SEO HIRING

Should I hire an SEO consultant or an agency?

The decision is between models I’ve built and run

I’ve been in search since 2000 and ran a digital agency. Later, I served as Head of Tech at AgencyUK from August 2024 to July 2025.

I have also worked client side, including growing a publishing brand to 800,000 monthly visitors. I founded SEOBurf in 2024 and now work as a solo consultant.

Having managed both sides of the ledger, I know exactly what each model offers and where it fits best.

Should I hire an SEO consultant or an agency?

It depends on your specific needs. A consultant suits technical problems where a single senior person handles the work within a fixed scope.

An agency is better when your requirements are broader. You need volume, coordination, and ongoing support across multiple channels.

What an agency actually gives you

Agencies provide structure. Teams handle multiple channels simultaneously, coordinating with large internal groups while managing high-volume content production.

This setup offers cover for absences or continuity during transitions. If someone leaves, others pick up the tasks.

They manage large-scale projects and scale quickly when demand spikes. Systems are in place to manage people and keep output moving.

What a consultant actually gives you

A consultant brings a senior person who has lived through the work, made mistakes, and learned from them.

I have spent over 25 years in the field, from 2000 to now. I build and deliver the work myself, and I don’t manage other people doing it for me. The person making the decisions is the person doing the work.

When an agency is the better choice

Agencies suit broad needs. If you are launching a new product and need SEO, PPC, social, and content done simultaneously, an agency can handle the coordination.

They are the right fit when you have a large team and need someone to align strategy across departments.

High-volume content production is another area where agencies excel.

When a consultant is the better choice

A consultant is better when the problem is specific and technical. If previous agency work underdelivered, a fresh pair of senior eyes is often what is missing.

Choose a consultant when you want to know exactly who is doing the work and who is making the decisions. A fixed scope matters more than ongoing hours here.

The strongest argument for a consultant is that the senior person does the work. At an agency, the person who wins the account is often not the person who runs it.

Execution often moves to someone more junior. If the issue is a single technical problem, like improving site speed or fixing indexing errors, a consultant can solve it directly.

The capacity against judgement question

Ask yourself whether you are buying capacity or judgement. Agencies sell capacity well.

They can apply hours to a problem, which is a real benefit. Judgement does not improve by adding people to it. The best work comes from someone who has spent years learning, failing, and refining their process.

Knowing which of twenty possible problems is the one costing money is a skill that does not scale with headcount.

How working with me actually goes

I work in 90-day sprints with a defined scope. The work is focused, the cost is predictable, and the results are clear.

If you want to see what I actually do and how I work, check out the about page or the working with me page. That is where the details live.

Questions and answers

Is a consultant always cheaper than an agency?

Not always.

But more of the fee reaches the work. An agency retainer buys more hours, but fewer of them are senior.

A consultant’s fee is more concentrated, and it goes to the person making the decisions.

What can an agency do that a consultant can’t?

An agency can handle more volume.

They can manage multiple channels at the same time. They can coordinate with large internal teams and provide continuity during absence or transition.

Should I hire an SEO consultant or an agency?

That depends on your needs.

If your problem is specific and technical, and you want a single senior person to do the work, a consultant is the better fit. If your needs are broad, and you require volume and coordination, an agency is the better fit.

Can I use both a consultant and an agency together?

Yes.

It works when each does what it’s suited to. For example, the agency handles volume and channels while the consultant tackles the specific technical problem.

There is no rule against it.

Do I need to have worked with an agency before to hire a consultant?

No.

But most businesses who approach me have already had an agency experience that did not deliver. That is not a bad thing.

It just means they are looking for something different.