Staying Ahead in a Challenging Economy
If you’re reading this article, you’re probably familiar with SEO. But what is sustainable SEO? In a nutshell, sustainable SEO focuses on long-term strategies and ethical practices designed to achieve and maintain a high ranking in SERPs over the long haul.
It emphasizes high-quality, evergreen content, a good user experience, and external credibility to promote long-term visibility and growth. Rather than relying on short-term tactics that promise fast results but lose traction quickly, sustainable SEO is an investment in steady growth that compounds over time.
In today’s challenging economy and competitive digital landscape, the value of SEO cannot be overstated. Wondering how sustainable SEO can help your business stay ahead in today’s economy? Let’s talk about it.
Why is Sustainable SEO Important in a Challenging Economy?
Many businesses are experiencing budget and resource constraints in today’s tough economic climate. Sure, it takes time and effort upfront, but SEO builds a solid foundation that continues to pay off year after year without the relentless drain of paid ads. That means more bang for your buck, even when budgets are tight and every penny counts.
It isn’t just about ranking number 1 in search. Sustainable SEO is about future-proofing your business to weather economic storms and position yourself for long-term success.
The Foundations of Sustainable SEO
In the early days, SEO was all about outsmarting the algorithm. Keyword stuffing, writing white text on a white background to fool search engines, paying for links on shady websites… as SEOs who’ve been around for a while, we’ve seen it all. And it used to work… sometimes.
Nowadays, Google’s algorithm has gotten so much smarter. It reads text almost like a human being. Tricks don’t work anymore. They can lead to penalties and create a horrible user experience. Google doesn’t like that, and neither do your potential customers.
Google wants to deliver helpful, relevant, and authoritative content to its readers. Content that’s written for people, by people. So, what should you be doing if you want to rank in SERPs for the long run? Create a solid foundation of sustainable SEO. Let’s take a look at the building blocks.
Authority
Establishing authority within your niche is key. This means building trust and recognition with both users and search engines alike.
Relevance
Creating relevant content that aligns with the interests and needs of your target audience is crucial. Your content must be highly relevant and tailored to user search intent if you want it to rank well in SERPs.
Experience
User experience is a cornerstone of sustainable SEO. From site structure to site speed and engagement, providing visitors a seamless and enjoyable experience is key to gaining traction in SERPs.
Long-Term SEO Strategies for Sustainability
Seasoned SEOs know that search is always changing. It’s inevitable. But that doesn’t mean your efforts have to tank every time the algorithm updates and new ranking factors are released.
Inbound marketing strategies have withstood the test of time. They’re the key to sustainable SEO and can lead to continued business success despite economic challenges and a fiercely competitive digital landscape.
Quality Content
Helpful content that educates, entertains, or solves problems for readers is the foundation of SEO success. It’s been at the forefront of many algorithm updates over the years. Of course, more content also means more opportunities to rank for related terms.
But you need quality content to support your authority position in your niche. Weeding out thin content, eliminating duplicate content, performing a content gap analysis, and emphasizing quality over quantity should be top priorities.
Search engines will always match searchers with unique, helpful, and engaging content that meets their needs.
“ The era of keyword-centric SEO is far behind. Today, it is about building trust with both search engines and users. Speak your expertise authentically and ensure your content aligns with what your audience is searching for, aiming for a seamless and intuitive user journey. The most successful brands go beyond rankings, focusing on building long-term sustainable relationships with their audience.”
— Terry Stancheva, SEO Manager, Break the Web
User Experience and Site Performance
There was a time when site speed and mobile friendliness weren’t ranking factors, but that’s no longer the case. Today, a good user experience means better traffic stats and will always be foundational to sustainable SEO.
Optimizing your site’s performance signals to search engines that your site prioritizes a good user experience. It also leads to lower bounce rates, longer sessions, and higher conversion rates, contributing to sustainable business growth.
Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T)
E-E-A-T isn’t an official ranking factor, but it is a component of Google’s Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines. In addition to user experience, it encompasses three interrelated factors: expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.
Expertise refers to the depth of knowledge demonstrated by your content. Authoritativeness refers to your site’s standing as an influential resource in your industry. And, trustworthiness includes factors such as transparency, security, and ethics. Prioritizing E-E-A-T principles creates an all-around solid foundation for sustainable SEO.
“First-hand experience was the last added E to the EEAT Google Update, which was included to ensure that the content not only gives the reader information but also a first-hand, original, and fresh opinion. Think reviews for a restaurant, but for the topic your content is exploring”.
— Mila Di Bella, Head of Operations, Break the Web
Evergreen Keywords
Evergreen keywords are search terms and phrases that maintain consistent relevance and search volume over time. Unlike trending or seasonal keywords, evergreen keywords address topics or pain points that remain relevant to your audience indefinitely.
