SEO is not a one time thing. Not even a little bit.
It’s easy to see where that misconception comes from though, and it warrants a deeper explanation.
Here I will provide an holistic definition of SEO and why the question as to whether or not SEO is a one time thing has a very straightforward answer.
What is SEO Really?
SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of optimizing your web pages for search engines.
The goal of any SEO strategy is to rank higher in the Google search results, so that when users search for specific products or services in a certain niche, your web pages have a higher chance of appearing on page one or even at the very top.
This is accomplished in a variety of ways: through optimizing the technical specs of the website, through user-friendly design practices, and through relevant content. Backlinks, topical authority, and domain age are some of the other factors that are taken into consideration.
There are in fact hundreds of ranking factors, according to Google. Everything to do with what is on your site, how long a user stays on your web pages, whether or not they take an action or transact, how frequently the site is updated, mobile responsiveness, and how the content is structured, has some kind of role to play.
Even if you don’t know much about SEO, it’s pretty clear already why SEO is not a one time thing. Google does look at content relevancy and frequency of updates when considering where to rank a website.
If you have a stagnant website that is no longer relevant in terms of answering user queries, where do you think it will rank compared to another website that is taking those ranking factors into consideration?
There are other reasons why SEO is not a one time thing, however. Let’s dig deeper:
SEO is an Ongoing Practice by Definition
Google is constantly updating its search algorithms.
The competition is constantly updating their websites.
eCommerce is constantly evolving, with new ways to reach customers and new platform functionality.
Industry trends are constantly shifting.
Now AI is in the mix as well.
How on Earth could anyone get away with a one-off SEO approach?
If you are wondering if SEO is a one time thing, consider how often Google changes its algorithm to make the landscape more competitive – there are several core updates a year and numerous smaller updates.
Even if you took away all of the other factors, including the expectations of your customers and shifts in your own industry, you would still have to account for the fact that Google is constantly raising the bar when it comes to what it expects out of websites that rank on page one.
This fact alone makes it abundantly clear that SEO is not a one time thing.
By definition, SEO is an ongoing process.
- Pages must be constantly tweaked to accommodate shifts in search intent, as well as new and better keywords that are uncovered.
- Your blog must be updated fairly regularly. As blogs that answer questions and provide useful resources for users are such an important part of SEO, the best, most visited websites post several times a month, if not every day.
- Backlinks must constantly be acquired. Having a healthy backlink profile is an important part of SEO, but it can become stagnant if you leave it up to chance. Backlink outreach and strategy is an ongoing process that must be done through the life of your website.
- Technical adjustments. In order to keep up with the competition and user expectations, you must be making regular updates on things like site speed, user friendliness, broken links, redirects, and also disavowing spam links to your website. This is also a never-ending process.
- As new products and categories are added or removed, these pages must be updated with relevant copy and meta titles, redirects must be performed, and so on. Unless your inventory is stagnant, this is also an ongoing process.
Is SEO a one time thing? No, that much is clear.
While “one time SEO optimizations” can be performed, meaningful SEO that actually drives results must be performed in an ongoing manner.
The Likely Result of One Time SEO Optimizations
There’s nothing wrong with an SEO one-off approach, but don’t expect it to move the needle much.
An example of this would be if you want to perform a one time sweep of your website to update all of the meta titles.
Would it help? Certainly.
But it’s only one piece of a very large and complex puzzle, which is why most serious businesses rely on SEO experts to help them with their search engine optimization strategies.
The reality of SEO is that it does require a high degree of expertise and time.
Resources must be allocated to your SEO strategy each and every week if you want to see results. New blogs must be published, new backlinks acquired, new meta titles optimized.
If it sounds like a heavy lift, it is.
Yet SEO still stands as one of the most important marketing channels for eCommerce businesses to date. If you work on your SEO in a meaningful way, and get more exposure on Google, organic traffic and revenue is the inevitable result.
The fact that SEO isn’t a one time thing does mean that there is a certain investment that goes into it. A decent SEO campaign is not a few bucks a month. This is not where you want to cut corners as a business.
More comprehensive SEO campaigns lead to a greater degree of Google real estate that winds up under your control.
You might be invisible in the search engines right now, but an ongoing SEO strategy will change that – even if it takes six months to a year, the results will come in eventually.
Depending on how competitive your niche is, it could take longer or shorter to see results.
However, what you don’t want to do is settle for one time optimizations. This isn’t going to get you where you want to be.
You would be better off investing in a small SEO campaign that matches your budget, that you can confidently afford every month.
This is what will produce the best results and set you up for eCommerce success on Google.