Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the new secret making local business owners smile all the way to the bank. It’s a marketing recipe that’s open to all, but only a few have found the best way to leverage it.
Thousands of websites and online businesses have a limited understanding of SEO. And this can have a massive impact on how Search Engines rank your business. In this article, we’ve highlighted six reasons why you need to invest in SEO.
Over the years, businesses have concentrated on high-quality content and failed to incorporate the other essential SEO techniques. According to a Perficient Digital study, quality content alone is not enough to rank your site in the top spot.
SEO techniques keep evolving, and it’s crucial to stay up-to-date with the current trends. As far as website traffic is concerned, organic search is the unsung hero that will take your brand to the next level.
Photo: Unsplash
As your business name appears in several places across the internet, the Search Engines find a reason to rank you higher than your competitors. Potential leads can then find your business with ease.
When it comes to creating high-quality content, you need to keep some factors in mind. Before you can optimize a post for the Search Engines, it must meet some quality standards - proper formatting, using the right meta tags, concise sentences, bullet lists, and captivating head tags.
Establishing authority is one element that SEO can guarantee. Some of the ways in which SEO can help to build credibility in your business is through quality backlinks, optimized content, and on-page elements.
Authority helps you to comfortably command a section of the market. You can offer them valuable information, and they will listen and engage. You need to provide regular informative content through blogs, infographics, white papers, guides, etc. It can take months before you can win their attention and drive a profitable customer action, i.e., sell them products or services.
As part of the SEO evolution, Google has learned how to interpret a pleasant user experience or an unpleasant user experience. A website with positive user experience is ranked higher.
The right Search Engine Optimization strategy will implement a strong user experience where customers get what they want in the shortest time possible. If they are looking for answers to a question, for example, they should get them in a precise and organized manner without having to browse through lengthy paragraphs.
There are several ways of increasing engagement, and all are great as far as a customer experience is concerned. But let’s face it. Nobody wants to engage an audience that can’t convert. You need to engage potential customers who are highly likely to buy from your business.
Blogging in business is a great way to know the number of leads you can convert from your audience. You can do the estimates, and based on the user statistics, you can target each individually. This is, however, not the best strategy as far as SEO is concerned.
A well-thought-out SEO strategy will boost engagement and conversion in the following ways:
Very few “experts” understood SEO, and they were charging exorbitant fees only for the site to be flagged due to keyword stuffing, link manipulation, etc. To ensure optimum ranking, you want to employ the latest techniques while keeping your audience in mind. It’s a true business investment, and the payoff is worth the wait.
As seen with business bloggers, it’s clear that outperforming your competitors could mean putting in a lot of time and effort into your SEO techniques. This is how the search engine landscape was a year ago. Things are changing rapidly, and dominating online search results means you’ve got to stick with the Golden SEO Rules.
The good news is, partnering with the right SEO experts will cost you less than what you’ll lose with a poorly formulated strategy. A small business SEO consultant will save you human resources, help to improve your online presence and stay ahead of your competitors.
Thousands of websites and online businesses have a limited understanding of SEO. And this can have a massive impact on how Search Engines rank your business. In this article, we’ve highlighted six reasons why you need to invest in SEO.
1. Increases your website traffic
Website traffic comes from people finding your site (before that of competitors) and clicking to check your products or services. Ranking above your competitors is the ultimate goal of increasing traffic to your website.Over the years, businesses have concentrated on high-quality content and failed to incorporate the other essential SEO techniques. According to a Perficient Digital study, quality content alone is not enough to rank your site in the top spot.
SEO techniques keep evolving, and it’s crucial to stay up-to-date with the current trends. As far as website traffic is concerned, organic search is the unsung hero that will take your brand to the next level.
Photo: Unsplash
2. Boosts brand awareness
A good SEO strategy will factor in the key metrics of content marketing. It’s through valuable content that brands become familiar in the market. When you post highly-optimized content regularly, there are high chances that the target market will see your business name.As your business name appears in several places across the internet, the Search Engines find a reason to rank you higher than your competitors. Potential leads can then find your business with ease.
When it comes to creating high-quality content, you need to keep some factors in mind. Before you can optimize a post for the Search Engines, it must meet some quality standards - proper formatting, using the right meta tags, concise sentences, bullet lists, and captivating head tags.
3. Builds trust and credibility
Trust in business is hard to come by. Several brands have disappointed loyal customers, and the market is full of skepticism. Trust is earned, and this is true for every business. Before potential leads shop from your site, they often do their research. They check your business’s Google ratings, reviews, and customer experience.Establishing authority is one element that SEO can guarantee. Some of the ways in which SEO can help to build credibility in your business is through quality backlinks, optimized content, and on-page elements.
Authority helps you to comfortably command a section of the market. You can offer them valuable information, and they will listen and engage. You need to provide regular informative content through blogs, infographics, white papers, guides, etc. It can take months before you can win their attention and drive a profitable customer action, i.e., sell them products or services.
4. Improves user experience
Everyone is trying to improve their organic ranking and improve their visibility, but only a few people realize that optimal user experience is a major factor in getting there.As part of the SEO evolution, Google has learned how to interpret a pleasant user experience or an unpleasant user experience. A website with positive user experience is ranked higher.
The right Search Engine Optimization strategy will implement a strong user experience where customers get what they want in the shortest time possible. If they are looking for answers to a question, for example, they should get them in a precise and organized manner without having to browse through lengthy paragraphs.
5. Increases engagement and conversion
Encouraging an audience to take action is not easy. You first need to understand them and know their preferences before you can proceed to make an offer. This will mean narrowing down your options until you can target the most probable customer.There are several ways of increasing engagement, and all are great as far as a customer experience is concerned. But let’s face it. Nobody wants to engage an audience that can’t convert. You need to engage potential customers who are highly likely to buy from your business.
Blogging in business is a great way to know the number of leads you can convert from your audience. You can do the estimates, and based on the user statistics, you can target each individually. This is, however, not the best strategy as far as SEO is concerned.
A well-thought-out SEO strategy will boost engagement and conversion in the following ways:
- Optimizing the business website and its content- i.e., through local listings and using relevant backlinks.
- Optimizing Google My Business listing.
- Updating Google reviews, and other sites such as Angie’s List, Trip Advisor, Yelp, etc.
It’s cost-effective
Gone are the days when SEO came with a hefty price tag. Only the significant brands could afford this state-of-the-art service, which was kept a secret among the key market players.Very few “experts” understood SEO, and they were charging exorbitant fees only for the site to be flagged due to keyword stuffing, link manipulation, etc. To ensure optimum ranking, you want to employ the latest techniques while keeping your audience in mind. It’s a true business investment, and the payoff is worth the wait.
As seen with business bloggers, it’s clear that outperforming your competitors could mean putting in a lot of time and effort into your SEO techniques. This is how the search engine landscape was a year ago. Things are changing rapidly, and dominating online search results means you’ve got to stick with the Golden SEO Rules.
The good news is, partnering with the right SEO experts will cost you less than what you’ll lose with a poorly formulated strategy. A small business SEO consultant will save you human resources, help to improve your online presence and stay ahead of your competitors.
