Before we dive in to the pros and cons of investing in SEO, let's firmly define it.
SEO is an abbreviation for search engine optimization. While the term, SEO, can leave many startups confused, it's simply how you get free and organic traffic to your website.
Breaking it down even further, consider this example. Your potential customer goes to Google and enters a term in the search bar that has something to do with your business. If you show up on the search engine results page near the top or at least on page one, you've succeeded at search engine optimization.
Google, Bing and Yahoo are the three major search engines, and if your business populates on page one, your SEO is working.
Pros of investing in SEO
It's good for your startup to invest in SEO. It brings visibility to your business and ultimately revenue.
The pros are many, and let's look at a few:
- You gain more business by spending time and money on SEO. Do note that it is a long-term marketing strategy. Getting listed on page one of the search engine results pages takes time and patience. When you continually fine tune your SEO, you watch your page rise on results pages in a gradual manner.
- Investing in SEO builds trust and credibility with the major search engines which reward you in the long run. Not only does SEO boost your organic website traffic, but it also increases the visibility and credibility of your startup. If your website always appears in the top section of results, potential customers know you are trustworthy.
- SEO delivers continual, free traffic to your website. Unlike pay-per-click campaigns, investing SEO doesn't cost you (unless you hire an agency). SEO is also free because you aren't paying for traffic to your website like you would with ads.
- According to experts, web searchers are 8.5 times more likely to click on an organic result than they are a paid search result. So, the opportunities that arise from organic search are exponentially better for your startup.
Cons of investing in SEO
While the pros outweigh the cons of investing in SEO, there are a few disadvantages to take note of.
- Search engine optimization takes time, and it's not a quick fix. For example, if you use paid advertising, you notice an increase in web traffic as long as the ads are running. With SEO, you invest in the beginning, but you still reap the benefits for months and years.
- As your SEO begins to work, your competitors may take notice and start to work on their own digital marketing strategy. Once the competition sees that you have the top spots on search engine results pages, they're going to start working on their own SEO.
- Another pitfall for startups may be that if you do SEO really well, you might end up with too many leads or an excess of sales that you can't handle. To combat this, be sure you have the processes and structure in place to handle the additional business and sales leads.
- Some startups end up working with digital agencies that don't always work ethically. They may cut corners or break the rules to get your website to the top of search pages. Be wary of these agencies as they can also get you black-listed from Google and other search engines. Check references and make sure you work with a reputable SEO agency if you aren't doing the work yourself.
Final thoughts
Now that we've looked at the pros and cons of investing in SEO, the ball is in your court.
Search engine optimization includes the methods you use to ensure your website performs well in search engine results.
So, even though there are a few minor disadvantages to investing in SEO, it really is important for the overall health of your website and well-being of your business.
If it's important to you to show up on page one of search engine results pages and near the top, then you want to concentrate on SEO.
Finally, it's worth noting that according to Search Engine People, ranking highly for organic search results is crucial because between 70% and 80% of users completely ignore paid advertisements."
Are you a new startup ready to succeed? Are you looking to get your new business off the ground and watch it rise to success? We are here for you. We can help answer your questions and guide you through the process. Outsource your HR duties, finances, payroll and more to us. Contact Escalon today to get started.
Image: Benjamin Dada on Unsplash
