“Okay, but now, what is SEO?” is a question I frantically asked myself as I prepared for a job interview one day. The job spec outlined what would be expected of me and performing SEO duties was one item listed. With 30 minutes on my side before the interview, I searched the phrase and hurriedly clicked on the result that came up first, not realizing that what was happening in that moment was Search Engine Optimization at work. Needless to say, I walked into the interview, with confidence sounding right off my heels and recited what Google had taught me in seconds. Now, between you and I – I still had no clue what SEO was in its entirety. Anyway, I, however, got the job based on merit and now I’m able to let you know, two years later, why you absolutely need SEO in order for your business to have a shot at success.
The truth is, a lot of brands and businesses are still not clear on what SEO is. The few that do, aren’t implementing the best practices that bear top, long-term results. Some time back SEO was deemed dead (Might we call this a long-standing digital hoax?) and that sparked a widespread debate on whether or not it was still worth investing in. Findings have returned that SEO will remain as relevant as the need for search engines (So, forever, then?).
Did you know that search engines account for 93% of the activities that happen online? There are over 2 billion people online who generate around 40,000 searches per second; amounting to 3.5 billion searches a day. Studies have recently shown that 70-80% of these users only focus on the organic results while gliding over paid ads; with 60% clicking on purely the top three results.
The begging question when considering these statistics is – Does your business currently rank in the top three for its products and services? Well, your competitors do and that’s because they have employed impressive SEO tactics that have landed them right above every other role players in your niche. That means that they get a share of the 60% of consumers that only click on the first three organic results that come up when they log their queries into search engines.
Search Engine Optimization is the process of refining and optimizing the visibility of your website or a web page in a strategic and consistent manner in order to rank number one on a search engine results page. The well-known search engines are Google, Yahoo, Bing, DuckDuckGo, and even YouTube. Google leads the pack with 100 billion monthly searches. For your company to reach its peak, it needs to have a solid presence online.
Let’s delve into the reasons why your business needs to have a splendid SEO strategy in place.
Increased Quality Traffic
Let’s start with the obvious. With the stats laid out above, there are millions of opportunities for your business to be found online. Consumers are using search engines daily to look for the products and services you provide. The odds are literally in your favour. Employing the best SEO strategies will ensure that your rankings are raised, subsequently driving more traffic to your website. Optimizing Title and Meta Description Tags according to relevant keywords that mirror user search queries helps increase the click-through rate. Additionally, the traffic steered onto your website are quality users that are looking for their needs to be fulfilled. More than 70% of customers conduct their research online about a particular service or product before making their buying decisions. These are consumers that are searching for the problem you solve and are already interested in finding out what you offer.
Trackable ROI
SEO is able to provide trackable and quantifiable results. There are tools used that are able to keep track of every point in the strategy such as increases in rankings, traffic and conversions. Comprehensive SEO analytics also narrow down to the nitty gritty and reveal demographic details and other interaction metrics of the users who have engaged with your website. These give insight into user journeys and which paths consumers took in order to complete a conversion goal. They can even disclose which keyword was used from point of conception to search for you prior, and what medium was used. Data produced from tracking ROI can help you make smarter business and marketing decisions because you are aware of your consumer’s profile, needs, habits and what influences them; have insight on what sources are driving leads; and are informed of the conversions & sales taking place on your website. Analysis of this enables you to adjust your marketing strategy accordingly too, if not aligned with KPIs.
Solidified Trust and Credibility
Implementing proper SEO practices improves your rankings and solidifies your credibility. Coming up as part of the top three results trusted enough to be knighted by Google as “relevant”, makes you the shining armour of solutions on a white horse. It makes you suitable and pertinent in the eye of the 70-80% beholders that focus solely on organic search results.
Additionally, a website that is optimized for a high search ranking entails useful, relevant content that drives sales and conversions. It is an authoritative domain that contains elements such as quality backlink profiles, positive user behaviour, machine-learning signals & optimized on-page elements and content. Just like anything of quality, establishing such brand authority takes time. It requires commitment, effort and patience. It also needs product & service offerings that are valuable as well.
Optimal User Experience
Good SEO automatically enhances user experience. A positive user experience is a very crucial element and tells of a website’s success. Consumers know what they want when they get onto your website and failure to meet this results in a high bounce rate that discredits your credibility with search engines. Google and other search engines have bots in place that are able to interpret a favourable or unfavourable user experience. Incorporating proper SEO strategies ensure the former and offers users information they are looking for in fewer clicks – quickly and easily. Optimization consists of rearranging the site’s architecture and links in a manner that makes pages within the website easier to find and navigate. Search engines then crawl your website effortlessly – ranking you higher; and users find information smoothly as well.
Long-term Asset
SEO is anything but a quick fix. It continues to evolve over time and changes are implemented to constantly adapt to it. It’s very important to follow trends and developments closely so that practices executed are in line and help boost the website’s rankings to the best standard possible.
Optimizing your website starts revealing proper impact and improvement all within a year and such carries on lasting more than several years as well. The more time, effort and budget is allocated to SEO, the better and longer a domain surges ahead of its competitors in rankings & worth. That also means endless and consistent quality traffic to your website too. Unlike other marketing tactics that yield quicker results but don’t last very long, SEO’s value increases over time and it produces long-term results.
Increased Success for Local Businesses
The rise and domination of mobile traffic has pushed local SEO to be a crucial part of what makes small and medium businesses a success. With local SEO, people are able to find services and products offered around them quickly and easily because the optimization is done to target a certain location or vicinity. Local optimization focuses on specific cities, regions, provinces and so on in order to bring forth a brand’s messaging to the most relevant local customers. This includes optimizing the website and content, along with local citations, backlinks and listings pertaining to the location and business sector the brand belongs too.
Search engines also invest heavily in this aspect and provide crucial elements that help local businesses increase their visibility while employing the best SEO implementation. Essentials such as Google My Business listings and Google reviews promote engagement on a local level. So not only do search engines give you a platform to advertise your brand, they also provide you with necessities that make certain you make your business a success.
Wrapping up
Carrying out strong, quality SEO on a business’ website will always without a doubt, return beneficial long-term results. It attracts quality traffic, has high ROI returns, solidifies credibility and improves user experience. We’re in the digital age where every decision is driven by online activity and your business needs to be at the forefront where these important developments take place. Your competitors are there, so why wait? WHAT IS SEO AND HOW DOES IT WORK?
For Advanced SEO consultation, Contact The Converted Click today
