The Importance of Using SEO for Your Website

Most websites don’t fail because they look bad. They fail because no one ever finds them. A site can be beautifully designed, full of helpful information, and still sit in a dark corner of the internet if search engines don’t understand it or don’t trust it enough to recommend it.

That’s where SEO comes in. Search engine optimisation is not about “gaming” Google; it’s about helping search engines understand what your site is about and why it deserves to show up when someone searches for the things you do. Done right, SEO quietly becomes one of the most reliable and cost‑effective ways to bring in visitors who actually want what you offer.

This matters whether you’re running an online business, building your personal brand, or working with NGOs that need to reach the right people with limited time and budget. And SEO is even more powerful when it sits next to strong paid media and organic social, like the strategies covered in The Real Benefits of Running Paid Media Ads (and the Mistakes That Kill Profit) and Why You Should Optimise Your Social Media for Organic Content.

This guide breaks down why SEO still matters, what it actually does for your site, the mistakes that hold most websites back, and how to build a practical SEO foundation without turning it into a full‑time job.

Why SEO Still Matters (Even With Ads and Social)

It’s easy to think SEO is less important now that paid ads and social media are everywhere. You can pay for clicks on Google or boost posts on social platforms and get traffic today. But SEO plays a different role.

When someone types a question or a problem into Google, they’re already actively looking for a solution. They’re not just scrolling to pass time; they have intent. If your website shows up when they search, you’re meeting them at the exact moment they want help. That’s very different from interrupting someone’s feed with an ad.

There are a few reasons that matter:

• SEO traffic compounds over time. A good piece of content can keep bringing visitors for months or years, while an ad turns off the moment you stop paying.
• People trust search results. Showing up in Google builds credibility before they even click.
• SEO strengthens everything else. When your site is well-structured, fast, and precise, your paid media performs better, and your organic social traffic sticks around longer.

If you’ve read The Real Benefits of Running Paid Media Ads (and the Mistakes That Kill Profit), you’ve already seen how powerful ads can be for speed and testing. SEO is the slow, steady engine that makes sure the traffic you pay for doesn’t arrive on a weak foundation.

The Real Benefits of SEO for Your Site

1. Sustainable, Low‑Cost Traffic

Paid campaigns are like renting space; SEO is like owning the property. Once a page ranks for the right keywords, it can attract visitors 24/7 without incurring additional cost-per-click.

That doesn’t mean SEO is “free”; you still invest time and effort. But the economics are very different. Instead of paying for every single visit, you build assets that keep working: evergreen articles, optimised service pages, guides, and resources.

If you’ve also got a paid media system in place (again, see The Real Benefits of Running Paid Media Ads (and the Mistakes That Kill Profit)), the two channels support each other. Paid traffic can “kickstart” new pages and give you data on what people respond to; those learnings then shape your long‑term SEO content.

2. Higher Quality Visitors and Better Conversions

Someone who lands on your site from a search is often in a very different mindset from someone who saw a random ad or stumbled across a post. They typed something specific into Google, maybe “how to set up Facebook ads for nonprofits” or “best digital marketing strategy for small businesses” – and your site showed up as a possible answer.

That means:

• They’re usually more engaged.
• They’re more likely to stay and read.
• They’re closer to taking action.

SEO doesn’t just bring more people; it brings the right people. And when those people also see consistent, high‑quality content on your social profiles (the kind of content discussed in Why You Should Optimise Your Social Media for Organic Content), everything feels more aligned and trustworthy.

3. Stronger Brand and Authority

Ranking well for useful topics in your niche sends a quiet but powerful signal. This website knows what it’s talking about.

Over time, as you build more SEO‑driven content around your expertise, whether that’s digital marketing generally or something more specific like awareness campaigns for NGOs, your site becomes a go‑to resource. That’s how you move from “another website” to someone’s default choice when they think about your topic.

Good SEO forces clarity: you have to define what each page is about, who it’s for, and what problem it solves. That clarity is suitable for search engines and great for humans.

4. Better Performance Across All Channels

SEO isn’t just keywords and content. It includes technical factors such as site speed, mobile responsiveness, URL structure, and internal linking. When you improve these, the benefits show up everywhere:

• Visitors from ads bounce less because your site loads quickly and is easy to navigate.
• People who click from social posts find what they expect, and don't get lost.
• Search engines can crawl and index your content correctly, which affects your visibility.

If you’ve ever run ads to a slow or messy site, you know how expensive that can get. Investing in SEO fundamentals protects your ad spend and makes every visitor more valuable.

Common SEO Mistakes (And Why Most Sites Don’t Rank)

A lot of people “do some SEO” and then wonder why nothing changes. Usually, the problem isn’t that SEO doesn’t work; it’s that the approach misses some basics.

Mistake 1: Writing for Algorithms Instead of People

Old‑school SEO advice was basically: pick a keyword, repeat it a bunch of times, and hope for the best. That’s not how modern search works.

Google’s job is to deliver the most helpful, relevant content to users. If your page is clearly written, well structured, and actually answers the question behind the search, you’re on the right track. If it’s a thin, repetitive piece written just to “rank,” it’s not going to hold up.

The easiest way to stay on the right side of this: imagine a real person reading your page. Would they leave feeling like they actually learned something or got clarity? That’s the standard to aim for.

Mistake 2: Ignoring Technical Basics

You don’t need to be a developer. Still, you do need to make sure your site isn’t actively blocking search engines or frustrating visitors.

