I’m sure you’ve all heard of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). It’s that big scary word you hear all of your marketing buds telling you to ‘do’. But maybe you’re confused as to what it actually means, what the value is, or if you need it. Most people think SEO = keywords or my favorite, SEO = guaranteed business.
But that’s not exactly the case.
It’s just one part of the bigger digital marketing picture. But, it’s also made of many different tactics.
What do companies that specialize in SEO do? Lots of things. And rarely do they do every part of SEO. Some companies focus on keyword and competitor research, some social media and online presence, some content strategy, some Pay Per Click (PPC) Campaigns, then there is Local SEO and Organic SEO. You can go down a real long Google rabbit hole trying to wrap your head around it all. In the simplest terms, SEO is getting people to your website from a search engine, with the hope that they convert into a paying customer or client.
All of these tactics are highly valuable.
But guess what? If your website isn’t up to snuff, none of these tactics matter.
Think of your business like a houseplant.
A Variegated Monstera Delisciosa. They’re the most sought after these days.
You nurture it and encourage it to grow by giving it water and sunlight (read: money and time). You move it around the house and try new things to keep it thriving.
Since we’re talking SEO here, the roots of that plant are all the different avenues that you use to grow your business and feed it’s growth. All the different tactics of SEO if you will. The roots bring energy to your business plant baby, and even grow larger the more you grow. The roots are things like social media marketing, content creation, keyword research, PPC, etc.
Now, guess what?
Your website is the soil.
And if there are any fellow plant freaks out there you know that the success of any leafy living thing starts at the soil. You need that good-good balance of moisture, PH, & perlite for extra drainage. You don’t want to overload it with water (read: money) that has nowhere to go or the oversaturation destroys the plant. Maybe you add some rocks on the top of the soil for decoration to make the plant look better and allow friends (read: visitors) to really oogle over it’s nice presentation. Do you see where I’m going with this?
If you’re spending money fueling your business plant baby’s SEO roots and not paying attention to the soil and its components (read: website and it’s performance, accessibility, and user experience) there is truly no point. You shouldn’t expect your plant to do well with fertilizer (read: extra money) if the soil is a clay mix and Monsteras need peat moss. You’re going to have problems. Your plant will be slower growing and probably a little crunchy. It’ll be overlooked in a jungle of other more attractive and more successful buds. It’s quite simply dollars wasted.
What does this mean?
For all you non plant folks here that aren’t picking up what I’m putting down, your website is the foundation of SEO and should be your first priority. If you’re on a platform that isn’t sustainable for your business’s growth and you’re wanting to spend money on SEO, don’t bother. If your business website isn’t following the core rules of functionality, layout design, accessibility, and performance, it’s not working for you and your customers.
Google, your customers, and your plants all know when your website is lacking.
So what do you do? You can reach out to us. Or at least keep an eye out on our blog for tips and tricks on how to get your website to work for you.
Happy [Business] Planting.
