Search Engine Rankings

Why SEO is the (New) King of Online Advertising. $211 Billion. That figure is estimated to be spent this year on paid search ads. Those few words on the top or bottom of the search results cost a business cash the second the search user clicks. So much money is spent on paid search because it's a competition. Brands bid on the keywords that matter to them in the hope that at the last minute, they'll choose the company and catch the buyer as they 'fall' into purchase mode that day. Paid search serves as a last-ditch nudge. The thing is, people rarely 'buy on the day'. They have a purchase journey and billions of searches for products and services, result in no purchases. People browse, and this is another reason PPC is so expensive. You also pay for the clicks from those non-buyers. A good paid search team optimises against this. They aim to reach those most likely to buy—it's direct advertising. Organic search works differently. It is optimised to advertise your brand throughout the buyer's journey. Google call this 'showing up'. It's repeatedly showing up on the buyer's journey, be that through your core broad, high-purchase-intent keywords. Or be that through informational or long-tail keywords related to your product or service. It's advertising your business to people in the market to buy. This is so powerful that some estimate the CTR rate for paid search to be a small 2%. In comparison, the first 4 organic spots on search gain between 39.8% and 7.4% of traffic. And this is before you add in all of the keyword variations. Take the keyword 'running shoes for men'. The top result in the UK is Sports Direct, with 232 keyword variations ranking positions 1 to 4. Generating an estimated 18,500 visitors and worth an estimated $102,000 annually in equivalent paid search costs. And that's just 1 page. OK, so if SEO is so good, why doesn't it get more budget? In simple terms, we've been pitching it badly. People have always seen paid search as the 'instant results' without examining the sheer importance of organic listings. We make brands easy to find when buyers come into the market. SEO is an investment in your own business, and as an advertising channel, we are relatively new. But it's going to get vastly bigger. As AI search and, indeed, social media start to roll out their own search engines, people will find their brands more easily through search. SEO is 'PLACE' in the P's of marketing. SEO is physical/ digital availability. SEO is distribution. SEO is how millions of brands are first discovered and later chosen by prospects. SEO is growth. And as brands have spent the last year or so getting drunk on 'paid search' trying to win business at any cost in an economic downturn. SEO is the perfect paid search hangover cure. Now is the time to look at organic search. The best time to invest in SEO was a few years ago. The second best time to invest is today.

When I talk to founders about SEO, I often hear the same myths: "SEO takes years to work." "Isn’t SEO just keywords and backlinks?" "We’ll focus on SEO after we scale." Here’s the reality: Founders misunderstand SEO—not because it’s complex, but because it’s counterintuitive. Unlike ads, SEO doesn’t deliver overnight wins. But done right, it becomes your #1 growth channel. Here’s how to stop misunderstanding SEO and start using it to scale: 1️⃣ SEO is a compounding asset Think of SEO as planting seeds. The first few months? Slow growth. But once those seeds grow into trees, you get consistent traffic, leads, and revenue—month after month—without paying for every click. 2️⃣ It’s not just traffic, it’s intent SEO isn’t about driving just any traffic. It’s about targeting the people searching for exactly what you offer. Ranking for the right keywords means your leads are already halfway down the funnel. 3️⃣ It’s a full-funnel strategy Most founders think SEO is just for blogs. Wrong. SEO touches your landing pages, pricing pages, case studies, and even your demo page. It’s about showing up wherever your customer is searching. The truth is, SEO isn’t a cost. It’s an investment. Done strategically, it compounds over time, reduces your CAC, and scales like no other channel. If you’ve been sleeping on SEO, now’s the time to wake up. It might just become the secret weapon your competitors aren’t using yet.

SEO is the only marketing channel where your growth doesn't just continue—it compounds. Here’s what I mean: Think of most growth channels: Meta. Out of Home. TV. Radio. What’s the one thing in common? The moment you stop spending, the impact doesn't stick. It’s like turning off a faucet. But SEO? It’s more like planting a tree. You invest in it today, nurture it over time, and before you know it, your results grow month after month. The best part? While your competitors are stuck paying for every single click, your traffic keeps growing organically—without the constant ad spend. Just look at the screenshot below by a partner of ours. Their competitors are spending hundreds of thousands A MONTH on out of home ads. While they are compounding away. Many will say “what about the move towards AI?” My bet is this will only increase the amount of searches and traffic to your site. Which will make your content strategy a even more potent formula for growth. And we’re about to see a lot of growth in the organic search world. If your company sells to consumers and you're not investing in a strong content, link building, and organic search infrastructure, you’re leaving long-term growth on the table.

