I think SEO is neither compulsory for businesses, nor it is anymore one of the obligatory investments that a business owner can make.
On the contrary, many still think of SEO as a needed investment for their business - its stock that will increase value over time and remain in your account.
Unfortunately, those days are gone when by investing in SEO you build long-term value for your website that will continue to accumulate over time.
Here are 5 reasons why we should stop investing in SEO now.
1. SEO does not work.
This is a straightforward reason, but it is true. As of today, Google processes nearly 4 billion searches per day. With that number of search volume, there is no debating that, ranking in Google’s search results with PPC ads offers much better and realistic opportunities to get more targeted traffic for websites.
This is very important because more targeted traffic typically brings more leads and leads turn into sales that is ROI.
By investing in SEO if you want to raise your rankings in Google and expect more traffic to your website that can produce more leads and sales for your business is a myth now.
If not, then why almost everywhere I am seeing text/display ads now?
2. For mobile, SEO is becoming even more meaningless to all.
Yesterday, people had to wait until they got a computer to review something online. With mobile searches now surpassed desktop, today more people are comfortable doing research on the move. Tomorrow is even shiner for businesses because people will make a purchase through IoT devices.
With the growing usage of “near me” search queries, even the small local shop owners now see the opportunity to rank in their area. As a result, big businesses start showing their financial power by launching huge paid PR campaigns.
That means people not only can find more attractive ads online but also find any business info on their mobile screens in real-time.
Therefore, your noble thought about investing in Local SEO for your small business to grab the attention of people who are your ideal customers and are ready to make a purchasing decision quickly is vaporing even more quickly.
If not, then why paid ads are always above all?
3. Higher search engine rankings don’t prove your business credibility.
What do you do when you’re considering making a purchase online or offline? For most people, the answer is research - means checking all available buying options to get the best deal possible.
Most internet users - as high as 80% in some studies - look past paid ads and focus solely on organic search results. That means that when someone is doing web research for a product or service, they are much more likely to do business if you rank highly in Google’s organic search results. In order to rank higher, your website should have a high level of expertise, authority, and trustworthiness, which will help to drive sales once someone clicks through to your site.
However, having a high ranking doesn’t always mean that Google and other searchers have found your website to be relevant. A high rank on Google SERP also doesn’t signify trust and authority for your business always. If giving consumers a positive feeling towards your business before they even start searching around your site is important, then how most of the businesses are allowed to run paid ads (and they are making a profit too from it!) without at least considering Google’s search quality rater guidelines?
If not, then why the paid PR sites are rank higher in the news searches? Or sometimes, how they appear above the organic listings?
4. Rankings can change fast, and but your competitors don’t know it.
As per popular thesis, SEO is an ongoing process and the more you invest in it, the greater it will be. This is a good feeling at many levels.
If your website is already ranking moderately higher in search results that’s great - but it means you need to continue to invest in SEO in order to stay there - this is not true anymore.
With everyone competing for those top spots on SERP, your competitors are going to invest in paid ads and digital PR campaigns, and if they do and you don’t, they can start to outrank you - simple.
If you’re not currently ranking high in search result pages, you still have an opportunity to rise up. By investing in a sound paid digital advertising strategy including smart yet paid social media marketing tactics, you may be able to start outranking your competition and driving more traffic to your website.
Though that’s doesn’t guarantee the actual conversions from that traffic.
Ranking #1 is a constant race to the finish line, and whoever invests the most in paid ads and runs the diversified media buying campaigns will get there first.
If not, then why business owners are more and more investing in programmatic advertising?
5. SEO is an easily replaceable art.
Customers used to learn about products or services through advertisements on the radio, television, and print ads. People are still, also use to make buying decisions in stores and look for service providers in the phone books or local business directories.
While some people may still reluctant, many (and the numbers are increasing at a significant pace) are relying on social media for making purchasing decisions nowadays, and the tendency is it’s going to stay.
Online shopping and searching are not only here to stay, it’s going to keep growing and evolving and with that means optimization work for social media will continue to change as well. It’s important to start investing now on social media so you set your business up for success in the future and most importantly consumers are on social media.
If not, then why so many businesses are operating on social media without having a website at least?
Final thoughts
Traditional marketing is one-way i.e. brand to customer, which is not engaging. But marketing through SEO is multi-ways - brand to customer, customer to brand, customer to customer. SEO is the marketing practice that allows you to engage and interact with your consumers virtually.
So, SEO will remain here and will grow.
To make SEO work for you, do learn which sources are generating the most traffic, find your competitors' best conversion tactics, and view metrics, including conversion rates and top-selling products at first.
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