Last Updated on April 17, 2020 by
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SEO can be a very valuable asset to small businesses, no matter what the industry. In fact, without it, businesses hinder themselves from reaching their full potential and will likely lose out on new business opportunities to competitors because of it; and this fact is largely due to the fact that more and more people are using the internet to find the products and services they want/need. While these services, speaking of SEO, can produce great results if you choose to invest in them, you’ll likely find that there are also a number of cons mixed in with the pros.
While the good definitely outweighs the not so good, it is still wise to be informed about potential challenges that may present themselves when utilizing SEO services and the variety of ways different consultants and companies implement them.
We’ve highlighted that there are pros and cons to it all, and below you’ll be able to see our perspective on some of the things a small business owner might want to consider before investing these types of services…
The Benefits
– SEO services can make your sites and web pages more accessible. This is the greatest benefit of SEO… period. The convenience of the internet plays such a large role in what consumers buy and who they decide to buy it from. Often, the first place that people turn when they need or want something is to the internet. So, if your business is one of the first that people see when they look at search results, you are more likely to be able to sell to these people; offering the products and solutions they are looking for.
If you feel that it’s not imperative for you to focus on this, keep in mind that some of your competitors would disagree, and are benefiting from digital marketing; SEO specifically.
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– Small businesses can make changes more quickly. This is a great advantage that many larger business don’t have, since there are so many components to consider… which often times results in the fact that any changes needed might take a considerable amount of time to implement. Small businesses, however, can make adjustments and even redesign their website rather quickly, change marketing materials if necessary, and adjust keywords or strategies to match current trends or industry changes.
This can give you a leg up against your competition, and it’s something we see all of the time in countless industries.
– Small businesses can rank for more specific keywords. The best thing about this is that, the more specific the keyword, the less competition there is likely to be. This can earn you higher rankings in the SERPs and lead to more conversions in a shorter period of time. This too, is an advantage that larger companies often times don’t possess. This is because they likely offer a lot more to a broader audience and hence they try to rank for more general keywords that encompass all of what they do.
This leaves the more specific keywords up for grabs with far less competition.
The Challenges
– It takes time to rise in search results. Therefore, it takes time to see the ROI. Continual effort is needed to improve search engine rankings. This could mean that it will be a while before you see any substantial increase in sales. For small businesses this can present a special challenge, as they may need the increased revenue to continue to re-invest in SEO services and to operate their business.
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This obstacle can be overcome, though. Affordable services can be found, and with the right agency or expert, services can even be scaled to provide only what you need and can afford. The other side of the spectrum is that some small businesses decide to make a large investment in their digital marketing campaign up front which can move the needle faster to produce an ROI much quicker.
The benefit of this type of strategy is that success and improvements with digital marketing often times has snow ball effect, once there is a bit of momentum. The point is, things can move much faster when the initial “push” of an SEO strategy is supported by a solid investment of time, budget, and research.
– There are no guarantees. There are several factors that determine how well a site will rank, including whether or not the industry is competitive and what type of SEO methods are used (white hat or black hat; or a mixture of the two… grey hat). For this reason, no one can be assured of a prime spot in search results, but if SEO services are being provided by a company or consultant that has the expertise to design a marketing plan that is fail-safe, this isn’t something that a small business owner has to worry about.
If you’re interested in what a fail-safe SEO campaign looks like, feel free to reach out to us directly on how you can get one implemented for your business… and/or keep an eye out for a future article on the subject.
Conclusion
While challenges are an inevitable part of SEO for small businesses, the success that can be had far outweighs them. SEO services have proven to be a very wise investment for many small businesses and have even opened new doors of opportunities for these businesses. They can be just as beneficial for your small business as any other type of product, service, or tool that you feel is critical to your overall success.
Source: blog.quizzle.com
Still wondering how to take the first step in investing in internet marketing? Feel free to let us know your thoughts, concerns, or questions… and we’d love to point you in the right direction. Nomvo!