Is SEO Worth Paying Extra For?
When you’re getting a new website built in Savannah, you’ll probably get quotes that include SEO and quotes that don’t. The ones with SEO cost more, and you might wonder if that extra money is actually worth it.
Short answer: yes, if you want people to find your website. Let me explain why.
Web Design vs SEO – What’s the Difference?
Web Design
This is the visual stuff – how your site looks, the colors, the layout, how easy it is to navigate. A good web designer makes your site look professional and work properly.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
This is about making sure Google can find your site and decides to show it to people searching for what you offer. It’s the difference between having a beautiful website that nobody sees and one that actually brings in customers.
The Money Side of Things
Upfront Cost
Yeah, adding SEO to your web design project costs more upfront. Maybe a few hundred or a few thousand extra, depending on the scope.
But think of it this way – what good is saving money on a website if nobody can find it? You end up with a nice-looking site that sits there doing nothing for your business.
Long-Term Savings
When SEO is built into your site from the start, you don’t have to pay someone later to fix it. And as your site starts ranking and bringing in organic traffic, you spend less on advertising because customers are finding you naturally through Google.
I’ve had clients who skipped SEO to save money, then six months later paid someone else to basically rebuild the site properly. They ended up spending more than if they’d just done it right the first time.
Local SEO Matters in Savannah
Getting Found Locally
When someone in Savannah searches “web designer near me” or “plumber Savannah GA,” you want to show up. That’s local SEO.
Without proper local optimization, you’re invisible to people in your own city who are actively looking for your services right now. That’s a lot of missed business.
Google Maps and Local Listings
Local SEO gets you showing up in Google Maps and local search results. When people search on their phones for services nearby, this is where they look first.
SEO Affects How Your Site Works
Speed and Mobile
Good SEO means your site loads fast and works perfectly on phones. These aren’t just nice features – Google uses them to decide your rankings.
Slow sites rank lower. Sites that don’t work on mobile rank lower. So SEO isn’t separate from web design – it should be part of it from the start.
User Experience
Search engines care about whether people like using your site. Do they stay and browse, or leave immediately? That signals quality to Google.
An SEO-focused designer builds sites that people actually enjoy using, which helps rankings and converts more visitors into customers.
Competitive Advantage
Most Competitors Skip This
A lot of businesses in Savannah have websites that look fine but aren’t optimized at all. They wonder why they’re not getting traffic.
By investing in SEO from the start, you’re ahead of most of your competition. While they’re invisible in search results, you’re showing up and getting the customers.
Results You Can Track
With SEO, you can see exactly what’s working. Google Analytics shows you how many people visit your site, where they come from, what they look at, and whether they contact you.
This data helps you make smart decisions about your marketing and your business. Without SEO tracking, you’re flying blind.
The Reality
I’ve built websites both ways – with SEO built in and without it. The ones without SEO sit there looking pretty but bringing in almost no traffic. The ones with proper SEO start showing up in searches and generating leads.
It’s the difference between a website that’s an expense and a website that’s an investment. One costs you money and does nothing. The other costs more upfront but pays for itself by bringing in customers.
Here’s What Happens Without SEO
You launch your nice new website. Maybe your existing customers visit it because you told them about it. But nobody else finds it because Google has no idea it exists or what it’s about.
You end up paying for advertising to drive traffic to it. Google Ads, Facebook ads, whatever. You’re constantly spending money just to get people to see your site.
Meanwhile, your competitor who invested in SEO is getting free organic traffic every day from people searching for exactly what you both offer. They’re not paying for ads because their site ranks naturally.
Who made the better investment?
My Honest Recommendation
If you’re getting a new website, include SEO from the start. Not as an afterthought, not as something you’ll “add later,” but built into the foundation.
Yes, it costs more upfront. But it’s one of those situations where being cheap actually costs you more in the long run. Either through missed opportunities or having to pay someone to fix it properly later.
A website without SEO is like opening a store with no signage in a location nobody knows about. You can have the best products and the nicest store, but if nobody knows you exist, it doesn’t matter.
Want to talk about building a website that people can actually find? Let’s discuss what proper SEO means for your specific business and whether the investment makes sense for you.
