Yahoo! Search Marketing's VP and iProspect's CEO/founder tap into their experiences to highlight advantages of partnering with specialty search marketing firms.

Editor's note: While this piece was co-authored by Ron Belanger and Fredrick Marckini, some sections (after this introduction) will be attributed to them individually.

Co-author Fredrick Marckini is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of iProspect, the Original Search Engine Marketing firm. Read full bio.

Introduction
The tools
Experience
Hiring
Conclusion

One of the hottest topics being discussed today is whether search marketing expertise should be a core competency of an in-house marketing group or whether it's best left outsourced to experts. There are certainly benefits on both sides of the value equation, but as the priority of attracting search engine traffic increases, the value that an expert search engine marketing firm can bring to bear often grows with it.

In-house teams can certainly conduct effective search marketing campaigns. However, organizations who partner with specialty search marketing firms often benefit from the deep expertise that the firm brings to the table.

The decision of outsourcing versus handling in-house needs to be a careful one that considers all the costs-- financial, opportunity and potential risks. Ultimately, decisions often turn on the degree to which search marketing drives your business.

Next: The tools