When considering search engine marketing (SEM) services for your business, one decision you will have to make on the way is choosing between a SEM agency and consultant (in fact, you most likely clicked on this article to help with that exact decision!).

While both agencies and consultants aim to grow your website’s traffic and revenue from search engines, their approach, structure, and relationship with clients differ significantly.

  • SEM agencies typically consist of multiple people skilled in different aspects of search engine marketing, account managers, developers, admin staff and directors.
  • SEM consultants on the other hand are just the person skilled in search engine marketing, covering admin duties themselves.

To help you decide between the two, I’ll compare both against seven key factors that are important to businesses deciding between choosing an agency or a consultant:

  1. Variety of Skills
  2. Cost-Effectiveness
  3. Resources
  4. Adaptability
  5. Communication
  6. Personalised Service
  7. Quality of Work

1. Variety of Skills

Winner: Agency

SEM agencies tend to be built around a multi-disciplinary team, comprising SEM specialists, developers, copywriters and client service professionals.

Their varied expertise makes them ideal for delivering complex projects involving several areas of digital marketing.

For organisations in need of a full-service solution, an agency can prove highly effective.

However, for more targeted needs, such as a standalone SEM campaign, a consultant may be more appropriate.

2. Cost-Effectiveness

Winner: Consultant

Agencies can offer competitive pricing, but those figures usually account for office rentals, managerial salaries, and administrative costs.

Most consultants work without such overheads. Your money is directed at their know-how rather than the infrastructure behind the scenes.

SEM consultants are frequently the more cost-efficient route.

3. Resources

Winner: Agency

Thanks to their team-based structure, agencies are often ideal for handling more complex or high-volume projects.

They have the capacity to assign various specialists to different areas of your SEM simultaneously.

So, if your campaign demands a coordinated team effort, an agency could be the more suitable option.

4. Adaptability

Winner: Consultant

Because agencies manage large teams, they usually rely on fixed processes and frameworks to maintain consistency.

Even if team members are adaptable, updating your account or making changes often requires navigating internal systems.

Consultants bring a more tailored approach and can adjust course with minimal delay when your business needs evolve.

That level of flexibility is hugely beneficial in a fast-changing digital environment.

So, if you find yourself needing to shift strategy mid-project, a consultant can respond more swiftly than an agency, which may need to work through several internal steps.

5. Communication

Winner: Consultant

A major perk of working with a consultant is having a single, reliable contact handling your SEM from day one.

It spares you the common agency challenge of shifting account managers or disruptions caused by team turnover.

With a consultant, you’re talking directly to the expert, not going through layers of staff.

This kind of open, direct communication leads to quicker decisions and a stronger working dynamic.

6. Personal Service

Winner: Consultant

With SEM consultants, you often get a deeper level of commitment, their business thrives on results and happy clients.

Agencies, by contrast, typically work within larger structures where client focus can be diluted by internal priorities.

Consultants, working independently, are driven to deliver great outcomes.

For them, your success directly reflects on their own, which often leads to a more dedicated partnership.

7. Quality of Work

Winner: Equal

Whether you choose an agency or a consultant, high-quality SEM is achievable with either.

Agencies may have larger teams and broader resources, but this sometimes leads to tasks being assigned to junior staff.

Consultants usually take on the full scope of work themselves, which can lead to greater consistency and attention to detail.

Final Score

  • Agency: 3
  • Consultant: 5

Conclusion

Both SEM agencies and consultants have their strengths.

While agencies bring extensive resources and a variety of skills, consultants may offer a more cost-effective, adaptable, and personalised approach.

If you’re ready to experience the benefits of working with a SEM consultant…read more