Is SEO worth it for small business?
Yes, SEO can be worth it for small businesses. However, it depends on two important factors.
- 1. How much you're paying for SEO.
- 2. The strength of the competing sites.
If you're paying a ton of money to an SEO Agency they need to be effective enough that the SEO pays for itself. If the competing sites are too strong and have
large ongoing SEO budgets it may not be possible to compete.
How SEO can help any size of business
The graph below shows the increase in traffic for a previous client.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a strategy designed to improve a website’s visibility on search engines like Google.
At its core, SEO involves optimising a website’s content, structure, and backlinks to ensure it ranks higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). While large companies with substantial budgets may have an easier time implementing comprehensive SEO strategies, small businesses can also significantly benefit from SEO.
For small businesses, effective SEO can level the playing field against larger competitors. A well optimised website can attract a steady stream of organic traffic and sales. The beauty of SEO lies in its ability to drive traffic without ongoing advertising costs. Once a website ranks well for certain keywords, it can continue to attract visitors without the business needing to pay for each click, as is the case with PPC.
SEO also allows small businesses to target specific, localised keywords. For example, a local bakery could optimise its website for terms like "best bakery in London" or "artisan bread London." This local SEO strategy can drive highly relevant traffic from people searching for businesses in their area, increasing the likelihood of converting these visitors into customers.
SEO can help build credibility and trust. Websites that appear at the top of search results are often perceived as more trustworthy and authoritative. For a small business trying to establish itself in a crowded market, this added credibility can really help.
Example: Small business vs big business
As an SEO company we've worked with lots of differently sized businesses so we've seen what can happen with different budgets and scenarios. In this example we ran an SEO campaign for a smallish ecommerce store based in Edinburgh. They noticed just after the pandemic that sales
had slumped. A lot of their competition online were high street brands with large budgets and very strong link profiles. We created an SEO campaign for some of their most expensive products and boosted their revenue by 116%.
We picked keywords that the site was just out of reach for and focused on improving those rankings with on page optimisation and link building.
SEO campaign for online retailer - Increased revenue by 116%
Are seo agencies worth it?
Costs of premium SEO agencies
SEO can have a big impact on traffic, but the costs can be significant.
Premium SEO agencies typically offer a range of services, including technical audits, keyword research, content creation, and link-building campaigns. However, these services come at a cost, which can be prohibitively expensive for some small businesses.
Premium SEO agencies often charge thousands of pounds per month, depending on the site worked on and the competitiveness of the industry. For businesses in highly competitive sectors, such as finance or real estate, the costs can escalate even further. These fees can be a major barrier for small businesses with limited marketing budgets.
SEO is a long term investment. It can take months to start seeing results and depending on the site being worked on can take up to a year to see decent traffic from a campaign. This delayed return on investment can be an issue for businesses that need sales tomorrow.
When SEO might not be worth it
While SEO can be a huge asset to a small business, there are scenarios where it might not be the best investment.
One such scenario is when a business operates in a niche market with little to no online search demand. If potential customers aren't searching for the products or services a business offers, even the best SEO strategy won't help.
Another situation where SEO might not be worth the investment is when a business needs immediate results. As previously mentioned, SEO is a long term strategy. For businesses in urgent need of sales, investing in SEO might not be the best use of resources. In those cases, a PPC campaign would be able to provide sales quicker.
SEO for businesses with strong link profiles
A strong link profile means that a website has many high quality backlinks from reputable sources. This kind of link profile can significantly enhance a business’s SEO efforts. For small businesses that already have a strong link profile, investing in further SEO can be effective a lot quicker. Backlinks are one of the key ranking factors in Google's algorithm, and having a strong site to start with can decrease the time it takes to see results.
For example, a small business with an existing network of industry partnerships or lots of press releases published about them might already have a strong link profile. In such cases, doubling down on SEO efforts can amplify the benefits, helping the business to dominate its niche in search rankings.
Businesses with strong link profiles may find that they can achieve significant results with a smaller investment in SEO. Instead of needing to build a link profile from scratch the campaign can focus on other areas like adding substantial content.
How we would run your SEO campaign?
We love bringing on new clients and getting strong results. Our focus is on getting the most out of every campaign for the budget available.
We start every campaign with:
- Research on your website vs your competitors, plus a plan for how to beat them.
- Comprehensive keyword research to find the right targets to go after.
The structure of our campaigns
Each campaign will involve different products, services and completely unique websites but our method will follow a set of principles and methods that we've
developed over the years.
Our optimisation service includes:
- Content creation. Creating substantial content that beats what's currently on Google.
- On-page optimisation. Matching the right keywords to your pages.
- Link building. Researching your competitors' links and then getting better ones.
- Conversion rate. Refining your sales content and design elements to boost enquiries and sales.
- Reporting. Monitoring ranking and traffic data and search terms to refine the campaign.
