There was a time when we had more than 40 reporters working across Nigeria, publishing stories every day, yet many of those stories were reaching almost nobody. That was the uncomfortable reality at The Trumpet Newspaper.
We were doing what a newsroom is supposed to do. Reporters were finding stories, editors were working on them and articles were being published. But publishing news does not automatically create an audience. People have to find the news.
That was when I began to understand a lesson that has shaped my view of search engine optimisation ever since: you can spend heavily on producing content and still waste much of that investment if nobody can find it.
We eventually decided to invest seriously in SEO. Looking back at the progress we have made, I believe that investment was worth it. But I would add an important warning: SEO is only worth the money when the people handling it understand what they are doing. That distinction can save a business a considerable amount of money.
Our SEO problem was bigger than we initially realised
Before we took SEO seriously, our problem was not a shortage of content. It was the way we were creating and presenting that content.
We were publishing articles without enough keyword research. Some headlines were poorly suited to search. Internal linking was weak. We had technical SEO problems. Some pages were slow. Images were not always properly optimised. We had duplicate content issues and very few quality backlinks.
In other words, we were producing content without building the search infrastructure needed to give that content a reasonable chance of being discovered. That was a mistake, and it is a mistake I believe many businesses make. They spend money on websites, writers, photographers, designers, products and services, then treat SEO as something they can worry about later. I would now advise against that approach.
SEO should be considered before the business starts
If I were starting an online newspaper or another digital business today, I would think about SEO from the beginning. I would not wait until thousands of pages had been published. I would not wait until traffic became disappointing. I would not wait until Google had already developed a poor understanding of the website.
SEO should be considered when the website architecture is being planned, when content categories are being created and when the organisation is deciding what its audience should find through search. This does not mean every new business needs to spend a fortune on SEO. It means the business needs to understand its importance from the outset.
We invested in people, tools and technical improvements
Our response was not simply to tell reporters to put more keywords into their articles. We invested across several areas of SEO. We used Semrush and other tools for research and analysis. We invested in backlinks. We engaged SEO specialists and consultants. We worked on technical SEO, image optimisation and site audits. We also incorporated AI tools such as Claude into parts of our workflow.
The important lesson here is that SEO is not one activity. It is a combination of content, technical performance, research, site structure, authority, user experience and continuous monitoring. A good SEO professional has to understand how these pieces fit together.
The results changed my opinion about SEO
The results have been substantial. Our web traffic increased by more than 40 percent. Our ranking performance improved from around 3 percent to 36 percent, based on the ranking measurement we were tracking. Our organic keywords increased by more than 240 percent. Page views also increased tremendously.
The reader experience improved. Our backlink profile grew, and we began earning backlinks through the merit and visibility of our content. For me, these numbers matter because they represent a change in the behaviour of the website. We were no longer simply publishing articles and hoping somebody would find them. We were building a website that had a much better chance of being discovered through search. That is a significant difference.
But increased traffic does not automatically mean increased profit
This is where I believe businesses need to be realistic about SEO. The Trumpet has made significant progress in traffic, rankings, organic keywords, backlinks and page views. Yet we are still struggling to reach break-even in terms of revenue. I have no interest in hiding that fact.
It is possible to increase website traffic substantially and still have work to do before that traffic produces enough revenue to sustain the business. That does not mean the SEO investment failed. It means SEO is part of a larger business equation. Traffic must eventually contribute to revenue, leads, subscriptions, sales, advertising or another measurable business objective. A website can have millions of visitors and still have a poor business model. SEO can bring people through the door. The business still has to give them a reason to stay, return or spend money.
So, was the SEO investment worth it?
Based on our experience, yes. I believe the investment has created enough improvement in visibility and traffic to justify the decision. More importantly, it has changed the way we approach digital publishing.
We now understand that good journalism alone is not enough for an online newspaper. The story must be discoverable. The website must be technically sound. The content must match what people are searching for. Pages must provide a good experience. The site needs authority. And the entire system needs to be monitored and improved. That understanding has value beyond any individual SEO campaign.
