SEO is an Investment in Your Company’s Future
The people in charge of managing the finances of a business can view expenditures as either expenses or investments. What is the difference?
Expenses are the ongoing costs associated with keeping the business going such as rent, insurance, utilities, payroll, computers, supplies, and the like.
Investments, on the other hand, are the costs associated with fostering company growth and strategy. Services and products that can help the business achieve substantial added growth and capability are investments. They are not needed for the daily operations, but they could define the future of the company.
Why distinguish between expenses and investments since both are essentially money leaving the company? The big difference is that strategic investments have the goal of bringing more money into the business; a lot more money; a lot more than the actual cost of the investment. That is the goal. It is not always realized but it is the objective. For all investments, the investor always considers the potential return on investment (ROI). The ROI is the ultimate reason for investing.
For example, if you have a website, then you have regular fees associated with that website. You have fees for hosting the website (where it lives) and the domain registration (the name of the website like “landauconsulting.com”). These come up for renewal at regular intervals and without them, the website goes offline. You might also have a website maintenance agreement that ensures your website is updated for security purposes and perhaps also for content updates. These are all expenses.
But what if you have these ongoing expenses related to your website and nobody can find it? The costs associated with your website are wasted if nobody visits it. Your website might be compelling enough that those visiting it would be likely to contact you for more information or place an order right there online. But again, if nobody can find your site, then there are no online orders and there are no new potential customers calling.
If only your website could appear in Google or other search engine result pages! If potential customers can search, not by your company name but by the services or products you offer and then find a link to your company website in the first few search result pages, you are likely to increase sales and your company will grow. Getting found in search engine result pages becomes a strategic part of company growth. Spending money to get found in Google is a strategic investment in your company’s future.
The entries at the top of the search engine result pages did not get there by accident. It was not a random chance that Google decided to put them on page 1. They got there because the companies that own those websites invested in Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO is a means of convincing Google and other search engines that a particular website is especially relevant to a particular set of words or phrases.
If you search for “oil change shop near me” in Google, you do not want to see links for perfume stores and restaurants; they are not relevant. Google determines which sites are relevant to specific keywords using its own proprietary algorithm. Search engine optimization helps Google associate your company website with closely related keywords.
It is a big world and a big internet out there. If your customers are all over the country or even around the world, then you are competing with businesses that provide similar goods and services around the country or around the world. How will these potential customers find you? SEO! By making the strategic investment into search engine optimization for your website, you make your business easier for customers around the country or around the world to find you.
Even if your customers are located within geographic proximity to your place of business, it is still not guaranteed that they will find your website when searching. A local SEO campaign would work wonders for most businesses with local customers.
SEO is an investment, not an expense. It is one of the things that can help your company grow. An effective SEO campaign can transform your business by helping all those potential customers out on the internet find your website.
The fees for SEO services vary greatly among SEO providers. The fees will also vary based on the kind of campaign a website requires. Is it local or national or international? Is it a highly competitive business? There is no one-size-fits-all SEO solution.
When you pay your electric bill, it means the lights stay on, the computers stay on, and the other equipment of your business continues to run for another month. It is critical, but it is not strategic to the business. When you pay your SEO fees, you are investing in the future of your business. You are investing in its growth and development. Maybe you are finding a way to increase sales of your goods and services. Maybe you are using SEO to generate a whole new customer set for new goods and services you have begun to offer.
There are many ways to get the world to take notice of your business but now with so many people simply relying on Google to guide them to the businesses whose services they need, SEO makes sense as an investment with a very high potential ROI. It is not an expense like the electric bill. It can move your business forward for years to come.
Expenses keep the doors open for business while investments keep the company moving forward and growing. Search engine optimization is an investment that can bring a world of new customers to your door… how is that for a return on your investment?