How Ongoing SEO Can Help You Beat Your Competition
Getting to the top of Google, or at least on the first page is the primary goal of SEO. Of course, by following SEO best practices you stand a better chance of getting there; As opposed to doing nothing at all. Even with imperfect SEO implementation, you’ll be miles ahead of anyone who hasn’t even considered it.
But whether your website is at the top (or near it), the battle isn’t quite over yet. Why? Because SEO is an ongoing exercise. Not only are your competitors working their way up Google rankings, but you also have algorithm updates to contend with.
What is SEO?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It is a practice of applying quality writing and computer-readable indicators (i.e. meta tags) to your page to help your website appear higher up on search engine results. Obtaining backlinks, enabling SSL, and having a fast-loading, user-friendly site are also important to this. You can learn more about what it is in the Beginner’s Guide to SEO by Moz - This article will do a much better job explaining than I can.
The Qualities of High Ranking Websites
Websites that rank highly on Google search results have all these things in common:
They have been around for a long time.
They have good quality content that appeals to their audience.
Other good quality websites link to them, which is an indicator to search engines that it's a high quality site.
Their content is shared on social media, which is another indicator to Google that this website is important.
Why SEO is a Long Term Investment
Unfortunately, with SEO it’s rare to see overnight results. It can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to three months in order to see a difference. However, once search engines start caching on that your pages are of value, it will start appearing to more and more people.
SEO isn’t something you do once-off, then stop as soon your website appears on search results. Anyone who is doing well with SEO on their website will continue to repeat activities that are bringing them net returns. If you decide to do it for a while, then stop, your competitors may employ new tactics to get ahead of you!
Keep Going, But Don’t Worry About Perfection
In summary, it is a good idea to continue working on your SEO over time. Working on your search optimization only once may only result in a brief increase in traffic. Adding valuable content to your website over time will help to ensure your business appears in search engine result pages.
