and bring on new talent to cover the plethora of SEO requirements needed to rank high in the algorithm.
As such, working with an agency means that your business will benefit from all the combined expertise of different professionals.
What’s more, agencies tend to offer packages and ongoing support and maintenance services that are particularly popular with businesses looking to grow and sustain a good position in the market. For clients, this means that not only are you getting more support for your money, but you will likely find that the team is more committed to the outcome of the SEO strategy and their work than a potential freelancer. While a freelancer will complete a task and invoice for it, the ongoing work and fee structure employed by agencies makes the short and long term goals more of a focal point for them.
The benefits of working with a freelancer
Conversely, the benefits of working with a freelancer tend to be centred around the experience and the ease of completing the project.
Freelancers are not only more affordable but also more flexible – able to pick up extra tasks and change the scope of work with much less notice than an agency that is fully booked. What’s more, while agencies will typically work with multiple clients at any one time, a freelancer is more likely to be focussed on your project solely for a period of time – putting your needs and preferences at the centre of their work.
Is one better than the other?
As we mentioned earlier, it really depends on your project – though if it’s SEO support that you’re looking for specifically, then our advice would be to research agency support and try working with a bigger team if you have the budget.
While an agency will likely come in at a higher price overall, the multi-person team structure of an agency means that you are more likely to benefit from access to the very latest and most up to date trends – and can rest assured that every aspect of an overarching SEO strategy will be met thanks to the skills of different professionals.
Here at Mitchell & Stones, we may be an agency, but we value the work of freelancers, and believe that both have their place in the online growth and digital marketing sector. For more advice on how to access leading SEO support, get in touch with our team to discuss your project, and to find out if we could be a good match.
