The Value of SEO – The Most Effective Form of Internet Marketing

It still amazes me today how many business owners, so-called marketing experts and website developers still do not understand what SEO is, or completely question the necessity of it. In the last couple years however, more and more business owners and web designers are beginning to understand the true value of SEO as the most effective form of advertising on the internet. It’s evident through the increase in local search competition. Business owners are starting to understand, but still have a long way to go.

Some web designers know how important SEO is to the success of a website, yet most do not offer the service to their clients. SEO is a specialized skill, they simply don’t want to pay someone to do it, but more importantly, they just don’t care. They want to design your website, and get out. An SEO friendly site will affect your success far greater than any graphic or template could ever achieve. Business owners who spent a small fortune for their sites in the late 90′s and early 2000′s are slowly realizing how un-SEO friendly their site is. These sites are generally useless to the search engines, can never be found by prospects, and are known as “flat-liners”. Unfortunately for these business owners, it’s imperative to pay for an SEO professional to restructure and reorganize the site entirely.

The internet is still in its infancy and SEO still has yet to reach its peak in the marketplace. Most business owners are not utilizing SEO to its fullest potential, but those that are reap the benefits every day. SEO should be considered a long term business investment rather than a price tag service. It’s ultimately an investment in long term, sustainable growth that produces results for years to come. Of course SEO costs money and can be quite expensive if your site is large, it’s not a “one-shot” procedure, and you have to continually maintain your SEO with updates and proper linking optimization. The benefits of such a laser targeted, completely trackable marketing campaign however, far outweigh the costs by any means.

So why are business owners passing up one of the most powerful marketing tools available to them? I can think of no other reason then a lack of education. People who have unrealistic expectations are truly uneducated in proper SEO, although those who are educated will know what they can reasonably expect with a competent SEO professional. It’s ultimately up to the SEO specialist to meet those expectations.