An online business who believes it holds an excellent product or service may be tempted to forego certain strategies that have proven their worth for many similarly-situated businesses. One of the most commonly set-aside ways of doing online business is providing search engine optimization advantage to the business site. This is largely attributed to the fact that the benefits of SEO are not seen instantaneously. What most site owners often fail to realize is that the benefits of SEO last longer than any other strategies done to increase the popularity of websites because of the very process it requires.
SEO is not a magic formula but it can be considered a formula to ensure steady increase in viewership and readership. White-hat SEO practices specifically recommend maintaining a site that gives users real value in terms of content, information, and choices. Black-hat SEO practices are generally frowned upon by the online community because of the element of deceit associated with them. In the context of aiming for customer loyalty, good SEO practices better serve the purpose.
As to the question of whether an online business can survive without SEO, there is a possibility that it can, but business owners are surely aiming for more than survival. Serious owners who are in the business for the long haul would want to be successful. In order to be successful in the online business world, consumers must be able to find the offered business. Good SEO practices make this possible.
Expecting to gain considerable financial rewards without doing what is necessary to achieve it appears more like a whimsical dream rather than a realistic goal. SEO is already here for the taking. There is no sense in putting the opportunity it offers to waste.
Originally posted on January 5, 2012 @ 4:08 pm