Hi, Dave Fox here for Starscape SEO, and in this blog, I’m going to explain to you why most businesses ignore SEO and why you, as a business owner, shouldn’t be like those people.
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The fact is, when it comes to SEO, a lot of businesses are literally clueless. They may have vaguely heard the term, “SEO”, which stands for Search Engine Optimization, but those words really don’t mean anything to these people.
Case and point, I was speaking to someone at my local city hall here in Cambridge, Ontario about SEO, and she looked at me like I was talking gibberish when I mentioned the term SEO, in regards to the city’s website.
Even though it may have only been that one person who didn’t know the term “SEO”, my assumption at that moment (probably a safe one) was that the city of Cambridge wasn’t overly concerned about SEO, and I didn’t really have the time or inclination to explain why it might be useful to them.
Similarly, many, many businesses are in the same situation – they don’t know much, if anything, about SEO. And that’s really too bad, in my opinion.
Rather than disparage businesses who don’t know about SEO, let me explain what the purpose of SEO actually is, and why you might need it.
First of all, if you came here from the wider internet, and found your way to this article, chances are, organic search engine optimization brought you here. You typed in a search query, and you were given results in Google, and you selected this one. That, in itself, is SEO in action, and it’s one good reason why you should employ SEO best practices on your website.
What does that mean? It means a variety of things, really, including (but not limited to): blogging, adding custom metadata, keyword identification and implementation, and things of this sort.
Why Most Businesses Ignore SEO
The simple fact is, aside from not knowing about SEO and what it can do for a business, most businesses are far too busy with the product or service that they actually offer to have time to also consider SEO.
If you run a pizza parlour, you’re most likely busy taking orders and making pizzas. But this begs the question: how does anyone know about you in the first place?
Maybe your pizza shop is popular due to word of mouth, because you’re so good, everyone talks about you. That could be, and that’s great!
Maybe you are on social media, and people follow you, because you keep talking about your mouth-watering pizza deals, and your target audience resonates with what you post. That could be, and that’s also great!
Maybe you get found in Google because you have a website or Google business listing and a lot of honest reviews that speak highly of you and your pizza. That’s possible, and that alone could result in a lot of business.
All of this could be done, and not involve much or any SEO, and the business could do fine. It could even do better than fine – it could do great! The person who runs this hypothetical pizza shop may not care at all about SEO, and things could be fine and dandy.
The thing is, the majority of businesses out there today need every advantage they can get in order to succeed. Sure, you can just make a great product, and it might catch on, or .. not.
That’s the problem is that there are so many businesses out there now, struggling to succeed, that not knowing SEO can actually be a major disadvantage, when you consider that the competition knows what SEO is.
Why Businesses Need SEO Now More Than Ever
Maybe you’ve seen those businesses that just oddly show up all over Google, very neat and tidy and organized, with a slick website and just popping up everywhere you look.
It could even be in the industry that you work in. Let’s say it’s computer repair, and let’s say your repair shop just doesn’t seem to be anywhere in Google, but you’re not sure why. Meanwhile, some other guy is there every time you turn around.
While it might be because that guy is paying for ads online, it’s also possible he just knows SEO, and tweaks his website just so, so that he keeps showing up at the top.
People like this, just seem to have their website situation together, but, if you don’t know SEO, there’s a good chance they’re doing something you’re not doing, and that actually sucks for you.
So, to all the businesses out there still on the fence about SEO, consider this your wake-up call. In today’s digital landscape, SEO isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s a must-have.
By investing in SEO strategies that align with your business goals, you’re not just leveling the playing field; you’re setting yourself up for long-term success in an increasingly competitive market.
So, don’t be like those businesses that ignore SEO—embrace it, harness its power, and watch your business soar to new heights.
Watch this video I made on the subject as well.