SEO is an affordable, effective and efficient way to grow your business if you do it right. SEO focuses efforts on unpaid traffic instead of costly paid ads or direct traffic. You want business year round, not just seasonally, so your SEO efforts should be consistent to reach your ranking goals.
SEO Refresher
SEO optimization is a form of online marketing. You can use effective keywords to help potential customers find your business through web searches. Basically, the goal is to appear on Google page 1 so your business gets more visibility.
Consistent SEO
There are some consistent tasks you can do monthly to help SEO efforts. One way to help SEO efforts is to provide readers with quality content on your site. This helps with engagement, keeps visitors on your page longer and boosts rankings.
Another way to help your site is to imagine that you’re the customer and navigate your site like a stranger. Your site should distinctly state what your business is and what you do. Make sure your site’s structure is organized and straightforward. Ensure your site’s communication is clear and not confusing. You want potential customers to easily find you online, and you want them to stay on your site and not immediately leave.
You want SEO. You want ads. Either way, clicks need to become conversions.
You might be wondering about the cost of SEO and paid advertising. SEO can send you 100 or 1000 customers…the cost is the same regardless. SEO takes your time, but not money like paid advertising. Plus, if you’re a new business, you might not have a budget for paid advertising. The good news is that you can focus on SEO and don’t need to pay for ads. SEO grows your business and only requires time and consistency.
On the other hand, ads like Google Ads cost money and can get expensive if you’re in a competitive industry (higher costs per click). With Google Ads, you pay for each click you get to your website even if they’re not solid leads.
Here are other disadvantages to Google Ads:
- Short shelf life—when your budget runs out of money, your ads stop. This means leads could also drop.
- High bounce rate—if a visitor clicked on your ad by mistake and reached your site, they might bounce quickly. These will negatively affect your bounce rate and cost you money.
- Ad limitations—the look of your ad is restricted by the number of characters in the headlines and descriptions. You’ll also want to include keywords, call to action and an attention-grabbing headline. There’s an art to Google Ads and you won’t want to waste your money.
- Learn how to use Google Ads—You’ll need to research how to set up campaigns so they work properly. Once everything is set up, you’ll need to monitor the campaign to make sure it’s running smoothly and getting you conversions. All of this requires time.
My Seasonal Business
Consumers typically have predictable, seasonal behavior. Most consumers plan out larger purchases like TVs, computers, vacations, etc. For example, shoppers purchase gifts for Christmas and Hanukkah in November/December. People stuck at home may be dreaming and planning their next vacation when it’s safe to travel again. You don’t want to rank for a vacation rental during peak season when folks are traveling already. Instead you want to focus on SEO during the off-season when travelers are looking for the best place to book their next vacation!
Questions?
Hopefully this post helps you recognize the importance of SEO. Contact us if you’re running short on time and want some SEO expertise to boost your business and steer your marketing budget away from “costs per click.” We’d love to answer any questions that you have and help improve your rankings!
