Let me ask you something –
Are you earning your organic traffic?
What do I mean by this…?
Well, SEO is a ‘free’ channel, right? As long as you have a website and you have it open to search engines, you’re pretty much going to receive traffic from it.
And, in theory, if you keep your site open to search engines and continue to grow it, you stand a very good chance of receiving even more organic traffic, whether you actively optimise your site, or not.
This is one of the many benefits of the SEO channel – you’ll receive traffic from it almost as a by-product of having a website.
But are you earning the traffic you receive from search?
Are you actively working to receive traffic from search?
Are you taking responsibility for the potential audience you can attain from search?
If the answer is no, you’re leaving your site at risk of losing the current level of traffic you receive from the channel.
Here’s why I say this…
The audience you seek to attract to your site are users that Google services.
They are Google’s customers.
What does Google aim to achieve? They aim to serve their customers with the best, most appropriate answers to their queries – their search.
In a sense, when Google lists your site as a result to a search, they are essentially recommending your site – in a sense!
Why are they doing this? Because, for several reasons – and it will be more than one – they have determined that your site is the best, most suitable, for the query searched.
Who are they making this determination for? Their customers – the audience you aim to attract.
Now, if you are not actively taking responsibility of this audience, why should you receive their visit?
Why would you receive their visit?
Why wouldn’t Google determine that you do not deserve it, and in fact notice that another website deserves it more and recommend that site over yours?
Why wouldn’t they do this? Why shouldn’t they do this?
You’re not entitled to their customers. You’re recommended based on your compliance to serve their customers should they visit your site.
However, when you do not earn their visit, you no longer deserve to receive their visit. Right?
And the operative word here is ‘when’.
In other words, if you have a site that just happens to gain traffic from organic but aren’t necessarily taking responsibility of your SEO, it’s only a matter of time before you cease to receive the level of traffic you’re currently receiving from search.
And, as I’ve said many times before, SEO is for users and not search engines.
You earn organic traffic, not by gaming search engines but by serving their customers – the users you aim to attract.
Why do you aim to attract search engine customers?
Simple. They have a never ending number of people that you can market to.
They’re the portal (if you like) that everyone uses online.
Search is the most powerful online channel for a reason.
Receiving traffic from search is almost an agreement – an online unspoken agreement.
Google’s customers will be recommended to your site.
In return, you service their customers as best as you can.
And of course, I’m using Google in place for all search engines out there.
This agreement is true for Bing, it’s true for Yandex, it’s true for all search engines out there.
You uphold this agreement by taking responsibility for your site’s SEO.
You show you have full ownership of this responsibility by continuously optimising your site.
Optimising your site, not for Google, but for their customers, the users you aim to attract.
A sure-fire way of showing that you do not uphold this agreement is to no longer optimise your site.
And when you do this, you show that you are not deserving of your current organic traffic levels.
And if you are not deserving of your current organic traffic levels, why should you continue to receive it?
What are you doing to show that you deserve the organic traffic that you are receiving…?
You see, as long as you have a website, you’re very likely to receive traffic from search before you’ve done anything to earn it.
It’s very hard not to receive organic traffic. You damn well receive it via dumb luck!
Yes, good ‘ole dumb luck! It’s like a forefront reward for you having launched your site.
Google visits it, your site, and recognises that it’ll be great for people they already know wants what you have to offer.
This is why you receive organic traffic even before you’ve activated SEO as a channel.
But the agreement, the unspoken one I just mentioned, still stands.
Google recommends your site to people, you provide the best service to the people you attract.
A part of this service is your SEO. In other words, a part of this service is to optimise your site – for users.
If you’re not optimising, you’re not improving.
If you’re not improving, you’re not servicing your users adequately enough.
If you’re not doing this, you’re not going to service potential users.
And if this is the case, why should you receive these prospects?
Why shouldn’t a more deserving site receive these prospects?
If all your competitors are earning the organic traffic they receive, they’ll receive more of it.
If you’re not earning your organic traffic, guess what…?
You’ll receive less of it. Deservingly.
You see, without earning your organic traffic, you receive traffic via dumb luck.
Dumb luck traffic receiving sites are subject to algorithm changes.
In a world where sites earn the traffic they receive, they have to take responsibility for their marketing.
This is true for PPC. This is true for Social. This is true for SEO.
What are you doing to earn your organic traffic…?
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