Is SEO Worth It?

Running an online business can be incredibly lucrative with the right marketing strategy. After all, no one is going to see the work you do if you are not making it easy for them.

There are many marketing channels that you can use for your website, which may be why you are wondering whether SEO is worth paying for.

The SEO industry is vast, with many businesses offering SEO services to help website owners get noticed online. SEO refers to any process done to improve your rankings in search engines, which can lead to more organic traffic from search results.

With so much competition online these days, it can be difficult to get noticed by the right people online. SEO could be the answer if you think it is worth it.

In this guide, we are sharing everything you need to know about making a successful SEO campaign, as well as the benefits this can provide so you can determine whether it is a worthwhile pursuit for your business.

What Is SEO?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving your website so it ranks highly in search engine results.

The higher you rank on search engine result pages (SERPs), the more organic traffic you will get from searches alone, which can bring in more potential customers to your business, all the while targeting people who are actively looking for what you can offer.

The main purpose of SEO is to increase traffic, but there are other benefits that you can experience when it is done well.

It is important to note that, unlike paid advertising, using SEO tactics does not guarantee the top spot in Google search results. Rather, SEO is an ongoing process and one that can increase the ranking of your site over time by working to meet the requirements of search engines.

All your SEO efforts work to bring more website traffic over time and can offer lasting results when done well.

Do I Need SEO?

You may be wondering whether SEO is worth the effort because you are already marketing your site.

There are various forms of marketing that you can use to increase traffic to your site and get more potential customers, but SEO is different.

SEO Vs. Paid Ads

SEO does not always require payment to improve your site, yet there are SEO services you can pay for if you want better results.

However, unlike other forms of advertising, developing an SEO strategy is an ongoing process and requires specialized tactics, as opposed to a one-off payment.

Various techniques are used in SEO efforts, from keyword research to link building, all of which work to increase ranking on SERPs so you can reach more of your target market.

The improvement of your site on organic search pages refers to the fact that results are unpaid and ‘naturally’ occurring, following the work you have done to your content in terms of SEO services. It can be a great technique to reach your target market actively by finding them during searches.

There are various SEO efforts that you can use on your website in conjunction with digital marketing tools like paying for a PPC campaign, paid Google Ads, or social media marketing.

How SEO Works

SEO can be used to drive traffic with your existing content, as well as create processes for the future of your website.

Unlike other forms of marketing, SEO also offers lasting results when done well and can permanently improve the traffic potential of your site. You can pay for such services, using professional SEO experts to get the best results; this does not necessarily have to be something that cuts into your marketing budget.

If you have the time and the skills available to dedicate to implementing SEO best practices for your website, then you do not necessarily have to spend any money, but you can still get results.

Can You Find Your Website In Organic Search Results?

To determine whether SEO is worth the effort for your site, take a second to see where you currently rank on Google.

To do this, perform an organic search for your business name, the business owner, or even some keywords relevant to your content or industry.

Where is your website in these results? Is it easy to find?

If you are having trouble locating your site without entering the full domain name, then it will be difficult for your customers to find you, too.

As you can see when searching your own website, many other websites also appear, and these are all fighting for the same customers. The websites that appear on the first pages of results will get more customers because they are easy to find.

If your site is difficult to find, then you cannot expect to get a lot of traffic and, therefore, make a lot of money online.

This competition for the same customers applies to all kinds of businesses, whether you are an international brand or a local business, which means that everyone can benefit from SEO work.

Should I Pay For SEO Services?

Making an SEO investment for your site does not necessarily always have to be financial.

It is possible to do good SEO for your own website, but you do need time and some marketing skills to do this.

When considering whether SEO is worth it for your site, you do not always have to consider the cost of SEO services if you can do the optimizing yourself.

However, if you need additional support with your SEO strategy or want to see better results, then you may want to consider working with a leading SEO provider.

How Much Does SEO Cost?

Working with an SEO agency can give you better results than working alone, as well as offering other forms of SEO that you may not have managed on your own.

If you want to rank higher in Google’s search results and stand out from others in your market to attract more people, then paying for SEO may be a good option.

Most businesses can benefit from professional SEO services, including local and small businesses, so it may be worth considering.

The total cost for SEO services can vary based on the kind of work you require to be done on your site, the agency you work with as well and how long you work with the agency.

Why Is SEO Worth The Effort?

To see the impact that SEO stands to offer your site, we need to discuss the benefits that it can provide.

Search engine optimization is an ongoing process and one that may require the help of professionals, such as those through an SEO agency, to get it done well. However, this is not always necessary if you have skills in digital marketing as well as the time SEO takes to get done well.

Whether you work alone or with professionals, good SEO can offer a lot of benefits, including:

Greater Traffic Potential

The purpose of SEO is to increase web traffic. By ranking higher on results pages, the easier it will be for customers to find you.

In any search, websites that appear at the top of results or on the first few SERPs get the most attention.

When running a business, your website can become a good source of revenue if you put the work in to get noticed. With more people visiting your site, there are more potential customers for you to push through the marketing funnel and make sales – all of this can contribute to the revenue of your brand.

Increased traffic often leads to more money for businesses, so this is the main benefit to consider, but it is not the only one you can expect with more attention online.

Quality Traffic

There are paid marketing techniques that you can use to get more traffic, but what sets SEO apart is the quality of traffic that it can provide.

Improving your ranking on SERPs increases qualified traffic, which means people who are actively searching for what you offer.

