The burden of advertising and marketing a small business typically falls on the owner, who generally neither has the time nor the know-how to do it. However, since the internet has changed marketing and advertising in ways that make them both a little more accessible, more small business owners are trying their hands at doing it. Most small business owners who do their own internet marketing have heard of the benefits of SEO, but here are a few reasons they shouldn’t be flying solo yet.

1. SEO now includes mobile.

One of the reasons that small business owners should still be working with an SEO company is that mobile-friendliness is now a factor that determines rankings in search engine results pages (SERPs). This means that unless their business is web design, small business owners should take advantage of website consulting services to get their site on track — or risk being penalized by Google.

2. The industry is so multi-faceted.

According to Pew Internet research, about 60% of people have researched a service or a product online, and search and email are still two of the top activities performed on the internet. SEO is still one of the most important parts of digital marketing, but there are so many things that relate to it and supplement it, like local SEO, social media, paid search, and other things.

3. It’s still super technical.

Another reason that small businesses should work with an agency for SEO services is that the industry is still very technical. Google does make some things easy by offer webmaster tools, but there are a lot of things that still take special knowledge and expertise. There are some things that business owners could do, but it doesn’t mean that they’re going to get the most benefits from it.