Is SEO Worth It? The Simple Answer Is Yes

On average, a typical business will spend 12-20% of its gross revenue on marketing.

Even established companies will spend up to 12% on promotional strategies.

So, it’s important to ensure that you are getting the greatest bank for your buck.

You need a marketing strategy that delivers the right results.

There are lots of marketing tools and techniques that you can use to build brand awareness and gain more interest from customers.

One of the best options is SEO.

Business owners aren’t always certain that SEO is worth the price they need to pay.

In this article, we’ll discuss whether SEO provides value to businesses, whether there are any companies that don’t need SEO, the best practices, and the alternatives you can explore.

Let’s dive in.

SEO Explained

SEO stands for search engine optimization and is a series of tactics and tools that will help ensure a website ranks higher in the search engine results pages.

SEO focuses on the organic results that appear on organic search pages.

This is different from PPC strategies such as Google ads.

The right SEO efforts will ensure that your website has a greater chance of a higher ranking in various search engines.

This will increase website traffic and allow you to reach more potential customers as a business owner.

SEO is an umbrella term. As such, there are various SEO services that you can use to increase your ranking with search engines.

Some of the options include:

• Link building
• Blog post writing
• Technical SEO
• Web design

This video provides a more in depth description of SEO:

All of these elements can improve your ranking in the organic search results and generate traffic for your business.

While SEO is one of the main options for your marketing budget, it’s not the only choice.

So, let’s explore whether the SEO cost is worth it.

Why Is SEO Valuable?

SEO budgets can range anywhere between $500 and $10,000 per month.

The cost of your SEO strategy will depend on the size of your business, your industry goals, and the SEO agency that you use.

There are hundreds of SEO agencies operating online.

So, it’s important to make the right decision here.

Many SEO companies will not deliver the results or high-quality solutions that you need.

Once you find the right SEO service, you will be able to unlock the full value of this strategy.

SEO Provides Qualified Traffic

Qualified traffic refers to users who click on your website and are more likely to become customers or leads for your business.

SEO works by targeting these specific individuals as part of a larger digital marketing campaign.

This means that SEO is an efficient marketing solution for increasing organic traffic that is likely to lead to measurable changes in profits.

Search Engines Is The Start Of The Marketing Funnel

Another reason that makes SEO worth the cost is that a search engine is typically the beginning of the marketing funnel.

The vast majority of online experiences will begin with a search engine.

This means that customers don’t know what they are looking for precisely.

It provides a massive opportunity for businesses that climb higher in the search results thanks to search engine optimization.

Useful For Most Businesses

SEO is also useful for almost every business and industry.

That’s true for law firms, construction companies, e-commerce sellers, and everything in between.

Small businesses can also use SEO to catch up with larger companies that are competing for the same customers.

Even a local business could benefit from SEO digital marketing efforts with local SEO services.

Local SEO will help ensure that users in your region find your company on Google when they are searching for a service or solution close by.

This can tie into a content marketing strategy by incorporating the right keywords.

Is SEO Worth It For Your Business?

If you’re wondering whether you need to invest in SEO services for your small business, then look for your business on a search engine like Google.

Search for keywords related to the products or services that you offer.

If your website doesn’t appear on page one or page two of the results, then you need SEO.

Remember, if you can’t find your website online, then your customers won’t be able to either.

Particularly, if you are using keywords with the right search intent.

Even if your business does appear high up in Google’s search results, you could still need a professional SEO service. It will help you maintain this ranking or compete with other keywords.

With the right data, you can also calculate exactly how much money you could earn with the right SEO service.

You will need your average order value, your conversion rate, and the number of visitors your site receives each day.

Typically, SEO services will provide a significant bump in profits.

How Does SEO Compare To PPC?

The main alternative to SEO is a PPC campaign.

Using a pay-per-click strategy, an ad for your website will appear in the paid section of the search results.

You will pay a price each time a user clicks on this ad.

Do note that the price is not impacted by whether or not you generate a lead or convert a user into a customer.

Another issue with PPC is that it only accounts for approximately 15% of traffic to websites.

This means that the vast majority of website traffic is generated by organic SEO practices that improve web presence.

That said, paid ads can be more suitable for businesses that want more control over their marketing budget.

It’s easier to see exactly how much you’re spending and where this money is being used compared to a more complex, abstract, SEO strategy.

How Can You Increase The Value Of SEO?

There are multiple steps that you can take to improve the value SEO delivers for your company.

Focus On Good SEO Tactics

There are both positive and negative SEO tactics.

