Many things take time. Imagine reading a great book under a shady tree. That tree didn’t sprout out of the ground overnight. It can take decades for a tree to grow large and shady. Search engine optimization is something you need to cultivate over time, and waiting any longer could make you fall dangerously behind your competitors. If you haven’t gotten started on an organic SEO strategy, now is the time to plant the seed.
Small-business owners are often reluctant to get involved in online marketing because they already have a thousand other responsibilities to attend to on a daily basis. Adding online marketing—especially SEO—can seem virtually impossible without hiring someone to manage these channels or delegating other responsibilities to employees.
It’s easy to understand the struggle, and a few years ago, Internet marketing may not have been as much of a necessity as it is now. Just because you don’t promote yourself online doesn’t mean potential customers aren’t trying to find you. And if your competitors are engaged in online marketing tactics, their businesses may show up higher in a search engine results page for services similar to what you offer.
A study from ad network Chitika revealed that the top position on Google receives 33 percent of the traffic. Especially when it comes to local businesses with similar offerings, not many people are going to make it past the first page of results. When people search for local businesses, they are also more likely to take immediate action. In a sense, if your business doesn’t exist online, it may not gain as much traffic in person.
The longer you wait to get started with an organic search strategy, the farther behind competitors your business could fall. Not only does a lack of an SEO strategy make it harder for potential customers to find your business, but it’s going to get more complex the longer you put it off. Mobile dominates a significant portion of searches these days, especially for local businesses.
In the past few years, accessing the Internet from a smartphone has become just as easy and functional as using a desktop computer. In fact, Google has prioritized mobile website experience to accommodate the millions of users who surf the Web from a mobile device. In the past year, mobile search has overtaken desktop.
With the increased focus on mobile SEO, you can’t wait any longer to get started with a search strategy because there will be even more to catch up on. Your competitors could be miles ahead.
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Fortunately, getting started with SEO may be easier than you expect, and it doesn’t need to take up a lot of your time when you work with an experienced SEO agency. We can help you start ranking for keywords related to your business and services without adding to the time you spend on marketing.