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Making it to the top of the search results takes a lot of time and effort, so many marketers breathe a sigh of relief once they have achieved this goal. It’s nice to see all of your hard work pay off, but the truth is their work is far from over. Give yourself a pat on the back for this accomplishment–then get right back to work implementing effective SEO strategies. Here’s why you should never stop working on SEO even when your keywords are ranking well:
Search Engine Algorithms Constantly Change
Google and other search engines frequently change the algorithms that are used to determine how websites rank within search results. For example, just last year Google introduced the Penguin algorithm, which penalizes websites that purchase links in order to improve their ranking. This marked a major change to the Google algorithm, and since then, the search engine has rolled out countless other minor changes.
Because the algorithms change so frequently, marketers must continue to tweak their SEO strategies in order to stay on top of the search results. If SEO efforts end abruptly, there’s no way your website will hold onto its position at the top because it will not be optimized for the newest algorithms.
Adjust to New Technology and Devices
In addition to new algorithms, the introduction of new technology and new devices can also impact your ranking within the search results. For example, let’s say you reached the top of the search results several years ago and decided to end your SEO efforts. Since then, there has been a huge increase in the number of mobile users that perform search queries. If your website is not optimized for mobile, you will miss out on a large portion of users that could be searching for a business like yours. In this case, failing to adjust your SEO strategy to keep up with changes in technology and devices will significantly impact your business.
Keep Up With Changes in User Search Behavior
The way that people perform searches also changes on a regular basis. It’s common for users to perform a search query using several keywords that don’t necessarily form a coherent sentence. For example, a user that is looking for an Italian restaurant in Chicago may enter the keywords “Italian restaurant Chicago.” But now, many users are starting to use built-in digital assistants such as Siri to perform voice searches. When performing a voice search, most people use complete sentences or questions. For example, they may ask, “What is the best Italian restaurant in Chicago?” If your website is optimized for the search term “Italian restaurant Chicago,” it may not appear in the results when a voice search is performed. This example illustrates the importance of keeping up with changes in user search behavior and adjusting your SEO strategy accordingly.
Content is Still King
People that are browsing the web expect to find fresh content every time they visit your website. If a website is not updated with new content, visitors might go elsewhere to find the information they need. This can impact your business’s web traffic and ultimately its sales as well. Therefore, it is best to continue to produce new content regardless of where you rank within the search results. As long as you are producing new content, make sure to optimize it to give it a better chance of securing a high ranking.
New Link Building Opportunities
Your website’s visitors are not the only ones who are looking for fresh content. Bloggers, journalists, and admins of other websites are also constantly looking for new content that they can reference and link to on their websites. Every new link to your website that is placed on another website can improve your search results ranking. Therefore, it is in your best interest to continue to produce informative and relevant content so you can build external links and retain control over the top ranking within the search results.
Research Shows the Importance of SEO Maintenance
A recent study revealed that stopping all SEO efforts after reaching the top of the search results can cause a drop of up to 30% in the rankings. The same study showed that continuing SEO efforts after securing a good ranking can improve your ranking by up to 18%.
It’s not hard to figure out why continuing SEO efforts can improve your ranking, but why does stopping all efforts cause a sudden drop in rank? Marketing experts believe that Google assumes that websites that have stopped all SEO efforts are no longer active or relevant because no changes have been made for a long period of time. The search engine then pushes these websites to the bottom of the search results since they are no longer as relevant as other websites that are constantly updated. Studies like these prove that it’s not possible to stay at the top of the search results without investing in SEO maintenance.
Stay Competitive
It’s important for marketers to remember that there are countless competing companies out there that are hard at work implementing SEO strategies and attempting to take the top spot within the search results. If you end SEO efforts simply because you’ve reached the top spot, it’s safe to say you won’t stay in this position for very long. Another website that is devoting a great deal of time and effort to SEO will quickly climb their way to the top–and your website will slowly sink to the bottom.
Are you ready to climb to the top of the search results? If so, contact us today to schedule a free consultation. Let us plan and implement an effective SEO strategy to drive traffic to your website and grow your business.