When and Why Should You Invest in SEO?

If your goal is to build search visibility over the long term and be seen when potential customers look for relevant products or services, it is worth starting to invest in SEO once your website launches or you establish an online presence. Existing websites also need ongoing maintenance. However, SEO takes time to deliver results, and there is no guarantee that a given investment will generate a corresponding amount of traffic. If the immediate task is a limited-time promotion or a product launch that needs rapid exposure, paid advertising may better fit the schedule, provided that click costs and revenue from conversions allow for a profit.

The goal: build visibility, not just rankings

In a 2023 article, Semrush describes SEO as a long-term strategy: gradually building search visibility, trust, and brand awareness through quality content and a good user experience. The value of organic search lies in the opportunity for your website to appear when people search for relevant products or services.

• Reach potential customers consistently:Pages that rank well may continue to attract visitors without requiring an advertising payment for each organic search click.
• Build on your content work:After months or years of producing and managing content, your existing content library, production experience, and creative habits may all provide a foundation for future work.
• Create more opportunities for people to encounter your brand:Organic search exposure may influence how people perceive your brand on social media or in advertisements, and it may also bring foot traffic to physical stores. None of these outcomes is guaranteed.

When to start: begin soon after your website launches, and maintain it even after it ranks

The article recommends starting early—not because a new website can immediately achieve strong rankings, but because SEO takes time to build a foundation. For an established website, the work does not end once it ranks: you still need to monitor changes in search algorithms, maintain the website, and update content as needed to have a chance of retaining rankings for target keywords.

SEO is therefore better suited to those willing to work on it consistently and wait for results to build. If only a short promotional window remains, it is unwise to rely entirely on organic rankings for immediate traffic. Paid advertising may generate exposure and clicks more quickly, but the associated paid traffic will also decline when advertising stops.

Assessing costs: organic clicks do not incur advertising charges, but SEO is not free

When a keyword’s cost per click is high enough to potentially erode profits, you can consider SEO as a way to attract organic traffic. Semrush uses a hypothetical example: at $5 per paid click, assuming an organic click-through rate of 11% and an estimated 100 clicks per month, the PPC advertising cost for the same number of clicks would be $500 per month. This is a cost comparison example, not a promise of traffic or rankings.

Obtaining those clicks through organic search does not incur advertising charges, but if you hire a consultant or agency, you still need to account for their fees. The article also notes that SEO spending does not translate directly into results; although advertising allows you to set a clear budget, that does not guarantee profitability either. When deciding where to invest, consider how soon you need results, click costs, and ongoing maintenance expenses together, rather than simply comparing “paid” with “free.”