You've decided to build GEO capability in-house. Smart move for companies with the right resources and timeline. But "hire a GEO person" understates what you actually need.
From my experience building GEO functions at 50+ companies, doing this right requires five distinct skill sets. Some companies find them in three people. Some need five. But skip any of these roles and your GEO program has a hole in it.
TL;DR
- A complete GEO team needs 5 roles: strategist, technical specialist, content writer, editor, and subject matter expert
- Minimum viable team: 3 people ($280-420K/year fully loaded)
- Full team: 5 people ($480-720K/year fully loaded)
- Most companies understaff by hiring one 'GEO person' and expecting them to do everything
The Five Roles You Need
Each role solves a specific problem. Miss one, and you'll feel it within 90 days.
GEO Strategist / Campaign Manager
$120-160K/yearThe architect. Builds the keyword strategy, but more importantly, designs the site structure and content architecture that gives you an edge. This isn't template work. Every client needs a custom approach based on their product, niche, and competitive positioning.
- →Keyword research with GEO lens (what do people ask AI?)
- →Site architecture designed for AI crawlability
- →Competitive gap analysis across AI platforms
- →Campaign planning and prioritization
- →Cross-functional coordination
Technical GEO Specialist
$100-140K/yearThe engineer. Makes sure everything is structured properly, crawlable by AI systems, and contains all the elements that drive LLM visibility. Schema markup, LLM sitemaps, entity optimization, crawl directives. The stuff that makes or breaks whether AI can understand your content.
- →Schema markup implementation and maintenance
- →LLM sitemap creation and optimization
- →Technical audits for AI crawlability
- →Entity and knowledge graph optimization
- →Site speed and Core Web Vitals
Expert Content Writer
$80-120K/yearThe voice. Not a generalist who can 'write about anything.' Someone who genuinely understands your field. For cybersecurity clients, that means someone who knows the difference between SIEM and SOAR. For developer tools, someone who's actually written code. AI can smell fake expertise.
- →Long-form content with genuine domain expertise
- →Content structured for AI extraction
- →Original research and data analysis
- →Thought leadership that builds authority
- →Content updates as the field evolves
Content Editor
$70-100K/yearThe quality gate. Ensures consistency, accuracy, and optimization across all content. Catches the errors that erode trust. Makes sure every piece follows GEO best practices before it goes live. The difference between content that gets cited and content that gets ignored.
- →Editorial review and fact-checking
- →GEO optimization pass on all content
- →Brand voice and style consistency
- →Citation format optimization
- →Content refresh scheduling
Subject Matter Expert (SME)
$110-160K/year or fractionalThe credibility. Often a fractional role or borrowed from product/engineering. Provides the insights that make content genuinely valuable. Reviews technical accuracy. Contributes original perspectives that AI hasn't seen a thousand times. The edge that makes you citable.
- →Technical review and validation
- →Original insights and frameworks
- →Industry trend analysis
- →Expert quotes and attribution
- →Competitive technical analysis
The Real Cost
Here's what you're actually looking at:
Growtika vs. Building In-House
Here's the honest comparison. We charge around $10K/month on average, depending on scope and needs. Look at what that gets you versus building internally:
| Factor | Growtika | In-House Team |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly Cost | ~$10K Varies by scope | $30-45K 3-5 people + tools |
| Time to First Results | 60-90 days Playbooks ready day one | 6-9 months Hiring + ramp + learning |
| Roles Covered | ✓ GEO Strategist ✓ Technical Specialist ✓ Content Writers ✓ Editor ✓ Domain SMEs | Depends on budget. Most hire 1-2 people and have gaps. |
| Cross-Client Learnings | 50+ B2B companies Patterns from cybersecurity, devtools, fintech | Just your data Learning in isolation |
| AI Platform Updates | 72-hour response See patterns across portfolio | Weeks to months Figure it out alone |
| Risk if It Doesn't Work | Cancel anytime Lost: monthly fee | Expensive unwind Lost: 12+ months salary, time, momentum |
The math isn't close. And that's before accounting for the learning curve, the hiring mistakes, or the AI platform updates that catch your team off guard.
Most companies hire one "GEO manager" at $100-130K and expect them to do strategy, technical implementation, writing, editing, AND be a subject matter expert. It doesn't work. You get someone overwhelmed, underperforming, and burning out within a year.
When In-House Makes Sense
Building internally isn't wrong. It's wrong for certain situations. Here's when it actually works:
You have 18+ months runway. Building a team takes 6-9 months before they hit stride. You need patience.
You have $400K+ annual budget. Trying to do this with one person or underpaying for talent creates more problems than it solves.
GEO is core to your business. If AI visibility is central to your competitive advantage, owning the capability makes strategic sense.
You can hire domain experts. A generalist GEO team writing about cybersecurity without cybersecurity expertise will produce content AI learns to ignore.
If you're building in-house: Budget for at least 3 people, plan for 6-9 months ramp, and don't expect one person to cover everything. The strategist and technical specialist roles are non-negotiable. Writers can be fractional. SME can be borrowed from product.
If the math doesn't work: An agency gives you all five roles from day one at a fraction of the cost. Use that time to learn, build internal knowledge, and decide later whether to bring it in-house.
The hybrid path: Start with agency, hire a GEO strategist at month 6 to work alongside them, transition ownership over 12-18 months. Lowest risk, fastest results.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yuval Halevi
Helping SaaS companies and developer tools get cited in AI answers since before it was called "GEO." 10+ years in B2B SEO, 50+ cybersecurity and SaaS tools clients.
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