Targeting evergreen keywords means you’re creating enduring assets that continue to generate organic traffic long after publication. These keywords often target fundamental concepts within your industry, providing a solid foundation for your content strategy.
“Targeting evergreen keywords helps long-term SEO success. These keywords not only ensure organic traffic but also align with different stages of the buyer’s journey. By addressing the awareness, consideration, and decision phases. This strategic approach not only attracts visitors but also increases conversions and revenue.”
— Alizaib Hassan, SEO Analyst, Break the Web
Freshness of Information
Search engines prioritize content that is up-to-date and reflective of the latest developments or trends in your industry. Regularly updating and refreshing your content signals to search engines that your site is active, relevant, and trustworthy.
Search engines want to deliver the most current and accurate information to readers, so prioritizing freshness of information can lead to higher rankings and increased visibility. It also ensures that your content remains competitive and relevant over time.
External Credibility
Digital PR plays a key part in enhancing your site’s credibility and authority. Securing high-quality inbound links from reputable sources strengthens the trustworthiness of your site in the eyes of search engines. Effective digital PR requires building relationships with industry experts and creating compelling content that naturally attracts backlinks.
“Digital PR plays a crucial role in boosting your site’s credibility and authority, as it involves more than just link-building—it’s about developing a steady online reputation for the brand.
When done right, digital PR focuses on building relationships with industry experts and publications that attract users from the same industry, creating a consistent and lasting impact on the brand’s overall online presence and improving SEO ranking.“
— Sonia Chauhan, Digital PR Specialist, Break the Web
Clean Code
The cleaner your code, the more likely your content is to be discovered, indexed, and ranked in search. Making things easy for search engines to consume and render is fundamental, and that will never change. It’s as fundamental now as it was when search engines first started crawling the web.
SEO vs Paid Advertising for Sustainability
Cost Effectiveness vs ROI
While SEO does require an initial investment of time, resources, and expertise, the long-term costs are generally much lower compared to continuous spending on paid advertising. Once established, a well-executed SEO strategy continues to yield dividends over time.
Maintenance is required to sustain momentum, but SEO is a highly cost-effective marketing channel with the potential for substantial ROI over the long haul.
Long-Term Sustainability vs Immediate Results
Unlike paid advertising, where traffic and visibility stop when ad spend ceases, the impact of SEO compounds over time. With a sustainable SEO strategy, organic rankings accumulate, generating a steady stream of relevant traffic indefinitely.
Trust and Credibility
Websites that rank organically are often seen as more trustworthy and credible by users. Unlike paid advertisements, organic search listings are viewed as earned endorsements. By investing in SEO, you’re not only improving your visibility but also trust and credibility with your target audience.
While paid advertising may offer immediate results, SEO is far more sustainable. By investing in SEO, you’re building a resilient digital strategy that withstands fluctuations in the digital landscape.
Challenges in Sustainable SEO
Anything worth doing requires effort, and SEO is no exception. In-house marketing teams often face unique challenges when it comes to maintaining an effective SEO strategy. Here’s a closer look at those challenges and the value of partnering with the right SEO agency.
Keeping Pace with Competitors
Staying ahead of the competition in search requires ongoing vigilance and adaptation. Your competitors are constantly creating fresh content and refining their own SEO strategies to gain an edge in search.
Keeping pace with the competition can be tough for in-house teams already juggling multiple responsibilities. Without dedicating time and resources, businesses can lose traction quickly and fall behind in search results.
Changes in Consumer Search Behavior
Consumer search behavior changes constantly due to a variety of factors, such as shifts in market trends, seasonality, and technological advancements. Adapting to these trends requires ongoing analysis to understand keyword trends and user intent.
Due to bandwidth and resource constraints, in-house marketing teams may struggle to keep up with these changes. As a result, they may lose momentum in search or miss out on emerging opportunities.
Internal Expertise and Bandwidth
Effective SEO encompasses a variety of aspects, such as content creation, technical optimization, market research, digital PR, and keyword research. It requires a diverse skill set and a significant time investment.
Many in-house teams simply don’t have the expertise and bandwidth required to execute a comprehensive SEO strategy successfully. As a result, their efforts are often inconsistent or ineffective.
By entrusting their SEO efforts to seasoned experts, in-house teams can access the expertise and resources needed to overcome these challenges and capitalize on opportunities, unlocking SEO’s full potential for long-term growth and success.
Unlock Your Business’s Potential with Sustainable SEO
Sustainable SEO offers a roadmap for businesses to navigate challenging economic times, outpace competitors, and achieve long-term growth. Check out our case studies to see what an effective SEO strategy could mean for your business!
With a proven track record of success, Break the Web specializes in creating personalized SEO strategies designed to meet the unique needs and goals of each client. Reach out to our founder to find out what a custom SEO strategy might look like for your business!
