Many website owners, especially those just starting their online journey, ask themselves: do I really need SEO? The answer depends on many factors, such as the stage of your website’s development, your business goals, and the way you want to reach your audience. In this article, we’ll explore why SEO may not be a priority at the beginning and how it can later support your advertising efforts in search engines.
Is SEO necessary at the start?
If you’ve just launched a website, investing in SEO at this stage might not make much sense. Why? Firstly, new websites often need time to build their visibility in organic search results. SEO is a process that requires consistent efforts and patience, with results usually becoming visible only after weeks or even months.
At the beginning, it’s crucial to focus on the basics – refining your content, optimising the technical aspects of your website, and understanding your target audience. Without a solid foundation, SEO efforts may yield limited benefits. Instead of diving straight into complex optimisation strategies, ensure your website operates smoothly, has an attractive design, and provides users with easy access to the information they need.
For freshly launched websites, prioritising fast promotional methods, such as paid ads (e.g., Google Ads) or social media campaigns, might be more effective. These channels can quickly drive traffic to your site, while SEO can be developed gradually in the background.
SEO as support for advertising efforts
When your website starts gaining more traction, it’s worth considering how SEO can enhance your other marketing efforts, particularly search engine advertising. Paid campaigns, such as Google Ads, are an excellent way to quickly boost traffic, but their costs can be significant, especially for competitive keywords.
This is where SEO comes in. If your website ranks high in organic search results for the same keywords you advertise, it can reduce your advertising expenses. How does this work?
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High-quality websites and ad quality scores
Google Ads evaluates the quality of your landing page and its relevance to the advertised keywords. A well-optimised website offering valuable content increases your quality score. A higher quality score allows you to lower your cost-per-click (CPC), making your campaigns more cost-effective. -
Improved visibility in SERPs
Strong organic rankings and paid ads work together to increase your visibility in search results. Users are more likely to click on ads from businesses they also see in organic listings, building trust and improving your click-through rate (CTR).
SEO as a long-term investment
Although SEO efforts might seem time-consuming and costly at first, they should be viewed as a long-term strategy. Unlike paid ads, which generate traffic only while the campaign is active, a well-optimised website can attract visitors over time without additional spending on clicks.
With SEO, your website can:
- Increase visibility in organic search results,
- Attract traffic from keywords related to your offerings,
- Build authority in your industry,
- Generate valuable, free traffic to your site.
When should you invest in SEO?
SEO should be implemented gradually as your website grows. At the start, focus on technical optimisation and tailoring your content to user needs. Once your site gains traction, you can consider more advanced efforts, such as building a backlink profile or optimising for specific keywords.
In the long term, SEO will become one of the key elements of your marketing strategy, helping to reduce advertising costs, improve brand visibility, and achieve stable rankings in search engines.
Conclusion
SEO is an effective tool, but its importance depends on the stage of your website’s development. At the start, you can prioritise faster promotion methods, such as advertising, while introducing SEO gradually as a support for your campaigns and a long-term strategy to build visibility online.