Most businesses have heard that they should be doing SEO by now.
Search engine optimization can help you rank higher on Google’s search results page, but how important is that really? You have a lot on your plate and want to ensure that every investment has a high return on investment.
We’re here to tell you that SEO is very important. Search engine optimization will provide numerous benefits to your company.
WHAT CAN SEO DO FOR YOUR COMPANY?
1. An increase in traffic
A good SEO strategy can help your page rank for a wide range of short- and long-tail keywords. The more frequently you appear at the top of search engine results pages, the more people will click through to your site.
The higher a website ranks for relevant keywords, the more visitors it will receive.
In fact, the first Google search result for a keyword has a click-through rate of 28.5 percent. When you get to the tenth result, the CTR drops to 2.5 percent.
2. Increased visibility
The more keywords your website ranks for, and the higher the rank, the more often potential customers see your brand. There are a variety of SEO tactics that can help your website gain visibility. SEO is a direct contributor to increased visibility and impressions in search engine results.
3. A financial investment in your future
When researching SEO, you will undoubtedly learn that it is a continuous process with no guarantees of immediate results.
That is correct.
When you invest in SEO, you do so with the understanding that you will most likely not see a return for six to nine months. However, once your efforts begin to bear fruit, you will have free traffic for the foreseeable future.
Contrast this with an investment in paid advertising. They may result in more customers, but the benefit will fade once you stop paying for the ads.
4. Higher Return of Investment than other marketing channels
Outbound leads (such as direct mail or print advertising) have a 1.7 percent close rate, while SEO-generated leads have a 14.6 percent close rate. That is most likely why 49 percent of marketers believe organic search is their most profitable channel.
5. Understanding of your customers and who they are
SEO analytics entails gathering data in order to improve your organic traffic. These metrics can provide you with additional information about your website visitors.
Not only can analytics provide demographic, interest, location, and device information, but it can also provide a great deal of information about where a user is in their decision-making process by using Google Search Console to research what keywords are generating traffic.
6. The ability to reach users at all stages of the purchasing process
Creating and optimizing content for different stages of the buying funnel increases the likelihood of being chosen when it comes time to make a purchase decision.
You can use SEO to appear for common questions that a user may have when they are in the awareness stage. For the decision stage, you can also create case studies or other types of useful SEO content. Finally, you can create quote pages, coupons, and other sales-related items to aid in the purchasing process.
7. Your online reputation has a direct impact on the success of your company.
We’ve already established that your customers use the internet to find information. A company that is actively working on SEO has the ability to control its brand’s online reputation to some extent.
8. For physical businesses, local exposure is important.
In the previous year, 93 percent of consumers utilized the internet to locate a local business. Every day, 34% of people did so.
Local SEO is a set of tactics for enhancing a physical business’s visibility in its immediate vicinity. For example, you may enhance your Google My Business listing or target phrases like “party store in Singapore.”
Consistency of your business name, location, and phone number (NAP data) across data aggregators and local directories is one of the most essential ranking elements in your local area.
The more contradicting name, location, and phone information about your company that exists on the internet, the more difficult it is for Google to determine which information to believe.
This problem can be remedied by using local SEO. Your potential consumers can discover the information they need to contact you no matter where they are.
9. As the worldwide search expands, so does business growth.
The quantity of Google searches has risen steadily. It’s no surprise that the global SEO services market will be worth approximately $86 billion by 2023.
10. A long-term relationship with your clients
As previously said, if your company provides products or services that people search for online, they will require assistance in obtaining answers to inquiries regarding those products and services.
Creating material to answer your target audience’s inquiries might help you maintain that continuous engagement with them
Regularly publishing content establishes you as a trustworthy source of information for your clients while also increasing organic traffic.
11. An equal playing field
Businesses find it difficult to compete with behemoths like Amazon, but SEO can help level the playing field.
A larger company has more bureaucracy, whereas a smaller company can be more agile. A smaller business can focus on longer tail keywords, user experience, and strategy because it is more agile, whereas a larger organization is typically more boxed in.
12. Potential customers’ attention
Paid ads receive only 15% of total traffic for a keyword. People are very familiar with Google, and they now know what constitutes an advertisement and what does not.
SEO ensures that your brand appears where there is a high volume of clicks.
13. Sustainable development
SEO, when done correctly, can provide a great deal of sustainability to a business. When you rank for terms that bring qualified traffic to a website, you generate leads and sales. Maintaining that position while creating new opportunities for your website ensures a steady flow of traffic and allows your business to expand.
14. Traffic that has been specifically targeted
The advantage of SEO over more traditional forms of marketing is that it allows you to generate highly targeted traffic.
Having the ability to appear high on the results page for a specific service you provide is priceless. A user has gone online, typed in something related to your company, and clicked on your listing. Because they are actively looking for a solution, you have a much more targeted audience than if you were to do TV ads or a direct mail campaign at this point. That is extremely effective!
15. It makes no difference whether the concern is local, regional, national, or global.
Consider having to buy radio or television ads in each of the markets where you sell your products or services. The cost would be exorbitant! With SEO, you have the ability to effectively reach any audience you desire. No other advertising medium provides the same combination of low-cost, high-impact options as SEO.
16. Trust and credibility
Websites that rank higher in search results are perceived to be more trustworthy and credible. In fact, less than 1% of searchers click on a result on the second page. The sites on page one is generally regarded as the most credible response to a search query. People nowadays use Google to find what they are looking for. If your website appears at the top of search results, you’ve established yourself as a credible and trustworthy source.
17. Branding
Unless you’re the FedEx of your industry, your customers aren’t likely to search for your brand name.
However, if your customers begin to notice that your brand is consistently near the top of their search results, it will go a long way toward increasing brand awareness.
SEO also helps to improve branding by providing a better user experience. When potential customers visit your website and find useful, relevant content, they have a better experience. They’ll be even happier if your site is fast and mobile-friendly.
These are all aspects of SEO. When you invest in SEO, visitors to your website form a favorable opinion of your company.
18. An advantage in the marketplace
Sixty-three percent of businesses actively invest in SEO. To put it another way, the majority of your competitors are already optimizing for search engines. If you want to grow your business and be found by search engines, you must also invest in SEO services. That is the only way to compete in the long run, unless people stop using the internet to search, which is unlikely to happen anytime soon!
19. Lead generation is available around the clock.
The wonderful thing about SEO is that when you rank, you are always visible to potential customers. That means you can receive traffic at all hours of the day and night, which can result in leads and sales.
There would be lulls if you didn’t do SEO and instead had salespeople calling or emailing potential customers. This is due to the fact that your salespeople must sleep, take breaks, and take vacations, among other things. A well-managed SEO campaign can become a lead and sales generator.
20. Offline sales have increased.
People nowadays use the internet even when they shop in traditional brick-and-mortar stores. They use Google to find local businesses, compare reviews, and browse inventory. And they continue to look while shopping. In recent years, Google has seen a 15% increase in search queries conducted in a store. If you are not found during a user’s search process, you are not even considered for that specific purchase.
There are numerous other reasons why SEO is important and should be considered by the majority of businesses.
Whether you do it yourself or hire a professional SEO service, you will undoubtedly reap many of the benefits listed above.