No doubt you've heard over and over again that your business needs an SEO strategy, but has anyone ever told you why you need it? No? We want to rectify that. After all, if you don't know why you need SEO how can you determine if you need SEO?

Here's our take on why businesses of all sizes need an SEO strategy.

4 Reasons to Develop an SEO Strategy

1. It's Effective. You may have heard that SEO is dead. That couldn't be further from the truth. While it is true that SEO has changed and likely will continue to change over time, it remains the most effective way to drive traffic to your website. As long as you keep the end user's experience in mind and don't try to game the system, a solid strategy will deliver results like higher positioning on search results pages and more organic traffic to your site. 

2. It's Not Going Anywhere. Maybe you've hesitated to develop a Search Engine Optimization strategy because you think it's a fad that has almost run its course. Nope. Not gonna happen. 93% of online experiences start with a search engine. If you want to be found in those searches, you need to implement SEO techniques that will boost your visibility. Your techniques might change over time to adapt to the changing user experience, like how videos and mobile-friendly content have become more important, but SEO is here for the long haul. 

3. Your Competition Is Doing It. Yes, there are times that you don't want to do the same thing as your competition, but SEO isn't one of those times. Developing your own strategy for SEO is an effective way to compete with your business rivals for organic online traffic. If you don't use SEO and your rival does, who is going to catch the eye of people who are searching for businesses or information online? Not you. Without SEO your website is essentially invisible to anyone who isn't already a loyal customer. If you want to grow your business, SEO is a must.

4. It's Economical. Compared to Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads, social media marketing, or buying leads, SEO delivers high ROI. When done well, SEO can deliver high-quality, targeted visitors to your site over time. Whereas you must pay for other types of advertising each time you use them, SEO results are achieved at a more indirect cost - the effort you put in to creating SEO-friendly websites. We are not saying that SEO is a no-cost way to advertise, but it is a way that will last much longer than the initial cost to develop it and pays off time after time.

Build Your Own SEO Strategy with Help from an Experienced SEO Provider

SEO success doesn't happen overnight or with just one blog post. It's a long-term investment in your online brand and business presence. That requires a comprehensive strategy that takes into account many different aspects of branding and marketing. It's also a never-ending process. Even if you attain the first spot on a search engine results page, you have to keep improving your site or you run the risk of a competitor sneaking up and overtaking your position.

Those are just a few reasons why developing an SEO strategy is so overwhelming to so many business owners. But rather than shy away from SEO and hope you can succeed without it, ask for help from an experienced SEO services provider. An experienced agency will be able to help you avoid common pitfalls and achieve search engine success more quickly and with less stress than going it alone.