In today’s world, where everyone and everything is online, over 97% of consumers’ first response is to search online when they need something. As such, almost every business has had to recognize the importance of having a digital presence (especially since the pandemic). Many digital marketing agencies and freelancers have taken advantage of this gap in the market, going on a spree to acquire more clients.
But as anyone involved in online marketing has realized by now, many things are involved in an all-round digital marketing campaign – and one person or team (even an agency) can’t master it all.
That is where the concept of white-label SEO outsourcing comes in. In this blog, we explore this model of SEO outsourcing services, discuss its pros and cons, and try to find out who can benefit from it. Read on to understand if this type of SEO service can benefit you or not.
What is White Label SEO?
Let’s say you are a digital marketing agency that has struck it big during the pandemic and acquired many clients. But now your employees have more on their hands than they can deliver, and your work is suffering as a result.
What can you do then?
Hiring new employees to expand your in-house team will be expensive, and even then, the time spent to train them will bleed you dry as clients take their work elsewhere.
This is where you approach a white-label SEO provider to outsource your SEO needs. The company that provides the white-label SEO services is called the provider, while you’ll be the reseller.
Essentially the service agreement between your two companies will be that your white-label SEO partner will provide SEO services for your clients, but you will act as an intermediary. Another scenario where white-label SEO outsourcing helps is in diversifying your offerings.
Yes, that means they will do the work, but with your logo so that you can take the credit!
How Does White Label SEO Work?
White labelling SEO usually involves a service provider and another digital marketing company where the former provides the SEO services which the latter repackages under its brand for its clients. The whole process works out like this:
Step 1: Onboarding
This step happens in the background, where the client-agency forms a partnership with the white-label SEO outsourcing partner. Depending on whether it is a long-term partnership, or a project-based one, pricing plans are customized.
Step 2: Integration
The reseller (client agency) then integrates the services provided by the white-label SEO provider into its portfolio. This way they can provide their existing clients with added services and also attract new ones.
Step 3: Resource Allocation
Depending on the SEO services your client needs, the white-label service provider will allocate member/s from its team, to work on your project!
This may include a whole range of SEO services, depending on the partner you choose. Commonly offered SEO solutions in white-label outsourcing plans include:
- Keyword Research and Optimization
- Content Creation
- Acquiring Backlinks
- Website Optimization
- Local SEO
- Reporting
Step 4: Scheduling and Management
Then, depending on your client’s needs, the white-label SEO outsourcer will assign an account manager to lead the campaign, who maps out the deliverables and their timelines.
While the SEO provider works on the actual SEO, you, as the reseller, just need to manage client relationships.
Step 5: Updates and Reporting
After work on the project begins, the team assigned to your client provides regular updates. After a while, as the project begins showing results, they also share comprehensive performance reports with your branding to share with your clients.
How White Label SEO Outsourcing Helps Businesses
White Label SEO Outsourcing can be a boon for businesses like digital agencies, though, like every other outsourcing model, it comes with a few risks too.
Cost-Effective Expertise
Most small to medium businesses outsource SEO expertise to save costs. White-labeling certain SEO needs can prove cheaper to you in the long run, as you don’t have to hire full-time SEO Professionals and invest in their training. Similarly, you get access to a pool of experts, professional SEO tools, and software, without the added cost of multiple subscriptions and salaries.
Scale Quickly
Suppose you are in talks with a client and everything seems going well at first, but they need local SEO expertise, which is not one of your strengths. White labelling can save your day here, as you can just reach out to your SEO provider, and onboard them for the local SEO part of the project.
Transparent Reporting
When you sign up for the services of a white-label SEO outsourcer, you get regular reports and updates on the progress of your projects. These come with your branding and logo so that you can forward them to your clients. That is on top of monthly reports that track goals and mark the milestones reached through the campaign.
Increase ROI
White labeling SEO allows you to mark up anywhere from 30% to 40% of the cost to ensure you still have a healthy profit margin. Depending on the white label provider’s prices, this can even go over 70%.
Your sales, reach, and brand value grows as clients get additional services under one roof, while you get a hefty margin just by managing client relationships.
Disadvantages of White Label SEO Outsourcing
While outsourcing your SEO needs through a white-label SEO outsourcer has many advantages, it can backfire too. The cons of outsourcing SEO through a white-label provider is similar to outsourcing any other project, which includes:
- Your brand and image are at stake. If your white-label SEO outsourcer fails to meet targets or runs into some problems, you have more to lose than them.