Poor SEO strategies will damage your brand’s performance online and result in a far lower ranking overall.

The wrong SEO tactic will ensure that your website has no chance of appearing on the first pages of search engine results.

That’s why it’s worth taking time when hiring a professional such as a web designer or an SEO team.

Remember, SEO takes time.

If a business is promising instant results, then there’s a strong chance that they are using poor SEO tactics.

Your rank will increase in Google but this will be short-lived.

Target Keywords With Low Competition

The race to get potential customers to notice your business on Google is incredibly competitive.

Small businesses that are working with a smaller budget will always struggle to spend the amount needed to target highly competitive keywords and phrases.

Instead, you should consider targeting low-competition keywords through your content marketing strategy.

A lower level of competition will increase your chances of emerging victorious here.

This will help ensure SEO is worth the money that you need to spend.

Focus On Quality

It’s also important to focus on quality with your SEO strategy.

For instance, you could be creating content for your business blog.

Small businesses that use this strategy must avoid filling their blog with spammy content.

Instead, you need to deliver content that provides real value and engages your audience.

Do You Need To Pay For SEO?

Many businesses use paid SEO services.

There are a few reasons for this.

First, SEO tactics are often time-consuming.

Particularly, if you don’t have the right tools or knowledge at your disposal.

Second, it’s easy to make mistakes if you don’t have the skills needed as a web designer or a link-building specialist.

For instance, you could end up with spammy backlinks to your website.

This will damage your ranking and disrupt your marketing strategy.

However, these days there are strategies that you can explore to run a DIY marketing campaign that will deliver the results that you need.

You could utilize AI SEO solutions.

Artificial intelligence software can help bridge the gaps in budget between small and large companies that are competing for the same search engine users.

Using AI software, it is possible to reduce the time that you need to spend on tasks related to search engine optimization.

At the same time, AI can still provide the quality data and resources that you require to compete in your target market.

AI is already being used in the SEO industry and you may discover that your SEO provider uses this software to deliver the right results with a fast turnaround.

How Can You Use AI SEO Tools?

AI tools are designed to be user-friendly with short learning curves.

Many SEO agencies are already training their team members to use these tools on a daily basis.

Software such as Optimo provides a range of AI options that could be useful to increase organic traffic to your website.

Options include:

• SEO title and meta description generation
• Content generation
• Keyword ideas
• Link-building strategies
• HARO pitch response
• Topical map generator

SEO Title And Meta Description Generation

Whether you want to create content for an existing website or build a new website, you will need titles and meta descriptions.

These are key components that must be optimized for a page to rank.

It can be tricky to come up with the right titles or metas. AI software like Optimo will do this for you in seconds.

You just need to provide a theme for the page.

Content Generation

Tools like this can be used to improve existing content or create fresh content for websites that you own.

Content is important for SEO as it will mean that your website is perceived as more valuable by a search engine like Google for users.

However, any content that you add to your site must reach the right quality standards.

In the past AI content was easy to distinguish from human-written pieces.

Today, if you use a tool like Optimo it’s impossible to tell that your content has been written in moments by a piece of software.

Keyword Ideas

If you are completing your own SEO strategy without a professional SEO company, then keyword research is always the right starting point.

You need to consider keyword intent and find keywords that are connected to phrases that you are already using on a web page.

Optimo has tools that will allow you to immediately find the best keywords for your business content marketing strategy.

This will allow you to create web pages that fit the target audience with more keywords that have high traffic potential.

You can even use AI to find long-tail keywords that have high traffic potential and low competition.

Link Building Strategies

Search engines will determine whether your website should rank higher based on the other websites that are connected to it.

You need to get websites with high domain authorities to link back to your web pages and content.

This is a key component of any SEO campaign and will result in more traffic.

Optimo can provide you with link-building strategies based on information provided about the website that you are building.

HARO

HARO is one of the best places to secure high-quality links for your website, building up your ranking in Google.

For this strategy to be effective, you need to create the right pitch response.

If you’re unsure where to start, you can use the Optimo AI tool to complete the work for you.

Get the winning pitch response you need in moments to secure the best links for your business.

Is SEO Worth Your Time?

So, is SEO worth your time and money?

If you want your business to rank higher in Google and other search engines, then the answer is an emphatic yes.

The best part is that thanks to the latest AI software like Optimo, SEO doesn’t need to be a time-draining exercise.

This allows small businesses that implement an SEO strategy without the usual heavy costs or the need to hire a pro company.

Instead, they can get the same results on a far smaller budget.