Is SEO worth it.

In the fast-paced world of e-commerce, many are wondering about the feasibility of investing in SEO. Is it just a complex technical term, or is it a real strategy that can propel their business to success? The answer is simple: Yes, SEO is worth it, and it's a long-term investment that yields amazing results if done right.
Imagine for a moment that you've turned off your paid advertising campaigns on Facebook for a week. Most likely, you'll see a sharp drop in visitors and sales, and you'll find yourself in a race against time to get things back on track. Now, imagine another marketing channel where the work you did last month continues to bring in customers today, and the content you publish this year continues to attract visitors next year. This is exactly what SEO offers.
Kyle Risley, Chief SEO Officer at Shopify, says: SEO is a long-running game, but for e-business owners who are willing to invest time and effort, it can have a huge impact. With SEO, you're building a real asset. Once you rank advanced, that page can bring you traffic for years, and the cost of acquiring a customer drops dramatically. This is because you don't pay for the traffic you get from organic search results. As long as your page ranks well, the traffic and conversions you get from it are free.
Plus, when some of your pages start appearing in search results, it can help your other pages appear faster. Every successful piece of content builds objective authority for your brand. Over time, Google starts to recognize your site as a trusted source, which helps new content appear faster.
However, it must be acknowledged that SEO requires a significant investment of time and money upfront. You may need to audit and improve your site's technical fundamentals, hire experts to conduct keyword research and develop search engine optimized content. And the results don't show up overnight. It can take three to six months to start seeing significant traffic and revenue from SEO. So, it may not be worth the effort for businesses that need quick results. In this case, paid channels such as Google Ads or social media marketing may yield faster results.
An additional consideration is where your target audience is primarily shopping: If they're primarily shopping online and use Google to discover products, SEO can have a pretty big impact. If your potential customers shop primarily in physical stores, at events, or on social media platforms like TikTok, optimizing your website for Google Search may have a limited impact.

How do you determine if SEO is worth the investment?

To determine if SEO is a wise investment for your business, you should consider several key factors:

Start with Demand 
without a real query, even the best optimized sites won't yield results. For example, a product may be too new or too specialized, and people simply aren't looking for it. Kyle explains:  "Ultimately, it comes down to the size of the opportunity in your niche. First, you need to determine if people are actually looking for what you're selling and how realistic your ability to appear for those terms.
Look at search volume using keyword research tools like Ahrefs or Semrush. If the volume is large enough to bring in meaningful traffic, look at the search engine results pages of the SERPs to evaluate the competition. If your results page is full of sites with high-authority domains and large content catalogs, you may not be able to appear. But if your results page has sites similar in domain to yours, you may have a better chance.
Evaluating an order is not only about the clarity of the keywords, but also about the purchase structure. Sometimes, generic high-volume keywords may have more searches, but lower-volume target keywords have higher purchase intent.
 Instead of a generic page for baby blankets, the store might target organic cotton baby blankets or handmade baby blankets,  Kyle says.These terms have lower search volume, but are easier to pop up, and traffic directly turns into revenue.
Similarly, local SEO can indicate  customer demand in specific regions and reveal regional opportunities.  For businesses with storefronts, visibility in Google Local Packs and Maps results can make a big difference in driving in-store sales,  Kyle says.I've seen it completely change revenue streams.

Estimate potential revenue
Once an order is confirmed, realistically calculate the number of sales these searches can generate for your store. Kyle recommends a simple formula for creating a forecast for potential monthly revenue: 
Search Volume × Click-Through Rate × Conversion Rate × Average Order Value = Potential Revenue
Although it won't predict accurate sales, it will give you an idea of whether the opportunity is big enough to follow. If you see that you might make an extra amount per month, then you can decide how much time and resources you are willing to invest to make it happen.
For example, if you run a store on Shopify that sells eco-friendly yoga mats, the phrase non-toxic yoga mat receives 1200 searches per month. If it appears on the first page, you might expect:

  • 15% CTR based on placement

  • CVR conversion rate of 2%

  • Average AOV order value  of $50 

  • 1200 × 0.15 × 0.02 × 50 = $180 in monthly revenue

That means $2160 per year from a single page. Multiply that by five to ten similar opportunities, and SEO quickly turns into a meaningful channel.

Choose the right approach Success
ultimately depends on your ability to implement an effective SEO strategy. This includes the time, budget, and skills you can dedicate to it. There are three main paths that most e-commerce businesses take:

  • DIY SEO: This is the most cost-effective option, but it requires time, consistency, and, ideally, an in-house SEO specialist. If no one on your team fits this description and you can't afford to hire one, you can develop the expertise yourself by reading SEO industry blogs and flyers. Expect to spend five to 20 hours per week researching, content, and site updates, depending on your experience. If you're not familiar with SEO, web development, or content writing, set aside approximately 20 hours per week.

  • Hiring a consultant: A consultant is an intermediate option. Costs vary, but freelance SEO experts typically charge between $150 and $250 per hour. A consultant can conduct an SEO technical audit, help define your keyword strategy, and train you to execute.

  • Work with an SEO company:  SEO agencies can cost $2,000 to $10,000 or more per month, but they typically offer comprehensive SEO services, including keyword strategy, technical fixes, SEO content development, link building, and reporting. Note that agencies' pricing models vary widely depending on their activities and the location of their employees. These agencies are suitable for online stores with larger budgets and goals, such as entering new markets or competing for high-volume keywords. However, the investment must be proportional to the opportunity. For example, if your SEO revenue forecast shows that you can make tens of thousands of dollars per month, a monthly retention of $5000 is a justifiable option.

Consider the time frames that
 SEO results accumulate over time. Slowly at first, then more importantly over time. Kyle says that even if you choose the right keywords and invest in content, search engines need time to crawl, index, and evaluate your pages.
 In general, you should start to see some momentum within three months, a noticeable improvement in visits within three to six months, and more significant results within six to  12 months,  Kyle says.However, this timeline varies based on the competition and your site's starting point. If the domain doesn't have any brand recognition or existing backlinks, the timeline depends on how long it takes to develop it.
This means that SEO efforts will require an upfront investment of time and money, and the return may not be clear for several months. Think of SEO as a real estate asset. You are investing now to make a return later. SEO also requires you to stick to it for at least one year. If you stop investing too soon, you may not achieve breakeven. If you have the luxury of time, SEO is a good option. Otherwise, you may want to look for other, more immediate methods such as paid ads.

When is SEO not a worthwhile investment?
SEO is a powerful growth engine, but there are some situations where it may not be the best use of your time or budget:

  • You have limited product depth: If you're selling only one or two well-known products, there may be limited content opportunities to expand your reach. In this case, other channels, such as PR, influencer partnerships, or retail distribution, may be a more effective investment to increase word-of-mouth referrals and boost brand awareness.

  • Your audience isn't shopping on Google: If your store relies on trend-driven items or your audience leans toward youth, paid social media campaigns and influencer campaigns may produce faster results than SEO.

  • You need immediate results: SEO can take up to a year to make an impact. If you need revenue sooner than that, consider paid channels like Google Ads, social media marketing, and display ads for faster results.

  • Offline or event-based sales: If your sales primarily come from events or in-store retail, the time it takes for SEO may not be worth it.