SEO (Search Engine Optimization) should be an essential part of a digital marketing strategy for any business. The following numbers gathered and shared by AHREFs are proof that SEO is an integral part of any business that aspires for growth, brand visibility, customer reach, and, ultimately, an increase in revenue:
- Most online experiences (68%) begin through a search engine.
- Google Search, Google Maps, and Google Images spark a vast majority of global traffic.
- A majority of marketers (60%) acknowledge that organic traffic is their highest source of quality leads (HubSpot).
- Leads through SEO have a 14.6% close rate (HubSpot).
We had conversations with business owners who admitted to neglecting SEO in favor of changing their marketing strategy, such as using social media as a source of inbound traffic.
Unfortunately, these businesses typically fail to replicate their SEO efforts. The same report by AHREFs stated that SEO drives ten times more traffic than organic social media.
Given these data, it is evident that the benefits derived from SEO fade out once they are neglected. How does that happen exactly? Let’s explore several reasons why:
Losing Organic Traffic
Organic traffic, with its high intent and huge conversion potential, is a viable source of high-quality leads. As mentioned earlier, its high close rate proves that ranking high in searches reaps dividends that directly translate to revenue generation. A website loses organic traffic when it stops SEO because of the following reasons:
- Newly-published content, such as blog posts or new product pages, won’t be indexed.
- Resulting meta tags, keywords, internal links, and metadata won’t be optimized based on the relevant search words.
- Search engines will detect no indication that the new content published on the website is helpful to site visitors, thereby not ranking this new content.
- Untouched pages will ultimately be outranked by competitors conducting their own SEO efforts (more on this later).
Missed Opportunities
Aside from losing the chance to rank newly published pages for new keywords, not optimizing your website can lead to further missed opportunities, such as:
- Returning visitors will have fewer reasons to visit sites without updated or new content. Moreover, you won’t have fresh content to share on other platforms, such as your social media page, which can drive more traffic.
- You will miss the opportunity to gain earned links from other sites, such as a new business partner with higher authority and broader reach.
- Neglecting regular tweaks to conform to current trends may turn off returning visitors.
Google May Tweak Its Algorithm for Ranking
SEO professionals are always studying patterns to ensure websites rank well for essential keywords. Google constantly makes revisions to rank search results, meaning something that worked in previous months may only work if SEO efforts are addressed.
Your Competitors Are into SEO
Don’t be complacent once you rank highly in searches. As soon as you neglect your SEO efforts, your business will begin to lose that ranking because your competitors, who are actively optimizing, will take your place. Here are several reasons this happens:
- Your competitors are publishing new content optimized for the keywords you want to rank for.
- Once your competitors rank better than you, they will dislodge you from the first page of search rankings, taking away your opportunity to get high-quality organic traffic.
- Once you restart your SEO efforts, regaining the rankings will be an uphill struggle, forcing you to fight for lower-volume keywords just to get traffic.
Google Considers Regular Updates Highly
Introducing fresh content and regular website tweaks are confirmed by Google ranking factors (AHREFs). This freshness is heavily based on query-based searches. According to Google, their systems understand that updated information might be more helpful than older pages. A possible scenario to illustrate this is businesses that might have closed. Updated pages (this covers information in their GMB) may be considered more highly than those that aren’t, significantly if those pages are not updated for months, as the system might think these businesses might have closed.
Losing Site Authority
Neglecting SEO means losing domain authority and trust indicators. Here is how this happens:
- Not actively promoting and optimizing valuable content will make you miss opportunities to create new high-quality backlinks.
- These backlinks are excellent sources of referral traffic and engagement that your site will miss.
- Without optimization, engagement, and links, your aging pages will lose page authority metrics, thereby losing their domain authority.
Stop Bleeding Leads by Neglecting SEO: Call WebPower Now!
Organic traffic can’t be gained through shortcuts, like it could a decade ago. With everyone online, they expect your business to have a solid online presence. Moreover, Google has strict guidelines to counteract black-hat SEO tactics, so you must prioritize publishing helpful content and focusing on better user experience to keep up with their constantly evolving algorithms.
Put in the hard work and play by the rules! With SEO professionals like WebPower, you have a team that you can trust to understand your niche and navigate Google’s ever-changing landscape. Gaining more organic traffic and holding on to gains in an ever-evolving online landscape is a marathon, not a sprint. Don’t waste time, contact WebPower now!