to convince leaders that they cannot ignore SEO

We’re still trying, in 2023, to convince companies that and SEO aren’t just fancy abbreviations for “some additional options.”

The trick to “not being invisible” in search engine results is like teaching an old dog a new trick.

Certain things will never change.

The company’s leadership is not at fault. Most of the time, they’re aware of SEO. Some people don’t realize the benefits of SEO.

It’s a problem when budgets are competing and other marketing strategies, which are more familiar, appeal to you.

You may have heard this before, but education of leadership about SEO can be one of the best things you do to convince them that SEO is valuable.

You must demonstrate that SEO is an important strategic initiative and that it deserves to be included in the discussion.

You can help your leadership team understand why SEO is important and why it shouldn’t be ignored.

1. Define SEO

You may need to start at the beginning, depending on the type of business you are dealing with.

Explaining what SEO is and how it supports basic marketing goals.

The explanation could be as simple as

• What is SEO?SEO is the process of improving a website’s performance in search engine results.
• Benefits of SEO:The benefits of SEO are more targeted visitors to your website.
• The Goal of SEO The ultimate goal of SEO is to increase revenue by converting leads from search results.

2. Why SEO is important

After you have mastered the basics, you can dive deeper into why search engines are a vital marketing tool for businesses.

These concepts can be helpful:

You can find your target audience using a search engine

Google processes 5,9 million searches every minute. It is not a matter of whether people use search engines.

Connecting the dots between what people search for and the benefits that the company receives is the key.

Show your leadership how people find the products and services that the company offers (a little keyword data can help).

Explain how SEO helps the customer journey. You can, for example:

• 71% of people turned to search engines for discovery, and 74% used them for consideration/purchase, according to Forrester research.
• Google data shows that 43% of consumers who shop for consumer goods use search to get inspired, browse, or research.

Search engines are a boon for your competitors, but not you

Look at the website that appears when you search for the services of the company.

Tell them how much traffic they could potentially get by being in the top search results.

Cite studies demonstrating how much organic traffic can be generated by securing the top spots. For example, This one This one, and This one.

Explain how traffic can be converted into revenue.

BrightEdge’s research found that across five sectors the organic search channel generated the highest revenue, on average, at 44.6%.

B2B companies in particular generate twice as much revenue through organic search than any other channel.

The next question for leadership is, would you like to have a piece?

What happens if I turn off my digital ads?

Many marketing programs are embracing digital ads. According to a Gartner 2022 research, more than 60% of digital spending is spent on paid channels.

Paid ads can be a great way to get a high ranking in search engine results.

While pay-per click ( , PPC ) ads are effective in some cases, you will need to demonstrate leadership by demonstrating that putting your eggs all in one basket does not make sense.

Explain what would occur if the advertiser had to disable their ads (i.e. they would disappear entirely from search results).

Compare that to the results you may get from SEO.

It can take a while to see results.

Once you begin to see the results, it is yours. No one can take that traffic away from you if you don’t pay.

Some pages that have gained value from SEO over time continue to drive traffic to websites for many years.

3. Dispel common SEO myths

They may still be sceptical, even if they initially recognize the benefits. There are many SEO myths that are false.

You have the opportunity to deal with all of their perceived problems.

Here are some:

Myth: SEO is not reliable

The leadership team may be jaded after reading headlines about website traffic disappearing overnight due to an algorithm update.

Some leaders may not want to invest time and resources in something they perceive as unstable. It’s important to reframe how leaders think about algorithm updates.

Here are some points to consider:

• SEO’s goal is not to defeat the algorithm. We won’t know how the algorithm functions, and we don’t need to. It’s enough to build a great site using SEO best practices, and to be the “least imperfection” in comparison to our competitors. This will allow us to better weather any algorithmic hurricane. For more information, see my article How to survive a Google Core Update and come out top.
• Google usually gives an advance warning of major updates. Google usually gives plenty of time for preparation if something major is coming up. A good SEO strategy keeps track of any potential changes, and reacts accordingly.

Final note: SEO is like investing in stocks, it’s a long-term plan with ups and downsides. The long-term strategy allows websites to reap rewards.

Myth: “SEO is only a one-time task”

Some decision-makers mistakenly think that SEO is just a case of ticking off a few things on a list and calling it day.

It is not true.

Be sure that the leadership understands they are investing for a long term strategy, i.e. for the lifecycle of your website.

SEO is a strategy for a complex, ever-changing business environment. Search results, competition, economics, and other factors are constantly changing. We can’t predict everything, but we can react to it with expertise.

As ex-Googler Kaspar Szymanski says:

Attendees at industry conferences hear people saying that it’s important to “get the ranking right”. It is not completely accurate, but it is true. Over time, the same company’s investment in assets will wear out.

The best practices of yesterday are now outdated or even obsolete. SEO is a continuous effort that needs to be planned and scheduled in advance. This will help you keep up with your competition, particularly if it’s in a lucrative niche.

Signals and snippet representation directly impact the user experience, and must be continually monitored and improved. Page performance is also directly responsible for the user experience.

“Some factors, like managing backlink liability, may require only spot checks as part of an annual audit on and off-page SEO.”

A casual approach to SEO won’t produce any results.

For more information, please read my article on How to Implement SEO even when faced with common challenges.

Myth: “You can’t measure search engine optimization”

Digital ads have destroyed SEO as a way for executives to allocate their budgets.

Instant gratification is intoxicating.

Earlier I explained how traffic could be turned into revenue. This is a very important concept.

You also want to ensure that the leadership is aware of SEO’s role and its relationship to other concepts, such as turning traffic into revenues.

Traffic to a site is the best way to gauge SEO success.

Traffic to a site is the best way to gauge SEO success.

The company must track the total number of organic search visitors to the site and make sure that it has grown over time.

What about conversions? Here’s where things get tricky.

SEO’s main job is to generate traffic. It is the website/businesses’ job to convert these visitors.

SEO programs that are effective will:

• Drive targeted traffic
• Create a positive user experience to increase the likelihood of conversion.
• Track conversions coming from organic traffic.

To reap the greatest rewards from an SEO program, leaders must know that they need to make it as easy as possible for leads to convert.

Take into account all factors that can influence the conversion of a lead, including a website optimized for conversion, the sales process used by the company, the pricing point, and the features or benefits of the products or services.

These are all things that an SEO team cannot control. Leadership must understand that qualified traffic, not just any traffic, is the best metric for determining SEO success.

They will always be curious to see what they can achieve.

You can bring case studies from similar businesses or websites to demonstrate what the client might expect.

You can also explain how platforms such as Google Analytics help you to understand how organic search contributes to sales and leads.

There are always formulas that you can use to estimate the SEO results.

4. Pilot a project

The proof can sometimes be found in the pudding.

If you have piqued the interest of your leadership team, suggest a pilot SEO project.

Start with a thorough technical audit. This will reveal all of the issues that are preventing your website from being successful on search engines.

Next, ask them to commit to implementing those items that are of highest priority.

You can also think of an SEO initiative to support a company’s key business or group goals.

It could be a redesign of a website, a brand new product or service, or anything else. Plan an SEO strategy that will help the team or initiative succeed.

SEO can be a long-term commitment that starts with small victories.

Helping decision makers make the right decisions

You must make it easier for your leadership team to decide whether or not they want to invest in SEO.

The first post Search Engine Land: How you can convince your leadership that they cannot ignore SEO.