I Want To Pause My SEO While I Figure Out Next Steps; What Are The Risks?
If you’ve ever heard the phrase: “Search engine optimization is like a marathon,” it’s not because SEO is thoroughly exhausting or because it takes a long time to reach the finish line; it’s because there is no finish line.
So, if you are considering putting your SEO on hold, whether to save money or figure out your next steps, you will be putting your hard work at risk. Read on, and we’ll tell you why…
What happens when you pause your SEO?
What happens when you pause your SEO? Nothing, at first. You might maintain your positions (or maybe even longer) for a week or so. However, those rankings will invariably begin to drop, and all that hard work and even harder-earned cash will go to waste.
Think of SEO like a rising tide. If you keep swimming, you’ll rise with it; if you stop, you’ll invariably start to sink. It’s not the nicest imagery, but it’s poignant, given how much money you can lose if you give up.
What are the risks of stopping your SEO efforts?
The old fable of the tortoise and the hare springs to mind. When you stop your SEO, sit down by a tree and have yourself a little snooze, all those who were behind you in the race who are still plodding along will invariably overtake you.
Here are some of the risks that poses:
- Your competitors outpace you: particularly if you’ve experienced relative success with your SEO efforts so far and achieved high-ranking spots, your competitors will slowly outpace you if you stop your SEO. Eventually, your rankings will fall, and the traffic that you have been enjoying will start heading to your competitor websites. This takes money out of your pocket while propping up those you compete with.
- Your brand visibility will wane: content creation is a huge component of SEO and when you stop working on your SEO, it means you are creating less high-value content for your audience to consume. In doing so, your brand visibility will suffer for it. Unfortunately, we live in a world where the average consumer is quite fickle, and those you think are loyal to you now may simply forget that you exist. You must stay active and create and share content consistently to keep your brand relevant.
- You may feel less compelled to start up again: another huge risk is becoming complacent. When you see how far you have dropped, how well your competitors are doing, and how much work will be involved to get back on track, you may feel less compelled to do it. Think of it like that huge pile of dirty dishes that keeps growing. Tidy as you go!
- Your website’s performance will suffer: SEO isn’t just about earning and maintaining high rankings in the SERPs (search engine results pages) but ensuring that your website is well maintained and functioning optimally. If you stop your SEO efforts, unless you have an in-house website maintenance / technical expert regularly carrying out health and performance checks, it will slowly fall into disrepair. Think of it like skipping a few years of MOT on your car; you might be saving money, but your car’s parts are breaking down, and eventually, it will catch up with you. It’s all about providing an optimal customer experience:
- You must look out for technical issues.
- Your pages and content need constant refreshing.You should create new, relevant pages.You must keep an eye out for bad/broken links.
- You should look out for competitors stealing your content.
- Fewer people will buy your products/services: and finally, once your SEO is on hold and your rankings begin to fall off, your sales generation will suffer tremendously. This is particularly risky if you consider pausing your SEO to ‘save money’ because you may end up in an even worse situation than you were to begin with.
Consider changing the SEO provider
If you are thinking about pausing or ending your SEO because you aren’t getting the desired results and feel like you are wasting your money, don’t quit – pivot.
Rather than pack it all in, instead, you should hire an alternative SEO provider. For example, if you hire a New York City SEO Company that has tonnes of 5* reviews, social proof, and case studies that you can review, you’ll have a far greater chance of securing the results that you desire and making a serious ROI.
Remember: if you aren’t getting the desired results, SEO is not the culprit – it’s your chosen SEO provider.
