Every growing business eventually faces this decision: should we hire an SEO agency or build an in-house team? The answer is not as simple as most advice suggests. Both models have genuine advantages, and the right choice depends on your budget, growth stage, competitive landscape, and how quickly you need to move.
This guide breaks down the real costs, trade-offs, and outcomes of each model so you can make an informed decision rather than an emotional one.
The Real Cost Comparison
The most common reason businesses consider in-house SEO is cost savings. But the math is often more complex than it appears.
A mid-level SEO specialist in North America typically commands $65,000 to $95,000 in base salary. Add benefits, payroll taxes, tools, training, and management overhead, and the fully loaded cost is $90,000 to $130,000 per year — or $7,500 to $10,800 per month for a single person who may only cover a portion of the SEO discipline.
An SEO agency, by contrast, provides access to a full team — strategists, content writers, technical specialists, link builders, and analysts — typically for $1,500 to $5,000 per month. Even at the high end, you are getting a multi-disciplinary team for roughly half the cost of a single in-house hire.
The catch is that in-house teams can be more efficient at very large scale. Companies spending $15,000 or more per month on SEO often find that building an internal team of two to three specialists becomes cost-effective. Below that threshold, the agency model almost always delivers better value.
Agency vs In-House: Side-by-Side
The following table compares the two models across the factors that matter most when making a hiring decision.
| Factor | SEO Agency | In-House Team |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly Cost | $1,500–$5,000 | $7,500–$10,800 (fully loaded) |
| Team Size | Full team (strategist, writer, technical, analyst) | 1 person (unless you hire multiples) |
| Time to Start | Immediate — onboarding in 1–2 weeks | 2–4 months for hiring + onboarding |
| Tool Access | Included (agency provides enterprise tools) | $500–$2,000/month additional for SEO tools |
| Breadth of Expertise | Wide — team covers technical, content, link building, AI search | Narrow — one person rarely excels at everything |
| Industry Knowledge | Experience across multiple industries and clients | Deep knowledge of your specific business |
| Scalability | Easy to scale up or down monthly | Slow — hiring or downsizing takes months |
| AI Search (GEO) | Leading agencies offer GEO as a core service | Requires additional training or a second hire |
| Control | Less direct control over day-to-day execution | Full control over priorities and workflow |
| Risk | Low — month-to-month, easy to switch | High — severance costs, lost institutional knowledge if hire leaves |
When to Hire an Agency
The agency model is the better choice when:
- Your monthly SEO budget is under $10,000. At this level, you cannot afford the breadth of expertise an agency provides with a single hire. An agency gives you fractional access to specialists across every SEO discipline.
- You need to move fast. Hiring takes months. An agency can begin work within days of signing. If you are launching a new product, entering a new market, or need to respond to a competitive threat, an agency eliminates the hiring delay.
- You need AI search optimization. GEO (generative engine optimization) is a specialized discipline that most individual SEO practitioners have not yet mastered. Agencies that offer GEO services have already invested in the tools, processes, and training required to optimize for ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. Learn about our GEO services →
- You want flexibility. Month-to-month agency engagements let you scale spend up during peak seasons and down during slower periods without the fixed cost of a salaried employee.
When to Build In-House
The in-house model makes more sense when:
- Your SEO budget exceeds $15,000 per month. At this level, you can afford to hire two to three specialists who collectively cover the full SEO skill set. The in-house team becomes cost-effective and can dedicate 100 percent of their time to your business.
- SEO is a core competitive advantage. If organic search is the primary growth channel for your business and you need deep integration between SEO and product development, engineering, or editorial teams, an embedded in-house team can move faster than an external partner.
- You operate in a highly regulated or technical industry. Industries like healthcare, finance, or defense sometimes require SEO practitioners who have deep domain knowledge and security clearances that external agencies cannot easily provide.
- You have existing marketing infrastructure. If you already have content writers, developers, and analysts on staff, adding a senior SEO strategist to coordinate their efforts may be more efficient than outsourcing to an agency.
The Hybrid Model
Increasingly, the most effective approach is a hybrid model that combines in-house ownership with agency execution. In this structure:
- A senior in-house SEO lead owns the strategy, coordinates with product and engineering teams, and manages the agency relationship
- The agency handles execution — content production, link building, technical audits, AI search optimization, and reporting
- The in-house lead ensures strategic alignment with business goals while the agency brings scale, tools, and specialized expertise
This model works particularly well for mid-market companies ($10M to $100M in revenue) that need more than a single generalist but are not ready to build a full five-person SEO team. The in-house lead provides the business context and institutional knowledge, while the agency provides the execution muscle and breadth of expertise.
The hybrid approach also mitigates the biggest risks of both models. You retain institutional knowledge and strategic control through your in-house lead, while avoiding the single-point-of-failure problem that comes with relying on one generalist. And because the agency relationship is month-to-month, you maintain the flexibility to scale execution up or down as business conditions change.
For companies evaluating this path, the typical structure looks like this: hire one senior SEO strategist internally (budget $100,000 to $140,000 fully loaded) and pair them with an agency retainer of $2,500 to $5,000 per month. The total investment of $10,800 to $16,600 per month gives you both strategic depth and execution breadth — a combination that neither a solo hire nor a standalone agency can match.
Not Sure Which Model Is Right?
Book a free strategy call and we will help you evaluate whether an agency, in-house hire, or hybrid model is the best fit for your business goals and budget.
Book a Free Strategy CallGrow Wild is a Vancouver SEO agency specializing in SEO, GEO, and AI-driven marketing strategy for enterprise brands. We help multi-location businesses get discovered — not just by Google, but by every AI model shaping how customers find and evaluate your brand. growwildagency.com
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, this is one of the most common paths. Many businesses start with an agency to build their SEO foundation, then hire an in-house lead once organic traffic becomes a significant revenue channel. A good agency will support this transition and help you hire effectively.
Look for verified case studies, ask about their approach to AI search, request transparent reporting samples, and confirm that there are no long-term contracts. For a complete framework, see our 10-point checklist for choosing an SEO agency.
You can handle basic SEO — technical hygiene, Google Business Profile, and content fundamentals — yourself with free tools and guides. However, competitive SEO and AI search optimization require specialized expertise and tools that are difficult to replicate as a solo effort. Most businesses see better ROI by investing in professional help, even at modest budget levels.