SEO works to generate traffic based on search intent so you can find people who are actively seeking what you offer. This also refers to traffic that you have not paid to attract because, while you may opt to pay for SEO services, it does not always have to be a costly service to get results.

Instead, you can use SEO techniques such as keywords, content creation, and website design to attract people as they are searching for what you offer and, therefore, actively provide results.

Larger Web Presence

The higher you rank in search engine results, the more traffic you will get online.

With increased traffic to your website, your domain will continue to rank highly in search results. This is why SEO is an ongoing process that can offer lasting results and is, therefore, a great option for all sites.

But appearing at the top of results can offer more benefits than increased traffic as it can also work to improve brand awareness.

Even in low-competition industries or regions, such as being a local business, you want to work on improving brand awareness so your business is memorable. When people become familiar with your brand, they are more likely to be repeat customers.

Whenever they are looking for the goods or services you offer, they will most likely turn to your business over any other if they already have this familiarity and relationship with you.

SEO can contribute to this by making your site more visible on Google.

For searches of specific keywords and terms, SEO can get your site to rank higher on Google SERPs, which exposes you to more people. The more keywords you rank highly for, as well as continuing to appear high in Google results, the more you are constantly being exposed to interested parties.

All of this can contribute to better brand awareness, which can have a lasting benefit on your business as a whole.

Top SEO Techniques For Your Business

There are various forms of SEO that you can work on to experience the benefits for your business.

When running a small business, you may not have the time required to dedicate to SEO, which is why working with SEO agencies is a good idea.

Based on the results you want for your site, you can either pay for or work on the following methods to improve ranking on SERPs:

On Page Optimization

Keywords are one of the most important techniques for SEO and can be used for all kinds of businesses. This is one of the most popular forms of on-page SEO and can be effective when used well.

While this can work for all forms of businesses, there are specific brands where keywords may have a better impact.

This applies to those requiring local SEO, such as local businesses and brands that want to reach people in a specific region, which is a form of content marketing.

If you are a local brand, a great way to market to people in a specific area is through keywords. This form of content marketing can be a great tool for local brands as it can increase the number of people in a specific area who see the content you publish online, therefore bringing in more local customers.

This can be a great marketing tactic when done well and is used by all forms of businesses that want to reach a specific kind of audience.

While you can do this work yourself, an SEO expert can also help you find the right keywords and on-page SEO to use when you create content based on the audience you want to attract.

Using keywords in every blog post and when you create content for pages on your website can contribute to the ranking of your website.

For example, including the city or region in blog posts can help you rank higher on Google for regional searches, allowing you to reach local customers who are interested in your work.

It is important to avoid using too many keywords in blog posts or any time you write content, however, because this can impact the quality of your work, which in turn will damage SEO.

Google not only checks for keywords but also the quality of content when it ranks results, so you want to develop a good balance between the two.

Content Creation

It will be difficult to work on content marketing if you have no content, which is why this needs to be a big part of your SEO strategy.

When running a site, you need to go all in with content otherwise, there will be nothing to work with when it comes to marketing.

All forms of businesses can benefit from creating content online and publishing this on their site. With content, such as blog posts, you have something to offer viewers of your website as well as opportunities for guest posts, which can be another great tool for SEO as well.

In the same vein as using keywords within your content, sharing others and working on guest posts need to be done with a careful balance. Having too many links or low-quality links can cause issues when it comes to the ranking of your website.

Behavior like keyword stuffing and spammy backlinks can cause Google to penalize your website and lower its ranking, essentially throwing away all the hard work you have done for SEO.

Website Design

This is a form of technical SEO that you may not be aware of, but the design of your website can have a huge bearing on how it ranks on SERPs.

Performing an in-depth modification of your website is a lot of work and requires technical skills, so hiring a web designer may be the best option.

It is important that your website not only looks good but also functions well to ensure the best user experience. A site with fast loading times and simple navigation will perform better on Google than any other because it encourages users to spend a longer time there.

If people click straight off your website to find content elsewhere, this will reflect badly on your performance and cause your website to rank lower than the sites that can keep people interested.

Ensuring your site is easy to use, as well as offering up-to-date information regarding your business, is important for good results.

How Much Is SEO Worth?

While many benefits can be experienced from SEO, you may still be wondering what it can do for your business specifically.

There is a formula that you can use to determine the actual effects SEO methods can have on your business, which can then help you decide whether this is a worthwhile pursuit for you.

To find out how much of an impact SEO can have on your site, you need to know:

• The average number of visitors to your site per day

• The conversion rate of your site (how many people enter the sales funnel)

• The average order value for these customers

Multiplying these figures, you can determine your current standing in terms of traffic and income.

To determine how even the smallest efforts towards SEO can improve your site, you can add a small percentage to the number of visitors you get per day and see what you can expect with successful SEO tools.

When estimating, it is a good idea to opt for a modest increase in visitors, such as 50% more, to see how even the smallest changes can impact your success.

However, when done well and consistently, you can expect a drastic increase in visitors to your page per month and, therefore, more income overall. This is especially the case when working with SEO professionals who can offer the best tools for your brand.

Summary

SEO is the process of improving your website so it ranks higher on results pages.

There is a lot that goes into SEO, and you may be wondering whether the process is going to be worth the time and expense for your business.

Some people may consider SEO dead in the modern market because of the other advertising options now available, however, this is not always the case.

While the long answer to whether it is worth working on SEO considers the benefits of this process and how these can improve your business overall, the short answer is yes in most cases.

SEO is worth it and should be worked on if you want to see success online.