SEO is an investment that almost always yields multiple returns over many years. In my eyes, it’s probably the smartest investment for a lot of people. But when doesn’t it work?
At Brath, we think SEO is the most exciting thing there is (along with SEM, of course). That’s why it’s a bit extra tough to write this article, but we felt it was necessary. Here are three reasons to skip doing search engine optimization:
1. You lack perseverance
Search engine optimization takes time, and it has to. SEO that moves too quickly is dangerous in many ways. If you don’t have the financial stamina (or tons of energy) to carry out the optimization over months without seeing any big returns, it might be best to skip it. Sure, there are some quick fixes, like adding a keyword to the title if you haven’t had it there, but more and more websites are no longer poorly optimized from the start, so I wouldn’t count on that being the solution.
2. The technology holds you back
If you don’t have control over your website, if you’re stuck in a system where you can’t edit text or other parts, it could be a lost cause. Some sites can’t even be indexed, so trying to gain rankings will be an uphill battle. In this case, it might be worth waiting until you have control over your technology.
3. You hate money
SEO can sometimes be incredibly profitable—so profitable that it can significantly boost the company’s cash flow. If your goal isn’t to grow, it may be worth holding back. Sometimes you can actually become rich from it. If, for some reason, you don’t have room to grow, then it might make sense to replace your SEM budget with SEO. After all, SEO doesn’t have a cost per click, unlike SEM, where you’re paying per click even when it’s profitable.
Summary
As you might have noticed, it was hard to come up with three reasons—because we believe SEO is incredibly valuable. The most common challenges we encounter when it comes to achieving success with SEO are technology and perseverance. The issue of “money hate” is much rarer.
Sometimes SEO is impossible
As an update to this post, I’ve delved deeper into situations where it becomes impossible to carry out good SEO due to inherent problems within the company. In many larger companies, the structure becomes rigid, which is natural. Growing with a company often means becoming really, really good at one thing. After that, much of the focus shifts to executing as quickly and cheaply as possible. Integrating a completely new approach to customer acquisition can then be nearly impossible.
Magnus Bråth
CEO
Magnus is one of the world's most prominent search marketing specialists and primarily works with management and strategy at his agency Brath AB.