Businesses that are considering investing in SEO should consider it a long-term commitment. Those that focus only on short-term gains aren’t likely to realize much of a return on their investment, if there’s any at all. SEO is an ongoing process a business is never “done” with. If you can’t afford to make a long-term investment in SEO, you might be better off waiting until you can.
Any reputable SEO firm will explain all this and much more to you. If you tell them your goal is to reap the benefits of more website traffic, they will ask you to explain what you mean. It isn’t that they don’t understand the potential value of more website traffic, it’s more like they aren’t sure you do.
More website traffic this month and for the next few months might result in an increase in sales, but it probably won’t cover the costs of hiring an SEO firm. Yet if you stop investing in SEO, you’ll lose all of your gains plus your initial investment. It takes not months but years of steady work to reap the benefits of SEO. You don’t just want more website traffic; you want SEO for as long as you own your website.