SEO - doing it yourself or hire a specialist?

[Willy_Jo]

I have online store and trying to promote it so wanna do a good seo. But after I've tried a few tools for searching keywords and so on and they all were not really effective and trustable. Maybe someone has any suggestion or advices here? What tool\service do you use? Or maybe it's just better and cheaper to hire a pro?

[lxstcenxtury]

Definetly hiring a pro is the better option if you have the budget.

[Mark_A]

Thing is, doing PPC with Google costs money.
Doing SEO yourself costs time and time is money.
Paying someone else to do your SEO costs money.

There are no free options.

[Juniya]

Learn the basics before you hire anyone, trust me. This way you prevent yourself from being manipulated and lied to.

[tangor]

SEO is a thing, but it is not the ONLY thing. Keywords are a thing, but are not the only thing. There are a lot of moving parts and one needs to know what they are. On the other hand, if in ecommerce and selling product (or similar) found on hundreds if not thousands of other sites it might simply come down to age of site in addition to authority and a dozen more attributes that have nothing to do with "SEO" ...

A truly honest SEO professional for hire will make no promises because there are no guaranteed SEO methods to GAIN, but there ARE SEO methods known to FAIL ... and in that regard a competent SEO expert can certainly be beneficial in avoiding those pitfalls!

[Whitey]

Or maybe it's just better and cheaper to hire a pro?

It will speed your self understanding fast, leading to opportunities. Both take time to perfect, so be patient with yourself. Recruit an SEO specialist with a solid portfolio and a good reputation. You don't have to pay the earth to get started. Freelancer platforms might help keep the costs reasonable. Most plug and play platforms have SEO basics built in.

[Mark_A]

Years ago I would do it all myself.
In the beginning, with Google, SEO was much simpler than it is today.

[RedBar]

What tool\service do you use?

None, never have, never will, all any of them can do is give a very rough guide.

Or maybe it's just better and cheaper to hire a pro?

Bear in mind that a good SEO needs to understand not only ALL your products but also your business and your intentions for that business. If you do not know these then the SEO cannot do his job effectively. A good SEO should immerse themself in your business, a cheap scamming SEO will churn out template text blocks incorporating your requested keywords and will then walk on to their next "budget project".

Many SEO companies are, quite simply, not worth talking to.

That's my view of many of them, your mileage may vary:-)

[Vortex13]

Have you tried using tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush or Moz? They are reliable and offer many features for keyword research and site auditing. Sometimes choosing the right tool can make all the difference. You can also use the free Google Planner. But if all of this seems overwhelming, it may be worth hiring a professional. A professional will save you time and may produce faster and better results. This can be a worthwhile investment, especially if you expect long-term success.
Also, don't forget that if your site is new, organic traffic will come over time, not immediately.

[Zain_A]

Hey Willy_Jo,

I totally get what you mean. SEO can be tricky, and not every tool out there delivers what it promises. I’ve tried a bunch myself, and honestly, the best approach is to mix a few rather than relying on just one. Google Keyword Planner and Search Console are solid free options, and if you're open to a paid tool, Ahrefs or SEMrush give deeper insights. Ubersuggest is decent too if you’re looking for something more budget-friendly.

But SEO isn’t just about tools—it’s more about understanding what your audience is searching for and making sure your store shows up for those searches. Things like optimizing your product descriptions naturally with keywords, creating useful content (like blog posts or guides), and building backlinks from relevant sites can really help.

As for hiring a pro vs. doing it yourself, it really depends on how much time you want to invest. SEO takes effort, but it’s totally doable if you’re up for learning.

Hope that helps, and good luck with your store!

[thetitan72]

I used to hire SEO professionals, even when I already had some experience myself. But over time, I learned—thanks to those pros—just how often things shift in SEO due to a variety of factors. Even they sometimes had to pivot mid-project. That made me realize it's often better to handle it yourself.

Sure, it takes time, but that time is an investment—you end up learning how to navigate most of the challenges on your own. These days, I’d rather pause content creation for a bit to fix SEO issues than keep pushing out content that brings low returns.