Hire a Dedicated SEO Specialist
A full-time SEO specialist working inside your team, managed by you, at a fraction of a Western salary. From $1,500 a month.
Staff augmentation means a full-time specialist who works inside your team — your Slack, your stand-ups, your ticket queue, your priorities — rather than an agency delivering to a scope. It costs **$1,500–$3,500 a month** for a person, against $70,000–$120,000 a year for the equivalent US hire. It works when you have someone able to direct them. It fails, reliably, when you do not.
## When this is the right model
Dedicated specialist versus full retainer
| Dedicated specialist | Full retainer | |
|---|---|---|
| You need | Someone in your team, directed by you | Someone to own the outcome |
| You provide | Priorities, direction, review | Access and approvals |
| Cost | $1,500–$3,500/mo per person | $1,500–$3,500/mo total |
| Strategy set by | You | Us |
| Best when | You have marketing leadership, no SEO skill | You have neither |
| Fails when | Nobody has time to direct them | You cannot approve anything |
The honest version: a dedicated specialist is cheaper per hour and more flexible, but it moves the management burden onto you. If nobody on your side has two hours a week to direct the person and review their work, take the retainer instead. We have watched augmentation engagements go quiet because the client’s only marketer got busy, and it is a waste of everyone’s money.
## Roles we place
– **SEO specialist** — execution across technical, on-page and reporting. The most common request.
– **Technical SEO** — for engineering-led teams that need someone who can read a log file and write a ticket a developer will accept.
– **SEO content writer** — briefed by you, writing in your voice, in your CMS.
– **Link building / digital PR** — outreach, relationship building, placement.
– **SEO analyst** — reporting, dashboards, attribution, experiment design.
## How placement works
- Week 1
Role definition
What they will own, what tools they need, who they report to, what a good first quarter looks like.
- Week 1–2
Shortlist
Two or three candidates from our team with relevant experience. You see real CVs and real work, not anonymised profiles.
- Week 2
You interview
Directly, as you would any hire. You can reject the shortlist and ask for another.
- Week 3
Onboarding
They join your tools and your rhythm. We stay in the background for escalation and technical backup, at no extra cost.
- Ongoing
Continuity
If your person is ill or leaves, we cover. That is the main structural advantage over hiring directly — you are buying a role, not a single individual.
Dedicated resource questions
These are the questions that come up most often on first calls. If yours is not here, ask — we answer in writing within one working day.
Is this person really full-time on us?
Yes. A dedicated resource works your hours on your work. If you want part-time, that is available at a pro-rata rate, but it should be a deliberate choice rather than a discovery.
What hours will they work?
Your overlap window as a minimum, and we will shift their day further toward your time zone where the role needs it. Say what you need at scoping.
Can we interview candidates?
Yes, and you should. You see real CVs and real portfolio work, you interview directly, and you can reject a shortlist and ask for another.
What if it is not working out?
Tell us in the first month and we will replace the person at no cost. After that, 30 days notice like everything else.
Who manages them day to day?
You do. We handle employment, tooling, backup cover and technical escalation, but the priorities and the review are yours. That is the deal, and it is why this model needs someone on your side with the time for it.