Small business owners throughout the globe understand the importance of search engine optimization. Why? Because websites that aren’t SEO optimized perform less well in search result rankings, receive fewer visitors, and generate less revenue.
We’ll give you an example. We recently talked to a woman named “Anne.” Anne developed her business in a niche market, and while she does fairly well via word-of-mouth referrals, her organic website business is absolutely abysmal. Her website is well-designed, informative, and has tons of relevant, easy-to-digest information on it; however, when she hops on Google to do search for businesses like hers, her website doesn’t populate on page 1, page 2, or even page 3 of the search results.
“I don’t understand what the problem is,” she said. “We SEO optimized the website when I first launched it and it used to do great.”
That was our first clue.
“How long ago did you launch your website,” we asked.
The conversation continued as we expected. Not only has her website been live for the past seven years- she hasn’t updated her SEO since the day it went live.
Why SEO is an ongoing process
SEO best practices change constantly—and strategies that worked well 7-10 years ago can harm your ranking today. For example, once upon a time, websites with tons of keyword stuffing were rewarded with page 1 rankings. Today, however, keyword stuffing will move you to the back of the proverbial line.
Do you need to update your SEO on a daily or weekly basis? No, but you should revisit it about once a month. Not only will this help ensure that you’re adhering to the latest best practices, it can also help ensure that you don’t fall too far behind. Why? Because changing small things as they arise takes a lot less time than performing a comprehensive SEO overhaul down the line.
Lastly, when you perform your SEO check, be sure to research the up-to-date keywords related to your industry. Keywords and keyword phrases often change over time, and if you’re using words and phrases that are more than 12 months old, you’re likely not doing yourself any favors.
In closing
Regardless as to whether you’re about to launch a new website and you’re interested in learning more about how SEO can benefit your business, or you’re an existing business owner who is interested in learning whether your SEO needs a refresh, we can help. Are you ready to get started? Call our office today to speak with an expert.
