Search‑engine optimisation (SEO) can be a powerful inbound channel—but only under certain conditions. SEO makes sense when your audience is already searching for the kinds of solutions you provide, when you can commit to a long time horizon and when you have the resources to produce consistent, high‑quality content. It doesn’t make sense when your offering is novel and unknown (nobody searches for what they don’t know exists), when your sales cycle is extremely short or when you need immediate results.
Executives should ask three questions:
Is there existing search demand?;
Can we sustain this effort for 12-24 months?;
and Is organic traffic aligned with our business model?
If the answer is no to any of these, SEO may not be your primary lever. Use this simple decision framework to save time and focus resources where they count.