- There will be communication gaps since your assigned SEO team will not be under your direct control.
- There is also a risk of black-hat SEO practices, like keyword stuffing, which can lead to your clients being penalized by search engines, sometimes even blacklisting. This can severely damage the reputation of your agency, and you’ll lose clients.
How to Look For a Good White Label SEO Partner
Since white-label SEO outsourcing is not risk-free despite its numerous advantages, it is quite important to select a white-label partner that is aligned with your brand and can deliver what you need on time.
However, many companies provide white-label SEO outsourcing services. So how do you choose?
Here are a few things you can examine to determine that.
Reviews and Testimonials
When selecting a white-label partner, look for positive reviews and feedback on their previous projects. Most companies will have testimonials on their website – ignore those.
Look for reviews and testimonials on third-party sites like Google, Clutch, SemRush, or Goodfirms. These are more expensive to manipulate, unlike the testimonials parties put on their website.
Another way is to go by word of mouth and ask your network for recommendations. Keep in mind though that some white-label SEO providers specialize in a particular niche.
Website Responsiveness
Since you’re going to outsource your SEO needs, check out how the white-label SEO provider’s website performs. A website can provide all key indicators of good SEO practices;
Speed: Does their site load fast? Is it responsive or does it stutter?
Ranking: Does it rank in the SERP results for specific keywords?
Intuitiveness: Is their website easy to navigate?
If the white-label partner checks all those bills, you can go ahead and contact them to see if they can meet your needs.
Budget
One of the big considerations when choosing a white-label partner is pricing. Remember, you have to pay them a part of what you get from your client. This is why India is one of the top destinations for white-label SEO outsourcing, as the country has a rich talent pool and pricing is more economical than in Western countries.
Pricing models are usually either:
- Hourly
- Monthly
- Project-based, or
- Custom
If you continue with your white-label partner after the initial project is completed, you’ll most likely be charged a monthly retainer for them to continue their services.
Transparency and Ethics
Another big factor to consider when choosing a white-label SEO partner is their openness to their processes/strategies to get results.
Remember keyword stuffing? Here are a few other unethical SEO tactics which may get results in the short run, but ultimately get you penalized or blacklisted:
- Using hidden links or text
- Duplicating content
- Buying backlinks
- Showing one version of a page to Google’s web crawlers and another to visitors
Black Hat SEO Practices
To make sure that the partner you are leaning towards doesn’t practice any black-hat techniques, you can ask them a few questions along these lines:
- What areas of SEO do they specialize in?
- Which SEO tools (Semrush, Google Search Console, etc.) do they use?
- What is their go-to strategy for ranking?
- How often do they share updates and reports?
- Can you show case studies of the work done for previous clients?
You’re good to go if they can answer all these questions honestly. However, you should still draw up a contract with an NDA clause that must also include these parameters:
- Delivery time
- Liabilities
- White label licensing agreement
- IP rights
Conclusion
Auing white-label SEO outsourcing as an agency can be a one-stop solution for all your clients’ digital marketing needs. Aligning with a white-label SEO partner not only saves you time, costs, and manpower but also allows opportunities for prompt scaling.
However, like every outsourced project, there are a few things that might go wrong if you are not careful. That is why you should be extremely careful while selecting a white-label provider.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is white-label SEO outsourcing?
White-label SEO outsourcing refers to the practice of contracting SEO services like link building, keyword optimization, etc, to a third party. This is usually practiced by marketing agencies to diversify their portfolio and free the bandwidth of the core team to take on more clients.
- What is a white-label SEO reseller?
The agency that integrates white-label SEO services into its offerings is referred to as a white-label SEO reseller. Whereas, the company that provides the services is called white label SEO provider.
- How much does white-label SEO cost?
Depending on the white-label provider you choose, as well as what services you need for your clients, white-label SEO outsourcing packages differ greatly. Pricing options are usually customizable. India is one of the most popular destinations white label SEO, as the country’s skilled workforce offers proven expertise at economic rates.
- What are the most popular SEO services that white-label providers offer?
Some of the most popular SEO services that white-label SEO providers offer are website audits, ranking strategies, keyword research and optimization, competitor analysis, local SEO, on-page and off-page optimization, and content creation.
- What metrics can I expect from a white-label SEO partner in a monthly report?
Usually, the monthly reports from white-label SEO partners include metrics like website traffic, keyword performance, backlink profiles, and user engagement data.