The digital space is like one big Olympic event where several businesses compete for the top spot, with higher conversions and sales at stake. If classified as one sports event, SEO is more like a marathon than a sprint.
The road to SEO success is not a short distance you can finish in a flash. Those with appropriate preparation and sufficient training are most likely to be more successful.
One common mistake many businesses make when it comes to SEO is they set unrealistic goals. They are so excited to reap all the high ROI benefits of SEO that they want them immediately. Unfortunately, SEO does not work that way. SEO requires careful and strategic planning and execution.
Here are a few reasons proving that SEO is a marathon, not a sprint.
Why is SEO so Time-Consuming?
1. SEO involves research, a lot of research.
SEO may seem simple, but it can get complicated. It involves a lot of research. From keyword research to competitive analysis, starting on SEO can already take up a lot of time.
A thorough competitive analysis gives you an in-depth idea on how you can rise above the competition when it comes to local search rankings. This includes keyword research – high ranking keywords you can target and keywords your competitors are overlooking that you can take advantage of.
You want to be above or at least at the same ground as your competitors. It won’t be possible if you don’t have any idea where they are in the first place. A true and effective SEO analyst takes their time to do thorough research and is careful not to miss any important point and opportunity.
2. Your website needs a strong foundation – content.
Search engines use crawlers or what some like to call spiders to index a website. These spiders crawl websites, gather information from their content and store them in a database to be used in their search rankings.
Content is the foundation of any website. What will the spiders crawl if you don’t have any website content? Businesses that want to rank in search results needs high quality and credible content.
Content creation is not as easy as some may make it seem. There are a few things to consider – your audience, your keyword research, timeliness and more. Not everyone is blessed with writing skill too. Some may find it hard to come up with blog topics to begin with.
Pro tip: Always refine your content. Search engines use intelligent crawlers. They prioritize quality over quantity. No matter how long your content is, don’t expect it to rank high if it’s substandard. Make sure it’s concise, clear and easy-to-read.
3. Link building takes time and effort.
Search engines want to check how credible your website is. One effective way to enhance your website credibility is through link-building. You’d like other sites to link back to yours, and not just any random sites. Build links from sites with high authority.
You or your SEO specialist can start with the websites your competitors are using and see if you can reach out to some of them for your own site. Then check out other websites your competitors are not using as well.
Searching for high authority and credible sites can take up time, but it’s totally worth it when your effort starts paying off. More links to your website mean more credibility and ultimately a higher rank in search engines.
4. SEO is a never-ending process.
Search engines continuously update their standards and algorithms to help improve user experience. Google alone has an average of 500-600 algorithm updates every year. There are also trends and techniques evolving every now and then. It is essential to keep up with these changes.
Your SEO specialist should keep an eye on the latest SEO updates and trends. Monitor your keywords and update them if needed. And ensure that your website and content remain search engine optimized.
The importance of search engine optimization or SEO is crucial to a business’ success in the digital world. SEO offers long-term results like online visibility and increase website traffic but you can’t achieve these great benefits in just a snap of your fingers.
If you want results, you should work for it, or at least your SEO specialist should. Success with SEO does not happen overnight. Sometimes, you won’t be able to reap its benefits for a few months. Learn to wait.
Want to know more about SEO or do you need help optimizing your website? Contact Collision Websites today.