Let’s talk about when to hire an SEO expert. You’ve got a great product on Shopify, Etsy or Magento: you just need to get it noticed, and that’s where the SEO consultant comes in. But what are the key moments in your business journey that require the SEO expert?
When you need hits on your website or blog
Selling isn’t about trying to force your product on to someone who really doesn’t need it. It’s all about solving someone’s problem and being the solution they need, even if they didn’t realise that they needed it. Have a think about your business and answer these questions:
• Does your product solve a specific problem?
• What kind of people are looking for answers to that problem?
• What are these people passionate about?
The final question should inspire ideas for your blog or website – which then links to your online shop. Clients and customers love to read engaging content about what matters most to them. Whether you have a complex, multi-page site or a standard blog, an SEO consultant can optimise your content to make it more visible in searches. Users of blog platforms such as WordPress can find specific support for their range of plug-ins, ensuring they’re getting the most out of the site.
Another key point is getting people to stay on your site. Just because a potential client has clicked through, it doesn’t mean they’re looking at your products. The average user will leave a website after just 15 seconds if it doesn’t immediately deliver what was promised in the Google rankings.
An SEO specialist can be the difference between hundreds of clicks that lead nowhere and clicks that actually generate genuine interest and sales.
When you need to generate new custom
All shops need customers, and many of these come organically. If you have a pretty niche product or range of products, then it’s almost guaranteed that quite a few of your customers will be through word of mouth or recommendation. When these dry up, it’s time to get an SEO expert on board to boost sales.
An SEO consultant can complement your website or blog content with email campaigns and a thorough understanding of social media. This is useful because it helps create a list of the types of people that are going to be excited by your products and not only buy them, but share them and talk about them online.
Shopify sellers globally have made over $82 billion – make sure you get a slice of that pie with a professional SEO strategy.
When your own attempts at SEO have fallen flat
Don’t take this to heart. Search engines change their criteria for what makes the front page all the time. Google’s ranking algorithms change frequently, with updates such as this being a key starting point for SEO experts to update their own working parameters. It’s very difficult for an amateur to keep up with what works, as well as staying on top of running your own business.
Business bloggers and copywriters might think they know the top ways to beat Google but only an SEO expert can guarantee results. Keyword stuffing and dropping links into comments on forums simply doesn’t cut it anymore. The best SEO expert will keep abreast of the algorithm changes, and ensure your business is able to take advantage of them.
It’s really important to note that using last year’s (or even last month’s) SEO strategy can actually be bad for your business. SEO ‘techniques’ that still pop up on amateur blogs and ‘lifehacks’ type websites are often so outdated, they will end up getting your website taken off the front page of rankings quicker than if you deleted all your content yourself.
SEO consultants test the strategies they are using, so there are no nasty surprises once your content goes live. There are a plethora of tools and techniques involved in professional SEO optimisation, and a dedicated team will know them all and how best to apply them to your unique business situation.
When you need to focus on what you do best
We all have our skills and strengths. Yours is the amazing online retail business you run. Whether you’ve built it from the ground up, or you’ve come in as a partner, it’s your passion. At peak times and busy periods, you need to focus on your shop’s products and getting them to eager customers – not get bogged down in tweaking your online content 24 hours a day.
No-one expects you to be an SEO expert on top of all your usual responsibilities. Taking the time to sit down and work out your own SEO strategy means taking valuable time and resources away from your core business plans. Think about any attempts to generate visits to your website and answer the following questions:
• How much did traffic to your e-shop increase after you implemented an in-house SEO strategy?
• How much time did this take away from your core responsibilities?
Weigh up the two figures. If you’re happy with the outcome, great! If not, that’s where a team of top SEO consultants can make the difference. They take that weight and responsibility off your shoulders and give you the peace of mind that your SEO strategy is being dealt with professionally. Hopefully, the results will speak for themselves.
So, to summarise, there are plenty of situations where your ecommerce business might benefit from an SEO consultant. Have a look at your current marketing strategy and ask:
• How much time do you spend promoting your business online?
• How much money does this cost you in terms of hours spent?
• How else could you better spend that time and money, in terms of improving your products or customer service?
The best SEO consultants will listen to your needs, be completely transparent about what they can achieve for you- and of course, get you some amazing results.
