SEO

SEO: Search Engine Optimization as a Growth Channel

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of improving your website's visibility in organic search results to drive sustainable, unpaid traffic. Unlike paid advertising where traffic stops when you stop paying, SEO builds a compounding asset that delivers increasing returns over time. For growth-focused companies, SEO is both a channel for customer acquisition and a foundation for brand authority.

Technical SEO: The Foundation

Technical SEO ensures search engines can efficiently crawl, index and understand your website. Without a solid technical foundation, even the best content will not rank. Key technical elements include:

• Site speed: Fast-loading pages improve both search rankings and user experience. Target Core Web Vitals scores in the "good" range for all pages.
• Mobile optimization: Google uses mobile-first indexing, so your mobile experience determines your search visibility.
• Crawlability: Ensure search engines can access all important pages through a logical site structure, XML sitemaps and proper internal linking.
• Structured data: Implement schema markup to help search engines understand your content and enable rich results in search listings.
• HTTPS: Secure connections are a ranking factor and a trust signal for users.

Conduct a technical SEO audit regularly to identify and fix issues. Tools like Google Search Console, Screaming Frog and Ahrefs provide comprehensive technical analysis capabilities.

Content Strategy for SEO

Content is the primary driver of organic search visibility. Develop a content strategy based on keyword research that maps search intent to your expertise and offerings. Target keywords across the funnel: informational queries for awareness, comparison queries for consideration and transactional queries for conversion.

Create comprehensive, authoritative content that thoroughly addresses user intent. Search engines reward content that provides the best answer to a query, not content stuffed with keywords. Focus on topical clusters where you produce in-depth content around core topics linked through internal navigation.

Link Building and Authority

Backlinks from other websites remain one of the strongest ranking signals. Build links through creating linkable content (original research, data studies, tools), guest posting on industry publications, digital PR campaigns, partnerships and thought leadership. Quality matters more than quantity, so focus on links from authoritative, relevant websites in your industry.

Internal linking is equally important for distributing authority across your site. Link from high-authority pages to important conversion pages, and create a logical content hierarchy that helps both users and search engines navigate your site. Your internal linking strategy should support your overall data strategy by driving users toward measurable conversion points.

Measuring SEO Performance

Track SEO performance using organic traffic volume, keyword rankings, organic conversion rate, pages indexed and backlink growth. Use Google Search Console for search performance data and GA4 for on-site behavior of organic visitors. Build dashboards that show SEO metrics alongside other channel performance for easy comparison.

SEO results take time. Most content takes 3-6 months to reach its ranking potential. Set expectations accordingly and focus on leading indicators (content published, pages optimized, links acquired) in the short term while tracking lagging indicators (traffic, rankings, conversions) over longer periods.

SEO and Growth Marketing Integration

Integrate SEO with your broader growth marketing strategy. Use SEO data to inform paid search strategy by identifying high-converting keywords to bid on. Use paid search data to validate keyword opportunities before investing in SEO content. Combine organic and paid visibility for maximum search presence.

SEO insights also inform product development and customer understanding. The questions people search for reveal their needs, pain points and decision criteria. Feed these insights back into your hypothesis generation process.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does SEO take to show results?

Expect 3-6 months for meaningful organic traffic growth, with continued improvement over 12-24 months. The timeline depends on your domain authority, competition level and content investment. Technical fixes can show results faster, while content-driven growth compounds over time.

Should we prioritize SEO or paid search?

They serve different purposes and should be used together. Paid search provides immediate visibility and fast data on keyword performance. SEO builds sustainable, cost-effective traffic over time. Use paid search to test keywords quickly and invest in SEO for the ones that prove most valuable. Both should be part of your channel mix.

How do we measure SEO ROI?

Calculate the value of organic traffic by estimating what it would cost to acquire the same traffic through paid search. Compare your organic conversion revenue against your SEO investment (content production, tools, team time). Most businesses find SEO delivers the lowest long-term cost per acquisition of any digital marketing channel.