When your website is vying with thousands of others on the World Wide Web, search engine optimization or SEO is the vital process that makes you more searchable. You may have already heard about SEO – after all it’s been around for many years now – and gone from being the ‘in thing’ to being proclaimed as ‘dead’ and yet still an integral part of the marketing mix. But, it is possible that you may have not yet invested in an optimization strategy. You should, because the business benefits of SEO are meaningful, and can directly impact your bottom line.
How does SEO manage that?
Organic search engine optimization helps people find your website. Half your job is done when people find you online – now it’s up to your persuasive content and great offers to encourage them to take the desired action (request for more information, sign up for your newsletter, purchase your product, refer their friends, etc.). This is your opportunity to bag customers, build your pipeline of leads, and get bookmarked for future visits. If the visitor is not ready to purchase from you, he may contribute to your business in other ways. For instance, he may share your blog post on his Facebook page, enhancing your brand awareness. Or he may visit your Pinterest page and be impressed by what he sees, which may strengthen his motivation to buy from you or at least keep your business on his radar.
- A whopping 90 per cent of customers check online reviews prior to making a purchase before buying from a brand. Without SEO, potential customers may not find you, and find your competitors instead.
- 75 per cent of user don’t scroll past the first page of search results
- If you cater completely or mostly to a local audience, you need a good local SEO strategy. Local searches are responsible for 50 per cent of mobile store visits within a single day.
- Search is still the number one driver of traffic to websites, surpassing social media by 300 per cent – this is the only statistic you need to know! (Note: social media boosts SEO and is essential to building brand loyalty)
SEO is a cost-effective marketing solution
SEO is not a one-time cost; it is an investment that keeps paying dividends. It also delivers a better ROI than other forms of online marketing such as purchasing leads for an email marketing campaign or PPC advertising. A successful PPC strategy will definitely help you reach the right audience, get your advertising up and running in the shortest time, and provide quick results, SEO is the foundation on which your online presence can be rooted and grown.
SEO enhances brand trust and credibility
If you want to find a business, you just google it. In today’s highly-connected world, your business credibility depends on how accessible you are to consumers on their desktops, laptops, mobile phones and tablets. When customers see you on the first or second page of Google search results, they instantly trust you to solve their problem, whatever it might be. SEO capitalizes on his psychological trigger, capturing their attention and interest with compelling website titles and description tags, and relevant keywords.
Search engine optimization is a long-term strategy with an ongoing ROI. It is an exciting endeavor that offers insights into evolving customer behaviors and helps you maintain a user-friendly website that keeps contributing to business results and growth.