There are a number of catch phrases and old sayings that apply to SEO.
Some are appropriate and others are not. For example, the saying ‘the devil’s in the details’ definitely applies to SEO.
However, ‘set it and forget it’ definitely does not – and will never – apply to SEO.
In order to achieve long-term SEO success, constant effort must be put into your digital marketing plan.
In other words, once you hit the first page, your work has just begun. You cannot stop or get lazy with SEO.
This is a sure-fire way to lose your rankings, or to never achieve any meaningful rankings at all.
The fact is, every business has the perfect opportunity to benefit from internet marketing. However, even the best designed website with cool features and easy navigation are worth absolutely nothing if no one is coming to them.
Effective SEO has one of the best ROI’s in the history of capitalism.
While there is no true SEO “silver bullet”, there one thing that is virtually guaranteed to bring you results over time? Discipline.
The Ever-Changing Face of Internet Marketing
While getting to the top of search engine results takes work, this will provide you with the best chance to be found by potential customers. However, in order to remain at the top, consistent updates, content creation, and ongoing website tweaks are necessary.
Once you get on the SEO treadmill, you have to stay on it.
It is much like anything else in life, when you reach the top, there is always going to be someone trying to get ahead. This means their efforts may eventually overtake yours – especially if you stop trying altogether.
You need to develop an SEO mindset – always thinking about how your online and offline activities can benefit your website and search engine visibility.
Helpful Tip: If you are trying to get ahead yourself, take some time to research what your competitors are doing in terms of SEO. This can provide you with insight regarding what is effective and what isn’t.
Climbing the Ranking Ladder
To get – and stay – at the top of search engine results pages, you must:
- Blog regularly (at least once weekly, possibly more)
- Invest in strategic guest blogging
- Participate on social media
- Manage and keep up with your site’s/business’s reputation
- Engage in high quality link building
- Keep up with the various algorithm updates released by Google
- Update the content management system regularly
- Create new content
- ALWAYS be working on your online reputation (ie getting customer testimonials & reviews)
Staying on the SEO Treadmill
There is no fast or quick way to make it to the top of Google (or any other search engine’s) search results. In order to get to the top you have to be committed to constantly updating your website and ensuring that the keywords and other aspects meet the requirements set by search engines.
If you commit to SEO long term, and work on it week in and week out, you will achieve high search engine rankings over the course of months and years.
Most small businesses don’t have the long term view on SEO or any marketing for that matter. This is an enormous opportunity for your business.
To Learn more about search engine optimization in our book, SEO for Growth, or by getting a free SEO website report for your business
