Which one fits a small business?
Match the option to the work you actually have, and to how much of it you can check yourself.
| Option | Fits when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Freelancer or consultant | One website, clear tasks, and you can say what you want | One person's hours and holidays; skills outside SEO may be thin |
| Agency | You want SEO, ads and the website handled together | Contract length; who on their team does your work |
| In-house hire | There's a full-time job's worth of work, every week | A full salary for one person's skill set (below) |
| AI agent | Steady volume: pages, listings, reviews, reports | Needs checks for quality; can't do what needs you in person |
Google's advice applies to all four: "a great time to hire is when you're considering a site redesign (the earlier, the better)" (Google Search Central).
SEO consultant vs agency
The difference is scale, not quality. A consultant or freelancer is one person you deal with directly. An agency is a team, so it can cover more channels and keep going when one person is away, but you may deal with an account manager rather than the person doing the work. Ask the agency who that person is.
What does in-house SEO cost?
A full salary, before tools and benefits.
| Country | Pay for the role | Source |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. | Median $78,760 a year (2025) | BLS wage data for market research analysts and marketing specialists, the group that includes search marketing strategists (O*NET) |
| Canada | Median $35.58 an hour, about CA$74,000 a year at 40 hours a week | Job Bank, NOC 11202 (advertising, marketing and public relations professionals), shown for marketing coordinator, updated November 19, 2025 (Job Bank) |
If your SEO work fills a few days a month, that salary buys mostly idle time. For outside prices, see how much SEO costs.
Can AI replace an SEO agency or freelancer?
For the volume work, often; for judgment, not yet. Google doesn't penalize content for being AI-written:
"Appropriate use of AI or automation is not against our guidelines." (Google Search Central)
But content made "primarily to manipulate search rankings" breaks its spam policies (same page). And AI saves time more often than it lifts sales: among AI-using firms in a 2025 Federal Reserve survey of Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, 71% reported higher productivity, while over 70% saw no change in sales (Philadelphia Fed, 2026). More: Can AI do SEO?
Questions to ask any of them
Google publishes its own list. The ones that sort good from bad fastest:
"Can you show me examples of your previous work and share some success stories?"
"What kind of results do you expect to see, and in what timeframe? How do you measure your success?"
"Will you share with me all the changes you make to my site"
(Google Search Central: Do you need an SEO?)
Red flags
- A guarantee: "If they guarantee you that their changes will give you first place in search results, find someone else."
- Cold outreach: "Be wary of SEO firms and web consultants or agencies that email you out of the blue."
- Secrecy: "Be careful if a company is secretive or won't clearly explain what they intend to do."
(All from Google Search Central.)
Whoever you pick, keep ownership
Stay the owner of your Search Console property and add them as a user. Owners have "full control" and can add and remove users, and "A property must have at least one verified owner, or no users will have access to the property." (Search Console Help). The same goes for your domain, Google Business Profile and Analytics: see the contract terms to check.
Example
A one-location plumber
About 10 hours of SEO work a month: listing updates, a few service pages. A freelancer at $75 an hour costs about $750 a month. A hire would be idle most of the week.
A three-office dental group
SEO, Google Ads and a new website at once. An agency or AI agent service at $2,500 a month covers all three; a single freelancer would need help with ads.
A 40-person home services company
SEO, ads and content fill a full-time role. At $75 an hour, those hours would cost about $156,000 a year from outside; a hire at about $80,000 plus tools costs less.
Different for you?
- Comparing prices for outside SEO: How much SEO costs
- Weighing AI on its own: AI agents for small business marketing
- Holding a proposal now: Marketing agency contract terms
- Switching from a provider you already have: Leaving your marketing agency
- New website, so you need help now: How long SEO takes