Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is crucial for just about any business these days. It doesn’t matter if you run an online business or a brick and mortar shop. You need customers to be able to find you easily through online searches. Otherwise, you will find that you just can’t keep up. 

Hopefully, you’ve at the very least had this realization, and taken the steps to get more organic traffic from search engines. You’ve created your content, developed a sitemap, made your website mobile-friendly, and done all of the other things that search engine algorithms factor in when displaying their rankings. Does that mean the work is finished and you can relax? Unfortunately, no. When it comes to SEO, the work is never finished. There should be no such thing as a short term strategy. You need to stay on top of SEO to fully realize the advantages it can afford you. If you don’t, you’ll find yourself quickly losing ground to your competitors. 

Algorithms are Always Evolving

You could probably just look at old archives to see how the internet has changed. Technology has evolved, website development has evolved, and search engine algorithms have evolved as well. Google and other search engines have always weighed certain criteria to determine their rankings. However, as search engine algorithms get more sophisticated, how websites get ranked changes. In some cases, a sudden update to an algorithm can drop a website from the top page down to obscurity.

If you are not staying on top of your SEO, then you could either come to a halt suddenly, or lose your place slowly over time as search engines change. All the work you did to get your website up to speed with its SEO may end up being worthless if you don’t evolve along with the algorithms. 

You Need To Keep Up With Competition

Depending on the kind of business you have, you might be competing against thousands of other businesses. If you are not keeping up with your SEO, you can bet that many of them are, and they will leave you in the dust. Just like algorithms don’t stay the same, neither will your competition. The market constantly fluctuates. Businesses improve their SEO, new players enter the game, and all of a sudden you might be on the outside looking in. 

You can keep track of your performance relative to your competitions with an SEO score checker. It will help you determine if you are falling behind, and indicate that you need to make some changes. It will even tell you what you are doing wrong amongst several ranking factors so that you can target your updates and make the necessary changes. Make sure to check your site on a weekly basis at the very least to keep yourself apprised of your website’s performance. 

It Takes a Long Time to See SEO Results

It takes, on average, around two and a half years to get to the top of search engine rankings for a brand new website. That doesn’t mean a website won’t see significant gains right off the bat, but to get to the highest level takes time. You may be able to get there sooner, but it is not common. 

If you are finding your website is ranking low for all of your keywords, then it will take extra work to catch up. If you are neglecting your website and not staying on top of it, then you will have that much more work to do and time to spend to get your website up to speed. While you are floundering and not paying attention, your competitors are streaking out in front of you. 

Users are Changing

The way that a typical internet user conducts searches is changing. People are no longer getting on their computer, pulling up a browser, and typing in a few words to see what comes up. Now, they are pulling out their phones and speaking to Siri or Bixby, or they are asking questions to their digital assistant on the bedside table. Voice search is getting more and more popular, and is changing the way we need to approach SEO. 

When users do a search using voice technology, they tend to ask questions. “Where is the nearest restaurant,” or “How can I fix my toilet?” If your keyword strategy is stale and outdated, then you will not be captured in the search engine for these longer, question-based search terms. Even if the Google algorithm doesn’t change, you are falling behind because you are not adapting to the behaviors of users. 

Good SEO is the Gift That Keeps on Giving

If you are staying on top of your SEO, it will continue to build on itself to make your website much stronger. When you pay for ads to get visitors to your site, your visitors will drop off if you ever stop paying. With SEO, whatever is on your website will stay there and continue to give you benefits down the road. If your content is authoritative and engaging, then it will remain that way. Your rankings will rise, and will only get stronger as you make updates and improve in search engine algorithm factors. You will get more motivated visitors to your site for your investment in SEO than paid ads, which can lead to more sales and revenue. 

SEO is not something that you can set and forget. You need to stay abreast of everything related to your SEO, whether it involves changes to algorithms or user behavior. If you keep up with it using an online SEO score checker tool, then it’s easy to see how you are performing and how you can continue to improve. Do not be passive when it comes to SEO. If you are, then you will find yourself falling further and further behind. The farther you go, the harder it will be to catch up.