The biggest mistake is hiring the wrong SEO person
If there is one warning I would give businesses considering SEO, this would be it. Do not assume that everyone who calls themselves an SEO consultant knows how to deliver sustainable search visibility. I have encountered self-acclaimed consultants who appeared to understand SEO but did not demonstrate the depth of knowledge required to solve the problems involved.
That can become an expensive lesson. A business can spend months paying for SEO and still have little to show for it. The problem may not be SEO itself. The problem may be the person or company providing the service.
How I would choose an SEO company today
The first thing I would ask for is evidence of previous results. I would want to know:
- Which websites have they worked on?
- What was the situation before they started?
- What did they change?
- How long did it take?
- What happened to organic traffic?
- What happened to rankings?
- Did organic keywords increase?
- Did the client’s business actually benefit?
- Can they explain their methods clearly?
I would pay particular attention to before-and-after results. An SEO provider does not need to promise spectacular numbers. What matters is whether they can demonstrate that their work has produced measurable improvements for real clients.
Do not confuse SEO tools with SEO expertise
Another lesson from our experience is that tools are important, but tools do not replace expertise. We invested in Semrush and other tools because they provide useful data. But owning an SEO platform does not make somebody an SEO expert.
The same applies to artificial intelligence. AI can assist with research, content development, analysis and other parts of the workflow. It can make certain tasks faster. But someone still needs to know what questions to ask, how to interpret the information and how to decide what action should follow. Technology is an instrument. Expertise determines how effectively that instrument is used.
What should a business expect from an SEO investment?
I would not tell a business owner to invest in SEO simply because everybody else is doing it. Start with the business case. Ask how much a new customer is worth. Ask how many customers currently come through search. Ask what the company could gain if organic visibility increased. Ask how much additional revenue, leads or readership would be required to recover the SEO investment. Then establish realistic targets.
For a newspaper, the objectives might include organic readership, page views, returning visitors, advertising opportunities and authority. For an e-commerce business, the objectives may include product visibility, organic sales and revenue. For a professional services company, it may be qualified leads. The measure of successful SEO should therefore be connected to the business.
SEO can pay for itself, but it takes the right strategy
One reason I continue to believe SEO is worth the investment is that search traffic can continue generating value after the initial work has been done. A useful article can rank for months or years. A properly optimised page can attract visitors without the business paying for every individual click. A strong website can build authority over time.
This creates the possibility of recovering the original investment and eventually generating profit from the traffic SEO produces. But that possibility depends on execution. There is no magic button. There is no responsible SEO professional who can guarantee that every article will rank number one. And there is no substitute for patience, technical knowledge and good content.
What I would tell a business owner considering SEO
If you are considering hiring an SEO company, my advice is simple. Do not ask only how much SEO costs. Ask what the investment is expected to produce. Then ask the SEO provider to show you evidence that they have produced those kinds of results before.
If the provider cannot explain the strategy, be cautious. If they promise instant rankings, be cautious. If they cannot show previous results, be cautious. If they focus entirely on keywords while ignoring technical SEO, site structure, user experience and authority, be cautious. And if they tell you that SEO guarantees immediate revenue, I would be particularly careful.
My conclusion: SEO is worth paying for, but expertise is what you are really buying
My experience at The Trumpet Newspaper has changed the way I think about SEO. We began with a newsroom producing a large volume of content without enough online visibility. We invested in SEO tools, technical improvements, specialists, backlinks, image optimisation, site audits and better content practices.
The results have included more than 40 percent growth in web traffic, more than 240 percent growth in organic keywords, a substantial improvement in ranking performance, significant growth in page views and a better reader experience. We are still working on the revenue side. That is important because SEO should never be presented as a guaranteed shortcut to profit. But the progress is real.
And if I were starting an online business today, I would not wait until the website was struggling before thinking about SEO. I would get the SEO foundation right from the beginning.
For me, the question is no longer whether SEO is worth investing in. The better question is: can your business afford to ignore the people who are already searching for what you provide? For many businesses, the answer may be no.