The marketing bets we made 4 years ago are driving most of Dock's pipeline today. When I started Dock, I invested heavily in SEO and content from day one—even before we hired our first marketer. We wrote articles, built up our domain rating, and put content out into the world where people could find us later. Everyone's talking about how SEO is dead. How AI is changing search. How you need to pivot to new channels. But here's what I'm seeing: we get 300+ leads every month just from organic search and ChatGPT. That's "free" pipeline every month. The thing about content marketing is that it's a long-term bet. You don't see results tomorrow or next quarter. But it compounds over time in a way that paid channels never will. My advice to early-stage founders: invest in that content flywheel early. Hire some freelance writers. Write some content yourself. Build that LinkedIn following. Get the SEO engine going (or AEO, GEO, whatever we're calling it now). Yes, it takes years to build. But it's one of the most valuable marketing investments you can make. The short-term tactics get you through the quarter. The long-term bets build the foundation that carries you for years. I see too many founders chasing the latest growth hack or the hottest new channel. Meanwhile, the boring fundamentals of good content marketing are still printing leads 4 years later.

When business owners tell me they're exhausted from the constant hustle of social media marketing, I ask them one simple question: "What happens when someone Googles your expertise right now?" The silence speaks volumes. Here's the truth most marketers won't tell you: SEO isn't just about traffic numbers or vanity metrics. It's about building a lead generation system that works while you sleep. While your social posts disappear after 24 hours, your strategic SEO content continues driving qualified leads for years. This is why our clients see results like: - Going from 128 to 30,000+ monthly visitors - Collecting 50+ qualified leads weekly without posting on social - Generating sales consistently, even during vacation time The difference? They've stopped treating their website like a business card and started using it as a sales engine. SEO builds three things social media alone simply can't: 1️⃣ Trust: When you consistently appear at the top of search results, you're instantly positioned as an authority. People trust Google's recommendations. 2️⃣ Authority: Ranking for your name, niche, and expertise builds credibility before a prospect even speaks to you. When someone searches for solutions in your industry and consistently finds your content, you're not just another option—you're THE expert they turn to first. 3️⃣ Permanence: Content that ranks continues working for you long after you've moved on to other projects. No algorithm changes or daily posting required. 4️⃣ Qualified leads: People finding you through search are actively looking for solutions—they're already halfway to becoming clients. After helping 250+ finance and real estate brands build sustainable marketing systems, I've seen this pattern repeatedly: those who invest in SEO stop chasing clients and start attracting them instead. Your business growth shouldn't depend on how much energy you have to show up today. So I have just one question for you today: Are you building a business that requires your constant attention, or are you creating systems that generate leads even when you step away? - ✚ Follow Samantha Hawrylack, MBA for all things SEO, copywriting, email marketing, content marketing, and digital growth. I’m on a mission to help finance and real estate brands scale with data-driven marketing strategies that generate massive visibility and effortless sales while having lifestyle freedom.

When a business leader mentions, "We're still figuring out SEO; it's not currently a priority," it raises a red flag for me. Why? Because in today's digital age, neglecting SEO is leaving money on the table. As a CMO or marketing leader, your mandate is clear: maximize ROI, amplify brand visibility, and position your brand as an industry leader. Here's a snapshot of what I uncovered about one such brand: ✔ Brand new state-of-the-art website? Check. ✔Vast library of content - more than 8,000 pages in Google's index? Check. ❌ Great traffic and visibility? Alarmingly, both are on a multi-year decline. Your brand might be checking all the traditional marketing boxes. Still, without a focused SEO strategy, you're sidelining one of the most cost-effective and impactful channels available. That beautiful website and great content - it's like building a pristine, brand new home in a desolate ghost town. Consider this: Your premium content is a goldmine waiting to attract and convert. But with dwindling organic visibility, how will your target audience discover this wealth? Paid search and sporadic social media appearances might offer some short-term boosts, but do they ensure consistent visibility in front of an audience with clear purchase intent? SEO isn't just about keywords or traffic. It's about: ➕ Strategic Growth: Positioning your brand at the top when potential clients are actively searching. ➕ Leadership: Demonstrating thought leadership by aligning content with market needs and search intent. ➕ ROI: Maximizing returns by ensuring your content investments aren't lost in the vast digital void. To all visionary CMOs and senior marketers: The digital landscape is changing. Don't get left sitting in a beautiful home in an empty town. Let's collaborate to not only reverse the trend of declining visibility but to position your brand where it rightfully belongs - at the top of your industry.