Should you invest in SEO for your business?

We are in a digital age where the internet is our most effective marketing tool. However, it’s challenging to keep up with competitors without leveraging it effectively. Amongst the noise, SEO often stands out as a key strategy for successful business development.

But should you invest in it? It’s an important question to ask yourself, especially if you’re concerned about factors like the costs and time commitment involved. Or maybe you’re genuinely curious about the benefits. Either way, it’s important to understand what this marketing channel can do from a business perspective, so you can determine whether it is right for you. 

Let’s explore whether SEO is worth pursuing, and help you determine whether it aligns with your business goals or not.

Without even basic SEO, potential customers may struggle to find your website in search results, making it difficult to attract traffic unless you're relying heavily on other channels. 

Let’s look at some data to gain more perspective. Google is the largest traffic referrer by far, holding 63.41% of the market share. As a dominant platform, Google isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, making SEO a crucial long-term investment.

As you can see, overall, SEO is a worthwhile investment for the right businesses. Ultimately, it depends on your specific business type and the goals you want to achieve. Let’s dive a little deeper into why this channel might be the right choice for you.

Higher quality traffic 

Organic search traffic is one of the highest quality traffic sources there is. Higher quality traffic consists of users who are more likely to engage with your content, sign up for a newsletter, enquire about services, or purchase a product. Essentially, it increases the chance of someone taking an action that benefits your business. 

According to First Page Sage, Google has the highest B2B conversion rate out of all the most common traffic sources at a 2.6% conversion rate. In contrast, organic social sources such as Facebook have much lower conversion rates for B2B businesses. 

One major reason for this is keyword intent. Keyword intent is the reason behind why someone searches for something on search engines. If you rank well for keywords that align with the products or services you provide, you’ll reach users who are actively searching for what you offer. These users are often further along in the buying journey and already know what they need, making them more likely to convert into a sale or lead.

If you decide to pursue SEO, it's crucial to research keyword data to identify potential opportunities for your business before starting any work. One effective way to do this is by conducting a keyword audit, such as the ones we offer at Vanguard 86.

Drives passive results

After implementing a successful SEO campaign, you’re likely to see ongoing, passive results from your initial efforts. Unlike other traffic sources, such as paid advertising, where you need to actively manage ad spend, optimise targeting, and continue investment to maintain traffic. SEO relies on search engines to direct users to your site.

Once your site is well-optimised and relevant, search engines will continue to drive traffic to it with minimal additional effort on your part. This inbound approach means potential clients are more likely to find you through their own search queries, rather than you reaching out to them.
Creating well-written, helpful, and evergreen content can attract visitors months, if not years after publication. Just as long it continues to meet user needs and align with current search trends.

Despite its passive benefits, it's always important to maintain your SEO efforts over time. Algorithm updates, changes in search engine results pages (SERPs), and competitor activities can impact your rankings, so ongoing attention is necessary to sustain and improve results.

Trustworthiness from potential clients

Reviews are a significant trust factor for potential customers, and being able to showcase your interactions with past clients on platforms like Google Business Profile, can greatly increase your chances of attracting new clients to your business.

81% of consumers use Google search to evaluate local businesses before engaging with them. This is why it’s important to have a well-optimised Google Business Profile, with consistent and relevant reviews coming in.

Local SEO is often more cost-effective than nationwide or global search, and if you are in a competitive market or not appearing in search results, investing in local SEO can be highly beneficial.

SEO also builds trust in other ways, such as through well-performing content. When people find your articles while searching for related queries, they get to know who you are and what your business offers, making it more likely that they’ll convert.

Additionally, SEO helps highlight other trust signals, such as certifications, testimonials, and case studies, making it easier for potential customers to feel confident in choosing your services. Having the ability to acquire trust from users, especially online is a great asset to have. 

More control

You have full control over the type of audience you want to attract, the content you can create, who you choose to link to, how your site performs, and more. You can also fully customise your website’s design, including the layout, fonts, and features like pop-ups for email newsletters.

This level of customisation allows you to deliver a tailored experience to your audience, something that’s a lot harder to achieve on other platforms.

For instance, social media platforms like Facebook come with a lot more restrictions. There's always a risk of your account being shut down, which could result in losing followers and traffic. 

On top of this, running ads on these platforms often comes with strict guidelines on wording, so you need to be cautious about what is said.
Although there are always rules and regulations that you need to comply with, having more freedom allows you to experiment to achieve the best results for your business.

Understand your target audience better

A good SEO strategy should always start with in-depth keyword research. This not only identifies traffic opportunities, but it can also help you gain a deeper understanding of your target audience.

If you need to learn more about who you are trying to sell to, a professional SEO specialist can help uncover valuable insights into your audience’s pain points, the problems they need to solve, and what they are searching for online.

This type of value is priceless and allows you to create strategies that drive tangible results for your business. Even if you don’t decide on a full service, we always recommend at least getting an audit done to identify audience insight.

As well as this, tools like Google Search Console and Google Analytics can provide further information into who is visiting your website. You can gain insight into data such as how long people stay on certain pages, their age, gender, demographics, engagement rate, which pages they are landing on, and more.

For example, KW research might reveal people are searching for queries related to your business that you aren’t targeting yet. Identifying these opportunities allows you to optimise for these keywords and drive more traffic. 

Cost-effectiveness

Although many factors influence costs, SEO can often be more affordable than other marketing strategies.

• SEO: $1,500 to $5,000.
• PPC advertising: up to $10,000.
• Email marketing: $500 to $5,000.
• Content marketing: $2,000 to $10,000.
• Social media marketing: $1,000 to $20,000.
• Website design: $2,500 to $100,000 (per website).

For a more detailed breakdown, I recommend reviewing our pricing guide.

One key reason SEO can be more cost-effective is that it doesn't require ongoing ad spend. If your website is already established, it may only need a few tweaks to start ranking higher. Where PPC or social media ads require both a professional's time and advertising costs.

Long-term competitive edge

SEO is like investing in digital real estate for your business. The earlier you get in, the more likely you are to reap higher rewards later down the road. 

One of the biggest rewards is establishing domain authority. A business who has launched and ranked a website for years longer than another will have a competitive advantage in the search results. They have built trust with search engines, making them a reliable source of content for platforms like Google to push to its audience. 

Additionally, older websites have likely acquired more natural backlinks from other reputable sources over the years, which is a major ranking factor.

If you are new to SEO it’s worth starting now, especially if you are planning to stay in business long term, as it can become a solid foundation to keep you supported for years to come. If you are in a more competitive market, I recommend targeting longer tail keywords to help drive traffic, and then expanding into harder keywords once you have established a higher domain authority. 

Can a business survive without SEO? 

Technically, a business can survive without SEO, especially if it’s generating revenue from other sources like directories, email marketing, social media, and word of mouth. However, you are most likely leaving a lot of money on the table by not tapping into organic search traffic. 

Additionally, SEO diversifies your traffic sources, reducing the risk if another revenue stream dries up. 

What's next?

Search engine optimisation is one of the most important strategies for achieving long-term success in your business. Ideally, you should always use multiple marketing channels, but if resources are limited or SEO presents more opportunities, it is definitely worth the investment.

However, like any good strategy, you can’t go into it blind. You need insight into the work required to see results. Some websites may need only small on-page tweaks, while others might require a full content marketing strategy to drive traffic. Not all websites are created equal.

This is why getting an audit done is crucial before investing time and resources into SEO.