Does the White House website need SEO?
Let’s rephrase that: should special content be created for the sole purpose of SEO?
I can think of a possible reason–mainly, because we equate the site’s performance with the number of visitors it attracts, and by proxy we’ll evaluate the site builder using the same yardstick.
I’m not saying that search engine performance shouldn’t be a consideration when a website is built. But beyond creating relevant content and following the basics of styling the different elements, is there a point in pouring tons of money into a site that is a singular brand?
So let’s try another example. Does BMW need to invest in SEO?
If you’re in the market for a luxury car, you know about and considered a BMW. No one in their right mind will search for “luxury car” and stumble upon the BMW website. Even if the site is optimized to pop up when you type ‘Lexus’, that won’t do any good.
My company faced the same dilemma, being a well known player in a relatively small field. If you’re in the market for the type of software we sell, you already know about us.
When we built my company’s previous website, about three years ago, we made sure to optimize it to a long list of general industry related terms–the equivalent of the keyword “luxury car” in our industry–and by and large, our efforts were very successful.
However, no one used those search terms in order to access our website. Almost all of the search terms used were specific to the company, its products and features. Whenever we created a page with with good content, it fared well.
SEO is extremely important for most companies, but not all. I built a website for a chiropractor in Lower Manhattan a few years ago. Almost all of my work went on optimizing the site for the search terms “Chiropractor 10003″, “Chiropractor Lower Manhattan” and such. We didn’t even try aiming at “Chiropractor NYC” because it was too broad a term. Some businesses compete locally, some globally, and there’s no point in optimizing a site for terms that will never be used, or to attract uninterested visitors.
What’s the downside of investing in SEO? The cost. Take the thousands of dollars you’ll spend on unnecessary optimization and invest in better and compelling content (or even put the money to work elsewhere in the organization.) You’ll get fewer visitors, true, but also a higher conversion rate.
What do you think?
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