We’ve been saying it for years: SEO shouldn’t be the foundation of your firm’s marketing strategy. If you’re a smaller firm, it’s unwise to devote the majority (or all) of your marketing budget to competing with all the other firms in your area for a small sliver of real estate. It will cost you THOUSANDS of dollars each month, all with no guarantee that you’ll even reach page 1.
Here are some mind-blowing statistics about SEO to show why it shouldn’t be a priority for your firm.
1. Despite each search page showing 10 results, only 4-6 are your competitors
Try this and see for yourself. Search your niche and your city (example: “family lawyer dallas” or cpa near denver”). Page 1 will consist of your competitors, as well as directories. In other words, you’re not even competing for 1 of 10 spots—you’re competing for, at best, 1 of 6.
2. Only 5.7% of pages will rank on page 1 within a year of publication (Ahrefs)
SEO success isn’t going to happen overnight. As with any marketing strategy, it takes time and momentum. The more you do up front, the sooner you’ll see results. But even with SEO, you have a very slim chance of seeing any sort of ROI within the first year. Even worse…
3. The average page on page 1 is more than 2 years old (Ahrefs)
So not only do you have a slim chance of seeing an ROI within the first year, it could take MULTIPLE YEARS for you to finally arrive on page 1. As a small firm that needs to grow, you don’t have time for that.
4. Only .63% of searches go to the 2nd page (Backlinko)
Why the focus on reaching page one of a Google search? This statistic is why. The vast majority of people aren’t going beyond page 1 of a Google search, so even if you spend a ton of money to get all the way up to page 2, you’re still not likely going to see much of an ROI.
If a marketing company tells you that your firm needs SEO to be successful, tell them you don’t have time to wait years for that success to come. There are more effective ways to market your firm (that cost less!) that will bring you the results you want and the clients you prefer to work with. We believe we have those solutions and would love to show you more.
Schedule a call with our team today to learn more!
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