Internationalisation
Oct 12
Why Spend Money on Search Engine Optimisation?
It has to be said that it’s easy to get it wrong with SEO. Most businesses tend towards one extreme when it comes to search engine optimization; they either neglect it, undervaluing the importance of SEO or assuming that their on-site optimization will do the trick, or they have an unhealthy SEO obsession, turning every piece of content into a keyword-stuffed mess. Neither approach is going to result in better traffic, increased conversions etc.
There is a healthy balance to be found, and we’re persuaded that SEO is well worth investing in. Here are 4 reasons why your business should have an SEO budget.
Written By
Dan Partridge
1. SEO Strategies are Changing
The criteria that search engines attribute to search engine optimisation are constantly evolving. This tends to be shaped by two factors: the changing ways that we use the internet and an effort to discredit some of the cheap-and-nasty ‘SEO tricks’ that have proved fruitful in the past.
This means that employing somebody to help with your optimisation strategy saves you the stress and hassle of having to keep abreast of these changes yourself. If Google update their algorithm, and it’s going to adversely affect your online presence, you want to know what’s happening and how you can respond.
2. Marketing
Whilst on-site, technical SEO is undoubtedly very important, there is a huge overlap between what we now call SEO and traditional content marketing. Whilst your keywords, anchor text and meta tags are vital, the best SEO strategies involve producing original, compelling and intelligent content.
Investing in SEO will both increase the volume of traffic drawn to your website and improve the quality of your content. As we’re increasingly seeing social media as a vital SEO component this will also influence your social networking. In other words, SEO kills multiple birds with one stone, and constitutes outstanding value for money.
As one commentator put it,
“It should be clear at this point that SEO is no longer a technical exercise and is rapidly merging with marketing and public relations. Smart CEOs recognize the strategic importance of SEO in our digital world. For this reason, they find ways to amplify SEO in all marketing activities. Ironically, many companies have SEO opportunities they don’t harness.
3. SEO Reporting
It goes without saying that you want to know if SEO actually makes a difference to your business. A small increase in your SEO budget will enable you to increase the quality and frequency of SEO reporting that you receive. This will give you a fuller indication of exactly how SEO is making a difference, showing the source, frequency and volume of conversions that it is generating.
A thorough SEO report analysing your website and social media channels will also reassure you that you’ve done everything in your power to maximise the effectiveness of your on-site SEO.
4. Return on Investment (ROI)
SEO remains one of the cheapest and most effective ways to connect with a wider audience. If you’re looking to grow your business and haven’t considered search marketing or pay-per-click then it’s certainly worth looking into. Whilst SEO is vital for businesses of all shapes and sizes, it has the potential to unlock rapid growth in start-ups and SMEs that might not otherwise be possible.
We’re an Exeter web design company who provide bespoke SEO services for our clients. If you would like to find out more about optimising your website or content marketing, we have just the thing you’re looking for.