Over the past few years, marketing specialists have emphasised that SEO is important for commercial success.
So, why is that and why should this marketing technique be something your company should care about?
What is SEO?
Considering that 93% of all online experiences begin with a search engine, it does not make sense for a business not to have a website that attracts customers.
But, having a website is not enough.
Internet users need to find your website on search engines. And, that is where search engine optimization comes in. It refers to the techniques marketers use to ensure your website appears as the first option on the first page of search engine results.
SEO goes beyond keyword optimisation to include techniques such as link building, meta description, HTML optimization, and quality content development.
Key reasons why SEO is important for generating more leads and sales:
#1 Increased website traffic
The main reason for creating a website is to have potential customers visit it and then contact you
The more the website traffic, the more customers contact your business.
Naturally, internet users click on the webpages that appear on the first page of search engine results and are more likely to click on the first three results.
When have you ever gone to the second page?
So, if your website is not among the top results you are losing a large amount of traffic which in turn = revenue. Good SEO will help your website have better rankings.
#2 Brand awareness
Brand awareness is an important aspect of marketing. Most internet users do not just search one term click on a website and leave.
They will type another a related keyword phrase to refine their search because they want to purchase products from a business that connects with them.
If your business consistently appears with every change in search phrase, it will register in the mind of the customer. Finally, the searcher is ready to purchase, your business will be the first to come to mind.
#3 Business credibility
Remember the days before Google. Back then, when searching for a business, you used Yellow Pages.
Let’s say you were looking for a law firm.
Like most people, you started looking from the first page of the listings rather than the last page. The same applies to Google results. Unconsciously, internet users tend to assume that a business in the top ranks of search engine results is credible.
You see people trust googles search results and they know, if a website is at the top of the search results, it is likely to answer their question.
#4 Good Return on Investment
Compared to traditional forms of advertising, SEO offers a great return on investment (ROI).
It is an inbound marketing strategy – which is to say that it gives you an opportunity to market to people when they are actually looking for your product or service.
You need not interrupt people as they watch the news or pay for a banner your customers may or may not see.
The potential buyer is halfway there.
All you have to do is to convince them that you are the right business to buy from.
Still, it is not that easy. For it to work, the strategies ought to be well executed to achieve the desired goal.
#5 Useful insight into customers
SEO enables you to generate healthy traffic. Through Google Analytics, you are able to track this traffic.
The data generated tells you what your customers search, how often they search, their geographical location, their preferred language, and the time of day and time of the year they are most active.
For a business, this data is extremely useful as it will help come up with both production and marketing strategies.
#6 Improved User Experience
Over the years Google has changed its search algorithms such that they focus on user experience.
As such, modern SEO strategies are tailored towards making websites user-friendly, fast, and most of all to provide quality content to internet users.
If a visitor to your site is content, chances are they will stick on your website long enough to make a purchase and they are more likely to return to your site the next time they require services you offer.
Online success for any business includes increased traffic, increased conversion rates, improved brand awareness, and content customers.
SEO provides all that and more. If you rank low on Google results, you badly need SEO. There is more than enough evidence SEO is important for commercial success.
Author Bio
Chris Dinham is the co-owner and head of operations at Summit Web. He started his marketing career by buying and selling digital businesses. With a background in creating lead generation strategies, he is an expert when it comes to planning and building full marketing funnels for our clients. Look out for him surfing at Trigg Point or creating informational videos on his youtube channel.
