If you’re a business owner you’ve probably heard this term kicked around before. Some people think it’s important, and some seem to not notice it all that much.
The term is Search Engine Optimization or SEO, and the question is, should you be paying attention to it?
The answer is a definite maybe.
Some businesses benefit greatly from SEO and some businesses may not need to worry about it much. I’ll explain.
What is SEO?
Search engine optimization (SEO) can be a very important part of a marketing plan. It's the process of getting your website ranked high on search engine results pages (SERPs). The higher your site appears within the list of search results, the more traffic you'll get from users looking for products or services like yours.
That’s a very basic definition, but at its core SEO is meant to help people find the information they’re searching for. If someone needs information about plumbing, they are likely going to search for the question they have on a search engine like Google. If your business can provide the most valuable answer to the question being asked, you may achieve the top rank on Google which will drive more traffic to your website, and ultimately help you win more business.
I say “may” because the world of SEO can be complicated and time consuming. Search engines are constantly making updates, and the needs of people who are searching can change as well. Many businesses choose to outsource to a firm with experience helping businesses achieve higher rankings, but this can also be fraught with danger as there are a lot of companies out there who are looking to scam business owners who don’t know any better.
How Does SEO Work?
As I mentioned above, SEO is the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in search engines. It is typically a long and fairly arduous process and can be achieved in a few ways, but some of the typical steps you might take are:
· Optimizing your website to get it noticed organically (without having to pay for clicks)
· With keywords and content that will provide value to people looking for you online
· Getting other people to link to the content you have created
These are very oversimplified steps in the process, but it gives you an idea of a general framework you might follow if you want to consider SEO as part of your marketing strategy. You can dive a lot deeper into each of the items mentioned above, but I’m not going to do that in this blog post. Websites like Search Engine Land will have some great resources if you want to do more research on the more technical aspects of SEO.
Why Businesses Do SEO
Many businesses can benefit from SEO, but it’s essential to set realistic expectations from the outset. Some business types might be able to succeed by solely focusing on rankings, but in most cases, SEO is just one aspect of a much broader marketing strategy.
Understanding where Search Engine Optimization fits in your broader marketing strategy will ultimately help you be more successful and reduce the frustration level that can be associated with trying to rank on the first page.
So why might a business choose to add SEO to their marketing strategy? Largely because 63% of buyers begin their search online.
Think about how you purchase. Do you pick up the phone, call, and buy from the first person you talk to, or do you have a pretty good idea of what you want before you start seriously thinking about buying?
My guess is you have at least some idea of what you want and that idea likely came from you doing your research.
SEO allows you to provide your customers with the answers to questions before they are ever ready to speak with a salesperson or add an item to their cart. This not only allows you to drive more traffic to your website but also allows you to establish trust with a prospective customer.
Why Businesses Might Not Do SEO
As great as SEO can be, it’s not a magic bullet that is going to solve all of your problems.
If it was, everyone would be doing it, right?
So what are a few reasons you might consider not doing SEO? Well, maybe that’s already an area where your competitors are focusing a lot of their efforts. If the field of SEO is competitive but maybe your efforts might be better spent where you can stand out easier instead of trying to unseat an incumbent competitor.
You might also be a business that focuses solely on winning government or state contracts. There might see some benefits from engaging in an SEO campaign, but the procurement process involved with government and state purchasing departments is designed in such a way that it makes any form of marketing difficult. If your business model depends on those contracts, you might consider not investing in ranking higher.
Lastly, you just might not have the time or patience to deal with it. If your business is plugging along nicely you may simply decide it’s not worth the time and financial investment and that is just as valid of a reason as any. Only you can decide what is right for you and your business.
How to Hire an SEO Firm
Let’s say you are interested in SEO, but maybe you want to hire someone to do it for you. You could hire someone in-house, or you could hire an agency to do it for you. The average salary of an SEO Manager in the US is right around $72,000 a year, which may or may not be too expensive, so hiring an agency might be the route you choose to take.
My advice here is to proceed with caution.
I mentioned earlier that there are a lot of agencies that are a little bit sketchy when it comes to SEO. No matter what anyone says SEO is not an exact science. There is no one-size-fits-all formula and anyone who says there is either a total genius or being less than truthful.
Now, there are companies that do a great job and have a great track record, but I think even most of them would be hesitant to guarantee results. So here are a few red flags you should be on the lookout for:
1) Guaranteed Results-Again, some firms really know what they’re doing and consistently get results, but promises of #1 rankings for any keyword your heart desires need to be taken with a grain of salt. Some agencies can 100% get you there. Others want to take your money and run.
2) Promising Fast Results-A reasonable expectation for results in the SEO world is anywhere from 3-9 months. Things can happen faster, but that is typically the exception and not the rule. If someone is telling you they can deliver big promises quickly, just be aware that that typically isn’t what you should expect.
3) Secrecy-There is a lot, and I mean a lot, of information online about SEO and SEO best practices. So if the agency you are talking to tries to hide their process from you, they might not have a process at all. Most good SEO agencies will seek to educate you and make sure you understand what is happening and why it may or may not be working. You probably take a similar approach with your customers in the way you conduct your business. They may choose not to share all the technical aspects, but an agency should at least be willing to educate you along the way.
Conclusion
So, there you have it. SEO is a constantly changing beast with varying degrees of importance depending on your business’s offerings and business model. I think most companies can benefit from having some type of SEO strategy in place, but just understand that it is usually going to be part of a larger marketing strategy and you should be OK.
If you’re interested in marketing services, wondering if you should hire a marketing agency, or wondering if you should even invest in marketing in the first place, we would love to chat!
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