As a digital marketing agency here at Barta Media Group, we often encounter clients who wonder why SEO requires continuous effort. Recently, one of our amazing clients asked, “Can you further explain what is being done on an ongoing basis for SEO, just so that I understand better?” This question highlights a common misconception about SEO being a one-time setup. In this post, we’ll delve into why SEO is an ongoing process and why continuous optimization is crucial for long-term success.
Introduction – Understanding Why SEO Requires Ongoing Efforts
Before we get into the nitty-gritty, we started performing SEO here at Barta Media Group before 95% of our audience knew what it was or could see the (huge) value in it. In fact, one client who we had just finished building a website for actually asked me, “What is a search engine?” After a long explanation, I closed that deal for about… $50 per month! I guess that tells you that we’ve been doing this for a long time! (We got him ranked #1 in Google and Yahoo, by the way!)
Since then, we’ve been able to do that for numerous clients. Even though Google has changed many things over the years, we still strive to be on the forefront of the technology AND the search results.
Why Continuous SEO is Essential for Your Business
It’s definitely more challenging to accomplish top rankings now, but many of the core processes remain tried and true. And the keyword here (no pun intended) is ‘process’. So, back to the nitty-gritty, here are a few of the top reasons why SEO is an ongoing process and why one should commit to it as the investment it is!*
1. Evolving Algorithms and Search Trends
Search engines like Google constantly update their algorithms, necessitating regular strategy adjustments. But it’s not just about algorithms – user behavior evolves too. For instance, voice search queries like “restaurants near me” have become increasingly common in recent years. To stay ahead, we continuously adapt our SEO strategies to align with these changes in both search engine algorithms and user behavior.
2. Dynamic Competition
SEO isn’t happening in a vacuum. Your competitors are likely investing in their own SEO efforts, which means maintaining your rankings requires ongoing work. If you pause your SEO efforts while your competitors continue theirs, you risk losing your hard-earned positions in search results.
3. Content Freshness
Search engines favor websites that regularly publish new, relevant content. This doesn’t just mean creating new pages – it also involves updating existing content to ensure it remains accurate and valuable to your audience. Each time we perform site updates or maintenance, we also optimize these changes for SEO.
4. Changing User Behavior
User preferences and search habits are constantly shifting. What worked in SEO a year ago might not be as effective today. We continuously monitor these changes and adjust our strategies accordingly to ensure your website meets the evolving needs of your target audience.
5. Advancing Technical Requirements
Website speed, mobile-friendliness, and security standards are moving targets. We regularly run your site through various testing tools to identify areas for improvement, ensuring your website meets Google’s latest technical requirements.
6. Backlink Maintenance
Building and managing quality backlinks is an ongoing task that significantly affects your site’s authority. Over time, we acquire and monitor high-quality citations to your site, helping to boost your credibility in the eyes of search engines.
7. Emerging Opportunities
New keywords, topics, and trends in your industry require timely action to stay relevant. Our ongoing SEO efforts allow us to identify and capitalize on these opportunities as they arise, keeping your site at the forefront of your industry.
8. Google My Business Optimization
For local businesses, we consider your Google My Business profile an essential part of our local SEO strategy. We work with our clients to keep it updated with fresh content, respond to reviews, and ensure all information is accurate and complete.
9. Expanding Indexed Pages
Most individual pages will rank well for only a few terms at most. We regularly optimize additional pages for various keywords, helping more of your site’s pages climb the rankings for a wider array of search terms.
10. Continuous Monitoring and Adjustment
We incorporate tools like Google Analytics and Google Ads to monitor search trends, page performance, and user behavior. This data informs our ongoing SEO strategy, allowing us to make data-driven adjustments and improvements to your site.
Conclusion
SEO is not a “set it and forget it” solution. It’s a dynamic, ongoing process that requires constant attention and adaptation. By viewing SEO as a continuous investment rather than a one-time fix, we ensure sustained visibility, improved traffic, and ultimately, business growth through search engines.
Remember, if SEO could be done once and forgotten, everyone would do it that way. The reality is that SEO is about continually working your way to the top and then maintaining that position. We’ve seen sites that ranked #1 or #2 for a while, but after neglecting their SEO, they lost significant traction. Regaining those top positions after such a fall is much more challenging.
By committing to ongoing SEO efforts, we keep your site updated, relevant, and technically sound – crucial factors for long-term success in search rankings. If you have any questions about our SEO process or would like to discuss how we can help improve your site’s search performance, don’t hesitate to reach out.
*This list is by no means exhaustive, and the level of SEO services that we provide depends on the marketing package, budget and other factors such as competition, website platform and more.
If you’re looking to rank higher in online searches, give us a shout!