SEO: Proven and Necessary

“Web, mobile, social, SEO…” these are just some of the words that businesses hear regarding their marketing and advertising strategies. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) in particular is a hot topic, and for good reason.

At it’s core, SEO is the work that goes into your website to make it more visible to search engines. Today, it’s no longer enough to just have a website. With Google’s always-changing algorithms, additional work must be input to increase your site’s ranking in search results. Because SEO differs from more traditional marketing or advertising campaigns, concerns tend to arise from businesses. Let’s look at some common ones:

I’m doing SEM. I don’t need SEO

Great! You obviously see the importance of ranking high in search results, and a PPC (pay-per-click, SEM) campaign is a good way to appear in the top spots. But the majority of clicks come from the organic search results, which is what SEO will achieve, not the paid search results that SEM generates. An SEM campaign in conjunction with SEO is a sound strategy, but SEM alone may not be beneficial in the long run.

I don’t need to advertise right now

That’s fine, because SEO is not advertising; it’s a marketing service that should be treated as a business expense. It’s not something you can always see, like an ad(s), but it is constantly working for you in the background. SEO is a long-term marketing strategy that will improve your online presence, generate more web traffic, phone calls, and thus, more customers for you. With advertising, you can pick and choose your battles, but with SEO you’re always armed and ready.

I have someone doing that for me

Okay, but is he doing it properly? Are you being supplied with quality backlinks and offsite content? Are they focusing on a good keyword strategy in the proper geography?  Are the best practices being used in conjunction with Google’s algorithms and what they are currently emphasizing? These elements make up a good SEO campaign, and if you’re unsure about any of the above, you may want to re-examine exactly what is being done for you. Also, because you can’t view an SEO campaign as if it were an ad, transparent communication and updates on the work being done is crucial. SEO may be more or less hands-off, but you should still be clearly aware of the performance and progress.

The importance of an SEO campaign not only lies in doing it, but doing it correctly and trusting the process. SEO takes time and patience, but it’s a proven long-term solution that any business can benefit from.