Search Engine Optimization or SEO involves a set of strategies aimed at placing your website on top the search result page for specific keywords. Its ultimate objective is to drive more targeted traffic to your website and increase its conversion. Nowadays, SEO has become a must for online businesses because traffic is the lifeblood of every website.
SEO as a source of traffic is preferred over paid advertisements online because it is much cheaper and it delivers targeted traffic. Studies have shown that traffic from search engines are more likely to convert as paying customers or clients. Moreover, it costs less to implement an SEO campaign in the long run over paid advertisements. Companies who have implemented SEO on their websites claim to have doubled their ROI in a short period of time. According to them, of all online promotional strategies they have used, SEO yielded the most favorable results marketing1on1.
In-House SEO
Due to the unquestionable benefits of SEO, companies have included it as an indispensable strategy. Human resource departments of small and large companies alike are in the prowl for professional SEOs. Yet SEO is still in its infant stage, which explains the scarcity for qualified SEO professionals. Companies then resort to the next best thing, which is to train an in-house SEO. Naturally, companies spend for their training. They pay for the seminars and training materials on top of the salaries they pay them. Spending does not end from when the SEOs are technically skilled to perform their basic functions. The company still needs to sustain continuous training because SEO is an evolving art. In order to make sure you get the most out of it, your SEOs should be updated on all the latest developments. This simply means additional cost for the company to bear.
Outsource SEO
Alternatively, businesses are given the option to outsource their SEO. It could be offshore or within their own country. The concept behind outsourcing is simple. It allows companies to perform their core business functions and let other companies perform their other functions that they are least efficient at. This will lead to an increase in productivity level and will improve the quality of output as functions are carried out by teams with specialized skills. For these reasons, more than 50% of western companies have outsourced some, if not all, of their business processes.
In terms of SEO, India and the Philippines are the most preferred hub for outsourcing these tasks. All throughout Asia, India and the Philippines have relatively higher literacy rate. They are also the top choice for outsourcing because of their cheap labor. More importantly, the Philippines and India have some of the most technically skilled laborers. It is not surprising that Indians and Filipinos are responsible for the SEOs of 5% of the Fortune 500 Companies.
SEO Skills
As a company, of course, you want qualified professionals to work on your SEO. While you want to cut costs on your online marketing, you would still want to be served by skilled SEO professionals that will deliver the expected results. It is true that the internet is full of scammers pretending to know SEO and promising you the top position on search engines for your target keywords so be wary. Most of them are from India, Pakistan and the Philippines but at the same time, the most qualified SEO professionals are from these countries. Because of the scarcity of labor in these countries, specialization on their chosen field is an essential strategy to succeed. Hence, the Indian and Filipino labor market invest on broadening their skills and deepening their knowledge to gain an advantage in the labor market. SEO professionals are no exceptions.
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