5 REASONS YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS A SEO SPECIALIST
Maybe you’re trying to justify hiring a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) specialist but you still think you should be able to do it on your own. Colleagues probably say they were able to master the basics from a few video tutorials or that a “friend helped them out,” making you question spending money to outsource SEO efforts.
While these may seem like viable – and common – options, the truth is that a solid SEO foundation and strategy is the most crucial piece of your marketing mix. And while you can get by without a specialist to execute your SEO efforts, the short- (and more importantly) long-term effects can cost you more than you realize.
If you want continual increases in sales, quality web traffic, and marketing activities, you’ll consider these 5 reasons why your business needs an SEO specialist.
1) Master your ranking
Optimizing your content for search is key to establishing your organic search and page ranking results, whether the search engine algorithms and data that they provide consistently changes or not. Joshua Guerra, CEO of BIZCOR says, “As long as you are focusing on optimal user experience while performing methodic SEO strategies, you will be rewarded with higher positioning and organic traffic.”
Every online search begins with a keyword, and having your business rank in the top 3 links on the first page is a win that will impact your business over time.
An SEO specialist knows how to achieve these results in a way that will positively affect your business, and how to prevent factors that will damage your ranking, like broken or unmapped links, unaligned keywords, and duplicate content. A small investment in a specialist’s help now can save you time, money and headache in the long term.
It’s also the first “ad” your customer sees. You may have a beautiful website, but if the meta tag associated with your first search term reads “Insert Content Here,” you not only lose a valuable ad line but also damage your brand’s image by appearing unprofessional. A specialist will also make sure you’re not doing anything that will get your site blacklisted or destroy your search ranking.
2) Stay ahead of the competition
An SEO specialist will not only know what your competitors are doing, they’ll know how to beat them at it. They’ll determine what competitors are doing right and what they’re really missing while discovering which keywords they’re using. A search specialist will also help you find better (and in some cases, lower cost and higher converting) keyword terms and strategies for outperforming your competition in a way that will also differentiate your business.
3) Achieve quality – not quantity
Many SEO firms will promise you “50 unique website visitors per day” or other metrics that aren’t indicative of success, but a true SEO specialist will know your business and establish growth goals that produce quality outcomes, not just buckets of leads who aren’t actually interested in your business.
Since there’s no “one size fits all” SEO strategy for businesses, having a specialist ensures you achieve the kind of growth your business wants without wasting time on someone who landed in your CRM thanks to clickbait.
4) Avoid wasted time and money
Keeping up with search engine algorithm updates is more than a full-time job – and it’s not just optimized content that your strategy needs to touch. Content, social SEO, User Experience and research are all just pieces of search marketing that you need to know to achieve results.
“The landscape of SEO has been changing dramatically over the last year and frankly it’s been a big job to keep up. It’s absolutely clear now that some of the risky tactics that worked over the last few years not only no longer work but can actually get your website penalized and given a ranking penalty,” says SEO expert Harvey Pearce.
Using industry knowledge coupled with the ability to read analytics to determine what’s working and what isn’t, evaluate spend and constantly optimize campaigns, are all critical tasks a specialist is able to conquer while allowing you to remain focused on other areas of marketing or just running the business.
The SEO specialist can look at your overall digital efforts and make sure you’re spending wisely, and suggest where to shift spending if needed.
5) Work 24/7, Without working 24/7
Your website is your business’ on-demand, around-the-clock sales rep for your customer. It’s always there – gathering and providing data you need to reach and expand your audience segments. An SEO specialist will be able to read analytics, help define more detailed segments and suggest strategies to boost your marketing efforts, like ways to decrease bounce rates or which devices most of your customers use to search for your business.
While it may seem like you can do it on your own, a small investment in an SEO specialist can pay off with huge rewards in the future, in addition to boosting your business and helping your company grow as you work toward those future goals. As a marketer, you want to help Google help you, and providing quality, optimized content is the first step in securing your search success.