Holistic SEO: Why It’s Important For Small Businesses

If you are a small business owner looking to improve your online presence, you may have come across the term “holistic SEO”. You might be wondering what it is and why it is important.

What is Holistic SEO?

Holistic SEO is a comprehensive approach to search engine optimization (SEO) that considers all aspects of your website and its online presence¹. Unlike traditional SEO, which can narrowly focus on specific tactics like keyword optimization and link building, holistic SEO takes a broader view, aiming to improve every element of your website to create higher search engine rankings, a better user experience, and more conversions.

How Does It Work?

Holistic SEO is more than just a collection of tactics; it’s an overarching strategy that sets out to improve every aspect of your website resulting in a seamless and positive user experience that is more valuable than the sum of its parts. It’s like when John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr came together as The Beatles. Their collective creativity, chemistry, and mystical talent produced something far greater than what each member could have achieved on their own.

EMI, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

To that end, Holistic SEO starts with a comprehensive understanding of your business. It dives deep into why people might want to choose you over your competition, buy your products and services, and advocate on your behalf. Holistic SEO ensures your website clearly and convincingly communicates what you do, why you do it, and how potential customers benefit from doing business with you. It results in a website that is high quality and produces meaningful, memorable, and effective results for both you and your target audience.

What Is a High-Quality Website?

Successful websites exude an overall impression of exceptionalism and quality as characterized by:

• a clean, modern, and visually appealing design with consistent branding and a professional layout;
• an easy-to-navigate and understand site structure and robust search capabilities that help people find the information they came looking for quickly and easily;
• high-quality content that meets the information wants and needs of your target audience;
• fast-loading pages that minimize wait times;
• mobile-friendly, responsive, intuitive, and interactive layouts, elements, and content that adapt seamlessly to different devices and ease and enhance user interaction;
• a secure connection indicated by a padlock icon in the browser address bar;
• a clear privacy policy and terms of service statement;
• accessibility for all, including those with disabilities;
• easy-to-use forms for contacting you, subscribing to your content, submitting feedback, and purchasing goods and services;
• videos, animations, and other forms of multimedia that enhance the user experience; and
• regularly updated content and features that keep the website relevant and engaging.

The sum of these elements creates a positive and memorable experience that encourages search engines to rank your website well in search results and website visitors to engage with your website and return. Examples of high-quality websites include: 

• Amazon for e-commerce (selling products and services);
• Medium for online publishing (content distribution);
• Wikipedia for forum (facilitating online discussion); and
• Slack for business communication (messaging).

A Holistic SEO will assess all these technical as well as on and off-page elements when evaluating your website and recommend an action plan to bring about improvement.

What Are The Limitations of Holistic SEO?

While holistic SEO can be highly beneficial for many companies, certain types of businesses might not be as well-suited to this approach.

Image Courtesy of Christopher Paquette on Flikr.

• Businesses with Very Limited Resources: Businesses with very limited budgets and manpower might find it challenging to implement a comprehensive, holistic SEO strategy. The time, effort, and financial investment required for content creation, technical optimization, and continuous monitoring might be too demanding or expensive. 
• Businesses with Low Online Interaction: Companies that primarily operate offline or have limited digital engagement might benefit from less extensive SEO efforts. For example, a local hardware store with customers who prefer in-person shopping might not engage much with the store’s online presence, if it even exists. A focused local SEO approach might be better suited to this type of business. 
• Businesses with Rapidly Changing Products or Services: Small companies in industries where products or services change frequently. For example, a small fashion boutique or technology center might find it difficult and resource-intensive to keep up with the rapid pace of change. 

It is important to self-assess before engaging an SEO company. Be sure you can clearly articulate who you are, who your customers are, and your unique value proposition. Realistically assess your time, financial and skill-set availability so you can effectively do your part to ensure SEO success.      

Why Is Holistic SEO Important For Small Business?

Photo by rawpixel from Freerange Stock

Holistic SEO is particularly important for small businesses with limited resources for several compelling reasons:

• While holistic SEO requires an initial investment of time and effort, it can be more cost-effective in the long run. Holistic SEO focuses on creating a sustainable, long-term strategy that maximizes return on investment (ROI) and future-proofs your website by focusing on best practices that align with the fundamental principles of search engines, such as providing valuable content and a great user experience. This reduces the risk of being negatively impacted by algorithm updates.
• Rather than addressing isolated issues one at a time, holistic SEO takes a comprehensive approach to improve the entire website ecosystem. This means that efforts to enhance content quality, user experience, and technical SEO work together synergistically to produce more significant and lasting results.
• Holistic SEO emphasizes creating high-quality content and building a strong online reputation through positive reviews and backlinks from reputable sources. This helps small businesses build trust and credibility with their audience, which can lead to increased customer loyalty, brand recognition, and word-of-mouth referrals.

By addressing multiple aspects of SEO simultaneously, small businesses can avoid the need for frequent and costly piecemeal optimizations and instead benefit from a more efficient and integrated approach.

In The End

Holistic SEO is a comprehensive approach that ensures every element of your website works together to create a seamless and effective online presence that resonates with search engines and users. When you adopt this approach, you’re not just fixing isolated issues; you’re nurturing the entire ecosystem of your website. This can lead to sustainable growth, improved search engine rankings, and a better experience for your visitors.

When you first engage with an SEO company, ask them about their approach to SEO and why they think that is the best approach for your business. Be realistic and open about the time and resources you are willing and able to commit. This will help you and your SEO company better align expectations, set a realistic budget, and manage any strains that might get in the way of your future success.

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