Is SEO really worth it?

Obtaining an organic search ranking is relatively easy, but maintaining that ranking is not.

Many website owners fall into the trap of working with a search agency to get their site a high organic ranking, but then stop working with them once this ranking has been achieved. SEO is constantly changing and must be maintained, like SEM, if you want to keep that high organic ranking firmly in place. Allocating the right amount of budget to your SEO strategy should be considered when coming up with an overall SEM solution.

A vital part of a successful SEO strategy is the amount natural links your website can achieve. Natural links occur when a website owner/user links to your site or page because your site is informative and useful. The more natural links your website can obtain, the higher your organic ranking will be.

According to many search experts, SEO is best utilised to achieve a high ranking for long-tail keywords. Trying to achieve a high ranking for a competitive keyword may run your budget dry and could waste a lot of time. It is often more profitable to work with an SEO expert to achieved front-page rankings for multiple long-tail keywords, rather than try and get a single successful competitive keyword ranking.

Competitive keywords require constant attention and must be maintained if you want to keep a high organic ranking. For this reason SEO may not be worth it because the budget is usually more effective when applied to a PPC SEM budget. A SEO expert will help you to determine what strategy is most suitable. 

In conclusion, SEO is worth it if you use blogs, articles, link exchanges and various other SEO strategies to get top 10 organic rankings for long-tail and often niche phrases. Using SEO to maintain a top 10 ranking for a competitive phrase is just not worth it in the long run in today’s competitive search market. Consult a SEO expert before deciding where you should spend your budget.