The Pros and Cons of SEO Strategy.

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is widely written about on this platform and beyond as the ‘key’ for marketing success. However, as with everything marketing related just because it exists doesn’t necessarily mean you need to implement it for your business.

SEO is what it says on the tin, the basic definition is to optimise your website or online presence so it appears higher within search engine results such as google.

Cons (I always start with the cons and end on a positive!)

Time.

It takes time to see results the indexing and ranking alone can take hours or months so don’t expect an instantaneous results! You won’t see any ROI for a while either so you have to budget for this!

Expensive to implement.

Depending on your level of expertise in the field you will need to outsource the majority of the work in developing and implementing the strategy. SEO’s, content creators and link builders are the main authority in the field and each has it’s own unique cost. As with everything else you need to weigh up the cost of doing this and your ROI!

There are multiple scenarios and issues that may arise with SEO and if you don’t have the knowledge yourself you will have to outsource someone to monitor it for you, this is another added expense that small businesses cannot afford!

No guarantees.

Unfortunately, you can hire the best SEO experts in the world but that doesn’t mean your customers will increase dramatically, it still all depends on your product/service and frankly how good it is!

Another unknown is the rankings you have struggled for may all be lost with a simple algorithm or search engine change. (This is another reason why you need someone monitoring your SEO strategy on a daily basis.)

Competition.

Your competition may have a higher budget or better strategy which despite your best efforts means no results for you. A common issue is the paid positions or (Ads) that appear top of google results list, if your competition can afford these then you will have to reconsider and use different marketing strategies.

PROS

Improved traffic and Web Presence.

A higher ranking helps attract new visitors and encourage those to return. Organic searches list you at the top spot or near the top so you get the first clicks available, these organic results show 24/7 and the clicks are free. (Organic results attract more clicks than ads.)

Web presence can improve application results as well as organic search. People tend to search things like Google Maps before a generic search so good SEO can help your results in these applications.

Better Conversion Rate.

If you have SEO in mind when updating or designing your website this helps with navigation and your ranking. If the customers get the information they need then they will return which turns the visitors into customers. The better your content the higher your chances of success.

Cost Effective in the Long term.

SEO can be cheaper than traditional marketing methods and the added bonus of allowing you to expand your presence into markets beyond your local area and can improve your ROI.

You have more control over this strategy, deciding content, audience and the type of internet presence you want. You have the option to outsource your SEO to other companies leaving you flexibility to focus on your product/service and make adjustments when needed.

This is a shortened list of the main pros and cons associated with SEO, there are many more which I haven’t mentioned. If you would like a more detailed post about SEO leave a reply in the comments below!

What do you think about SEO? Have you any experience in implementing an SEO strategy yourself or with an organisation? Please leave a comment below!