Common issues:

• Pages that load slowly on mobile.
• Layouts that break on specific devices.
• Broken links or messy navigation.
• No clear internal links between related pages.

Simple tools like Google’s own speed and mobile tests can show you where the most significant issues are. Fixing these might not feel as exciting as publishing a new post, but they often move the needle more than another piece of content.

And when you later run ads (as explored in The Real Benefits of Running Paid Media Ads (and the Mistakes That Kill Profit)), that technical work will pay off twice: lower bounce rates and smoother journeys.

Mistake 3: Treating Each Page as an Island

Search engines don’t just look at individual pages; they look at how your content connects. Internal links, links from one page on your site to another, help Google understand the structure and help users discover more of what they need.

For example:

• From this SEO guide, you might naturally link to The Real Benefits of Running Paid Media Ads (and the Mistakes That Kill Profit) when talking about how organic and paid support each other.
• When discussing content and trust, it makes sense to point readers to "Why You Should Optimise Your Social Media for Organic Content."

Those connections create a “web” inside your website. Instead of three isolated articles, you build a mini ecosystem around digital marketing fundamentals. Search engines use these patterns to understand which topics you’re an authority on and which pages are central.

Mistake 4: Treating SEO as a One‑Time Project

SEO isn’t something you “set up” once and forget; search behaviour changes. Competitors publish new content. Algorithms update. If your site stays frozen while everything else evolves, your rankings will slide.

That doesn’t mean you need to obsess daily. But it does mean:

• Updating important pages as things change.
• Adding new content around questions you see coming up.
• Refreshing older posts to keep them from feeling outdated.

Think of it as maintenance, not constant reinvention.

How to Build a Practical SEO Foundation

You don’t have to do everything at once. Here’s a simple way to approach SEO that fits alongside your ads, social content, and actual work.

1. Clarify What You Want to Be Found For

Before you touch tools, get clear on the topics and phrases you want to be associated with. Not just “SEO” or “marketing,” but more specific, real‑world searches like:

• “Digital marketing for NGOs”
• “How to run Facebook ads without wasting money”
• “Beginner’s guide to SEO for small business”

Notice how those naturally tie into things you’re already talking about in The Real Benefits of Running Paid Media Ads (and the Mistakes That Kill Profit) and Why You Should Optimise Your Social Media for Organic Content. That overlap is good, it means your content can support each other.

Once you have a list of these “plain language” topics, you can refine them with keyword tools later. But clarity comes first.

A great website to check your SEO keywords is Ahrefs, where you can search for your keywords and see how competitive they are. 

2. Create Genuine, Helpful Content Around Those Topics

Pick one topic at a time and create a page or blog post that genuinely tries to answer it in depth: no BS, no forced language. Use headings to break things up, explain terms in simple language, and give examples.

Aim for the kind of article you wish existed when you first tried to understand the topic.

3. Make the Page Easy for Search Engines to Digest

Without getting overly technical, check that:

• The primary phrase or topic appears in the title and at least one heading.
• The URL is clean (no random characters, just words).
• Images have descriptive alt text.
• The page loads reasonably fast.

These minor tweaks add up and help search engines match your page to the correct queries.

You can check your domain's authority using the Ahrefs authority checker to see where you rank, which is excellent for testing and seeing how you do. 

4. Connect Related Pages with Internal Links

Any time you mention something you’ve written about elsewhere, link to it. From this SEO article, it’s natural to link to:

• The Real Benefits of Running Paid Media Ads (and the Mistakes That Kill Profit) when discussing how SEO and ads work together.
• Why You Should Optimise Your Social Media for Organic Content when you mention building trust and authority outside of search.

Do the same in those articles back to this one. That internal linking doesn’t just help with SEO; it also gives readers a clear next step if they want to go deeper.

5. Keep an Eye on What’s Working

Use basic analytics to see:

• Which pages bring in traffic?
• Which queries do people use to find you?
• How long they stay and what they click next.

You don’t need to obsess over every fluctuation. Just look for patterns. If one article on “SEO basics” starts getting attention, maybe it’s worth adding a follow‑up on “SEO for NGOs” or “SEO for small service businesses” and linking them together.

How SEO, Ads, and Organic Social Support Each Other

SEO doesn’t live in a separate universe from the rest of your marketing. In a healthy system:

• SEO brings in people who are searching for answers.
• Paid media lets you reach people faster or in more targeted ways, especially for campaigns and launches (as you’ll see in The Real Benefits of Running Paid Media Ads (and the Mistakes That Kill Profit)).
• Organic social keeps you present, builds personality, and deepens trust (the focus of Why You Should Optimise Your Social Media for Organic Content).

When someone finds you through a search, they might click over to your Instagram or LinkedIn to “check you out.” When someone sees a helpful post on social media, they might later search for your name or the topic. When someone clicks an ad, they’re more likely to trust it if they’ve already seen you in search or on social.

All of that is easier if your website is clear, crawlable, and structured around topics you want to be known for. That’s what SEO really is.

Summary

If you’ve made it this far, you’re already thinking more strategically than most site owners. The next step is to keep going:

• If you want to understand how SEO and paid traffic work together, read The Real Benefits of Running Paid Media Ads (and the Mistakes That Kill Profit) next.
• If you’d like to see how your website content connects with what you post on social, and how that affects trust, have a look at Why You Should Optimise Your Social Media for Organic Content.

Those pieces are written to fit into the same bigger picture: building a digital presence that feels consistent, human, and intentional, not scattered or messy.