In the ever-evolving digital landscape, search engine optimization (SEO) has emerged as a vital component of any successful marketing strategy. SEO aims to increase the visibility and organic traffic of a website, or a Google Business Profile (GBP), through optimization efforts that focus on increasing rank on search engine result pages (SERPs), or within Google Maps itself. While SEO offers numerous benefits, after working with dozens of clients and business owners, it’s essential for us to acknowledge that the investments made in SEO can sometimes feel slow and at times even frustrating. In this article, we’ll explore the impacts and rewards of ongoing SEO and delve into the reasons that its results can feel frustrating at times.

Let’s start with the good stuff – the rewards!

Long-Term Organic Growth:

One of the most significant advantages of on-going SEO is its ability to generate long-term organic growth. Unlike paid advertising, SEO efforts can yield lasting results once established and maintained continuously. By optimizing your website, and/or GBP, you create a strong foundation that enhances visibility on search engines. As your business climbs the rankings, you attract targeted organic traffic, resulting in increased brand exposure, higher conversion rates, and sustainable growth. While paid advertising, when done well, can supplement SEO efforts, if that budget decreases or is eliminated the supplement isn’t sustainable and your rank and results will rapidly decline.

Enhanced User Experience:

A core aspect of SEO is improving the user experience. Search engines prioritize websites and profiles that provide valuable and relevant information to their users. By focusing on optimizing page load speed, mobile responsiveness, easy navigation, and engaging content, you not only please search engines but also create a seamless experience for your visitors. A user-friendly website or GBP encourages more clicks, longer visit durations, reduces bounce rates, and improves the chances of converting visitors into customers or subscribers.

Targeted Traffic and Improved Conversion Rates:

SEO enables businesses to target specific keywords and phrases related to their products or services. By ranking higher for relevant search queries, you attract users actively seeking the solutions you offer. This targeted traffic has a higher likelihood of converting into customers, as they are already interested in what you provide. By continually refining your SEO strategy and adapting to user behavior, trends, and changes, you can further optimize your conversion rate and maximize the return on your investment.

Establishing Credibility and Authority:

Ranking prominently on search engines or within Google Maps lends credibility and authority to your brand. Users perceive top-ranking websites and profiles as trustworthy or authoritative sources of information. Implementing effective SEO tactics helps establish your brand as a thought leader in your industry. Over time, this credibility fosters brand loyalty, strengthens customer trust, and positions you as an industry expert.

Competitive Advantage and Brand Awareness:

In today’s competitive landscape, a strong SEO strategy can provide a significant advantage. By outperforming your competitors in search engine rankings, you increase your brand’s visibility and gain a larger share of the market. Consistently appearing in search results for relevant keywords builds brand awareness and familiarity, ensuring that your target audience recognizes and remembers your brand when making purchasing decisions.

Now, why does it feel so slow?

Well, while SEO offers valuable long-term benefits, there are four key hurdles every business has to overcome on an on-going basis to rank and retain rank over time:

Intense Competition:

As more businesses recognize the importance of SEO, competition for top rankings increases. Achieving and maintaining a high position requires consistent effort, adaptation to regular algorithm updates, and patience.

Regularly Evolving Algorithms:

Search engines regularly update their algorithms to improve user experience and combat spammy practices. For example, experts believe that Google changes its algorithm a few hundred times per year in ways that may directly impact SEO efforts. These updates often impact current search rankings requiring businesses to adapt their SEO strategies quickly and accordingly to retain their positions or climb back up to their previous rank. Keeping up with these changes is overwhelming, and it’s the one of the biggest issues businesses run into with a “set it and forget it” SEO mentality. Where you rank today, may not be where you rank tomorrow.

Successfully navigating this requires an SEO expert who is constantly monitoring how a business or profile is impacted by any given change. While an SEO expert cannot stop a business from being impacted, a strong SEO partner will notice it in a timely manner, determine what impacted the ranking or traffic, and will pursue the changes needed to get back on track. This is often why small and mid-sized businesses outsource their SEO efforts to companies who can focus on the on-going changes that lead to their desired results.

Time for Results:

SEO is a long-term investment that requires time to show significant results. It takes time to build domain authority, attract, or create, quality backlinks, and improve rankings. Businesses must set realistic expectations and understand that SEO is a gradual process.

Complex Metrics:

SEO success is not solely dependent on rankings. Metrics such as organic traffic and engagement metrics are equally crucial. It’s important to monitor these metrics to understand the true impact of SEO efforts.

In summary

Despite the perceived slowness, ongoing SEO efforts yield long-lasting results for businesses that many other marketing strategies just can’t compete with. It’s estimated that around 75% of users won’t scroll past Google’s first page of results. If your business is far down the page, or hidden on Google’s map, your ideal buyers won’t know you exist.

Given how tough it can be to navigate, you may find yourself in a position where you know you need to invest in SEO, but you’re not exactly sure what you need, or you can’t hire a full-time employee with specialized knowledge. If you can relate, Adsum Partners is the team of choice for many startups and small to mid-sized businesses and non-profits. We offer a consultative approach to SEO and can help you navigate where your business will see its biggest returns based off the type of customer you want attract, and the goals you have set for your business’s growth. Book time with us, and let’s discuss what SEO strategy is right for you.