We’ve been in the SEO and website design business for over 20 years. Over the course of our history in the industry, we’ve developed a proven formula that has contributed to the success of hundreds of websites. Our clients return time after time, engaging in long-term campaigns and recommending us to other businesses.
So, I think it’s safe to say we know a thing or two about SEO.
If you’re considering investing in SEO, here are 12 key facts you need to know:
1. SEO is a long-term strategy
It’s not a one-off activity like website development. It’s an ongoing process that requires constant work to improve and maintain your position. If you stop your SEO activities, your ranking will eventually fall.
2. You need to build trust
Search engines like Google may restrict the rankings of new websites until they have proven their authority and relevance, by existing for a specific amount of time and building enough backlink strength.
3. New sites can get a boost
New websites may get a temporary boost in rankings for certain keyphrases, but this generally settles after a few days. This is known as the ‘honeymoon period’, and it’s quite common.
4. Rankings can drop unpredictably
From time to time, search engines can drop rankings for no clear or predictable reason. Often such rankings re-appear shortly after without any SEO efforts.
5. Rankings can fluctuate
You cannot control search engine algorithms or the SEO efforts of your competitors. It’s, therefore, impossible to guarantee specific results like number 1 or consistent top 10 rankings, as rankings can fluctuate at any time.
6. SEO is influenced by external factors too
There are hundreds of factors that determine your online success and some are out of your control, like competitors, consumer behaviour and buying climate.
7. SEO needs customer service backup
SEO can get your brand seen online and promote your strengths, but if there are negative perceptions of your products or services, this will affect how receptive a campaign is.
8. Lots of small wins contribute to a big win
A successful SEO strategy consists of multiple interconnecting practices that work together to boost your rankings. If you choose to only undertake some parts, your results will be limited.
9. SEO is a very time-consuming process
It can take 4-6 months to see results, depending upon the competition and industry focus. In light of this, it’s best to commit to SEO for a minimum of 4-6 months, and only conduct a major performance review at the end of this period.
10. Changes matter, even minor ones
Once you have an SEO strategy in place, it’s important not to make any changes to your website without first consulting your SEO provider. Making edits to content, titles or tags, removing files or widgets, or changing the site architecture are definite no-nos. But even the smallest changes can negatively affect your SEO results and, if your SEO provider has to rectify anything, you may incur additional charges.
11. Sometimes there are technical difficulties
Although rare, sometimes technology doesn’t play ball. Google indexing issues and server outages, for example, can affect the progress and timeline of an SEO campaign.
12. It’s a two-way street
Clients need to educate themselves about SEO. You don’t need to be an expert, that’s why you employ an SEO specialist after all. But you need to support your campaign by at least listening and trying to understand what’s happening and why. It’s important to follow the recommendations and requests of your SEO provider, responding promptly with access, documents, permission and feedback when required.
Solve-ing your SEO
At Solve, we believe in building long-term, trusting relationships with all our clients. Transparency is key to healthy relationships, and healthy relationships build successful businesses. While SEO cannot guarantee results, it’s important to mention that in our 20+ years in the industry, we’ve always seen a positive effect and growth as a result of our work. Some of our clients have seen their ranking improve by more than 20,000% and enjoyed 700% more traffic to their website.
If you’d like to know more about SEO or boosting your search engine ranking, get in touch today.
