SEO for Small Businesses - featured image

SEO: 7 Reasons Why Your Business Needs It

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

You can and should avoid your ex. After all, your ex is your ex for a specific reason. But you should never avoid SEO. Why? Because SEO won’t let you down. It is your long-term business partner.

Most people know that SEO stands for “search engine optimization.” However, most don’t understand SEO despite the fact that it’s an integral part of any business, large or small. And if you search for the term “SEO” on any search engine, you’ll likely find yourself overwhelmed with an off-putting mountain of information.

However, the truth is, you can’t grow and improve your business without an online presence. And your online presence is entirely dependent on quality SEO.

In this article, you will discover seven important reasons why your business needs to invest in SEO services.

RELATED ARTICLE: 3 SIMPLE STEPS TO KICKSTART YOUR BUSINESS WITH A BLOG

People Are Searching for Your Products or Services on the Internet

Search engines are the foundation of the Internet. Moreover, today, they represent the fastest method to obtain any information.

Studies have shown that a huge part of your website’s traffic comes from organic searches. A leading online marketing agency discovered that 34% of all web traffic comes from miscellaneous sources, 5% are from social networks, and 10% are from paid search ads. However, a gigantic 51% of your website’s traffic comes from organic search.

This is because people search for products or services with search engines. And you need search engines to generate awareness about your product when your product or brand is less well-known.

Your aim is to be number-one on the search engines when potential customers search for products or services related to your brand. And good SEO can get you there.

Good SEO Will Give You Quality Traffic

You need to start generating quality leads before your business can be profitable.

Yes, it’s true that traffic and conversion are quite different. But over time, when your business keeps ranking high in search engines, you’ll get more traffic. And because it does, your conversion rate will increase.

SEO offers you one of the best ways to attract quality traffic. This will boost sales of your products or services.

SEO Increases Leads and Sales

If you have a healthy budget and you implement the right SEO strategies, SEO can be your best source of quality leads and sales. Realistically, though, your SEO efforts will only start paying off after six to twelve months.

According to Search Engine Journal, more than 18% of local smartphone searches result in a sale every day. When you invest in SEO with a reliable SEO agency for your business, you are deploying a long-term strategy that will provide your business with consistent leads and sales.

When you track your analytics, you can calculate your return on investment and compare that against your goals. Notably, organic SEO has proven to be stronger than paid search ads and more powerful than any other online marketing tactic.

You’ll Have Lower Advertising Costs

Even if you take into consideration the six-month period it takes for your SEO efforts to start paying off, SEO is comparatively cheaper than paid search efforts. That’s because if you want to keep attracting traffic to your website using paid advertising methods, you need to keep paying monthly. However, it is only during that first six months of SEO that you have to invest a lot of money.

Nonetheless, you probably should also invest in paid search marketing, even though it has a short returning conversion rate compared with organic SEO. Search engine marketing (meaning any form of paid advertising) has greater speed but lower conversions than SEO.

So while SEO services may seem expensive at first, search engine optimization offers continuity and stability. In contrast, search engine marketing is more of a marketing cost than an investment in your business future. But good SEO practices can improve your business’s visibility in search engines at lower cost.

SEO Works for You 24/7

Your clients are using search engines to search and make informed decisions from the options available to them. Thus, having a high SEO ranking allows you to build trust with your prospects and ultimately turn them into paying customers.

Also, when you have an excellent search engine ranking position (SERP), SEO continues to work for you around the clock, every day of the year. It will keep promoting your business and generating top quality leads to your business even while you sleep.

It Gives You Greater Brand Awareness

Improved brand awareness is one of the benefits of high rankings in search engines. Prospects are more likely to trust your brand when your website appears on the first page of major search engines such as Google and Bing.

Therefore, it is important that you invest in SEO to gain high rankings for keywords related to your business. This will improve your brand awareness.

So wake up.

In this day and age, search engines can make or break your brand.

It Can Improve User Experience on Your Website

Apart from highly relevant content (which keeps your website visitors happy), having a well-structured, clean, and uncluttered web design can decrease your bounce rate. It also increases your page views, because your web visitors stay longer on your website.

When visitors stay longer on your website, search engines are happy. They will then keep ranking your website high in search results related to your key terms.

Conclusion

Now you know the importance of SEO to your small- to medium-sized business. It is time to act by employing the services of a reputable SEO service company, one with the right digital marketing acumen. Make the right choice, and SEO will take your business to new heights.