Should I hire an SEO Specialist or can I do SEO myself?

Hello People.

I’m new to the world of web design. I’m new to this forum as well. I’ve designed a couple of sites so far, one personal (mine) and one for a friend. It’s just a week ago that I’ve come to hear about SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). Although the word is self-explanatory, I tried to gather more information about it on the internet. I learnt that it’s a concept which deals with ranking high on search engines like Google, Yahoo!, Altavista, MSN, Lycos, etc. I also came across words like PR (Page Rank), SEO Experts / Consultants, Traffic Analysis, Link Building, Link Exchange, Content Management, etc. In the last week, seeing the importance SEO gets, I thought it would be a good thing to implement it, especially in order to survive and earn on the internet, thanks to the HUGE competition on this platform. I happened meet a person in a social networking site who is a veteran in the SEO game. He said that SEO has now become a necessity for anyone doing business on the internet, and he mentioned that no one can be spared in this regard.

Search Engine Optimisation is probably the best way of enhancing web presence. I, however, happened to note that good SEO happens at a premium price. It could cost anywhere between a few hundreds dollar per year and thousands of dollars every month, depending on the intensity of the process, and the results expected and delivered. I know of meta-tags, but many SEO Experts claim that’s a thing of the past and is not enough, anymore. I’ve posted in another section of this forum that I want to start a community site for my friends. I’d like to take up this project as a learning experience. Should I hire an SEO Expert? Or is this something I could learn and do myself? If I can do it myself, please help me with a few tips.