SEO Strategy December 29, 2023 · 5 min read

Before Search, Comes Curiosity

Quick Summary

- What this covers: before-search-comes-curiosity

- Who it's for: executives, CMOs, and business leaders evaluating SEO investment

- Key takeaway: Read the first section for the core framework, then use the specific tactics that match your situation.

The type of curiosity is dependent upon your purpose of studying SEO.

If it's for you as a professional, you'll need to be 'in the know' in every aspect of subject matter relating to your industry.

If it's so you can be an SEO for others, you'll need to learn how to be 'in the know', in multiple aspects of subject matter relating to your client's industry, over and over.

If you're the type to give up after a short amount of time.

If you've quit because the first two attempts didn't go your way.

SEO will not be an easy practice.

The entire point of the website is to beat out the competition and own a website that is authoritative for your industry & business model.

SEO is the type of subject that forces you to update your mindset.

There are many reasons to keep this behavior at the front of your mind. Google has hundreds of ranking algorithms for different sub-services of search that amalgamate into the 'Google' that you think of when I say "Google".

Most of what exists as far as organic search engine results, do so because of a myriad of ranking factors that are disclosed and undisclosed.

Some of them are measured with explicit means, as in Core Web Vitals.

Some of them are a measure that are implicit, as in E-E-A-T.

As a professional wading their way into the organic traffic competition, there are a few tools that will be of most use:

  • Beginner's Mindset: Move with the intent that your website will evolve, your writing style will change, the way you learn to communicate your expertise will grow — all as your website does.
  • Ask Questions: Learning how to ask yourself the questions that both users and search engines are seeking to have answered, will guide you in being creative in your content creation, and can ensure that the subjects you intend to cover are done with a methodology.
  • Avoid Complacency: This is the easiest trap to fall into as a professional with a website. Those who were 'ahead of the curve' in this regard are the most at-fault for not keeping up with the shifting needs of organic search. Your website will never stop being improved.

    • There are many ways to distinguish your website among your competition, but the basics break down as follows:

    • Have Better Writing — Self-explanatory.
    • Have Better Design — Fast-loading, easy-to-browse website.
    • Have Better Links — Internal, External, & Back

    SEO is a discipline that requires a beginner's mindset, the ability to question, test, & record your own methods, and asks that you do all of this in a way that makes it easy to read for your audience.

    Easy, right?

    Tomorrow we’ll discuss what happens before writing… research.

    When SEO Isn't Your Priority

    Defer SEO investment if:

    • Your product-market fit isn't validated yet. SEO compounds over months. If you're still iterating on what you sell and who you sell it to, those months of SEO work will target the wrong audience. Nail the positioning first.
    • You're in a winner-take-all paid acquisition market. Some verticals (insurance, legal, finance) have organic results pushed below the fold by ads. If your competitors all buy their traffic and organic results barely show, paid channels may be the pragmatic choice until you can invest in long-term organic.
    • Your sales cycle is shorter than SEO's payback period. If you need revenue in 30 days, SEO won't deliver. Run paid campaigns for immediate pipeline, then layer SEO as a compounding channel once cash flow supports the timeline.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    How do I evaluate whether our SEO investment is working?

    Track three metrics quarterly: organic traffic trend (is it growing?), organic revenue attribution (what revenue came from organic search?), and market share of search (what percentage of relevant searches do you appear in vs competitors?). Avoid vanity metrics like keyword count or domain authority — they correlate loosely with business outcomes. A good SEO program shows compounding organic revenue growth over 6-12 month windows.

    How long does SEO take to show results?

    Technical fixes (crawl errors, speed improvements) can impact rankings within 2-8 weeks. Content investments take 3-6 months to gain traction and 6-12 months to compound. Competitive keywords in established markets may take 12-18 months. The timeline depends on your starting position, competitive landscape, and investment level. Budget for 6 months before expecting material ROI.

    Should we hire in-house or use an agency for SEO?

    In-house makes sense when SEO is a core growth channel (>20% of revenue), you need daily execution speed, and you have enough work to justify a full-time hire ($80-150K+ fully loaded). Agency makes sense for strategic guidance, specialized audits, or when SEO volume doesn't justify headcount. Many companies benefit from a hybrid: in-house execution with agency-level strategy oversight.