When it comes to SEO, you are probably aware of the benefits. SEO can help draw more traffic to your website and help your website rank higher in searches. The goal of SEO is to improve your organic presence online, but as it turns out there are many businesses questioning if this is the right fit for their digital marketing strategy. While SEO does provide many benefits to a business owner, there are cons as well. 

Here’s all you need to know about the benefits and drawbacks of SEO:

SEO Delivers a High ROI

One of the benefits of SEO is that it can deliver a high return on investment (ROI). This is thanks to its ability to drive high-converting traffic to your website. SEO can help to put your website and business in front of the eyes of people who are looking for what you have to offer. SEO, when used correctly with relevant keywords, can be an important tool for connecting your website to your target audience. 

SEO Results Can Take Time

A drawback of SEO is that it can take time to see results. Search engine optimization is a long-term strategy in comparison to other methods such as pay-per-click advertising. If you are going to implement an SEO strategy, you should go into it knowing it will take 4 – 12 months, on average, to see results. This isn’t to say SEO isn’t worth it, but it shouldn’t be your only marketing strategy, especially if you want to get eyes on your business quickly. 

SEO Can Help Boost Organic Reach

Search engine optimization can help your business succeed on both on a local level and a national level. If you create and publish content that potential customers are interested in and searching for, you can rest assured that you will reach them. By using relevant keywords and producing content that appeals to your target audience, SEO can help to boost your business’ organic reach. 

SEO Can Be Competitive

Another downside of SEO is that if your business happens to fall into a highly competitive industry or niche, it can take time for you to become as established as your competitors who have been at this longer. As mentioned above, if you are using search engine optimization as your only strategy, this will be especially true. Time and patience are required for SEO, so you don’t want to rely on it alone if you are in an industry where you have other brands to compete with. SEO is still beneficial in the long-run, so don’t give it up completely, but include other marketing strategies into your plan as well. 

SEO Provides Long-Term Benefits

Search engine optimization may not work for immediate results, but for the long-term success of your business, it is a strategy that you want to take advantage of. SEO is something that you will always have to work at. Keyword research, for example, should be done on a regular basis so that you know which are relevant currently. If you use keywords that were popular six months or longer, you may be using outdated ones that aren’t helping your efforts. Keywords, as well as the content you publish, need to remain up-to-date and relevant to your target audience. 

When it comes to SEO, there are pros and cons, but the pros far outweigh the cons if you are patient and willing to put in the work.