5 Reasons Your Business Should Invest in SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is an integral part of contemporary business yet it is also greatly misunderstood. A quick search for SEO on a search engine will show you many results claiming SEO is dead. In fact, many webmasters who used to be great proponents of SEO strategies have changed their views after realizing they can’t play the system.

As a business startup, you might find these contradicting views confusing and so it is important to get the right information in order to make an informed decision. The bottom-line remains that without an online presence, there is no way you will be able to tap into the growing online market. If you have been wondering how to boost your business using the online market, this guide on SEO will come in handy.

SEO Statistics

Why should you be concerned about SEO anyway? Isn’t Google supposed to find you naturally? Well, millions of websites are launched daily but only a small percentage achieve their set goals. If your site is not ranking highly on search engine result pages (SERPs), there is no way your target audiences will find you.

According to a HubSpot study that was featured on Search Engine Journal, 75 percent of internet users never scroll past the first page of SERPs. If your website is not on this page, it means you simply don’t exist. What’s more;  a study by imFORZA shows that 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine, again highlighting the importance of having a high ranking on SERPs.

The same study shows that 70-80 percent of Internet users ignore paid ads and instead focus on organic results. This is one reason why you should focus on attracting organic traffic through the best SEO practices. A 2015 study by eMarketer among internet marketers shows that 89 percent of these professionals considered SEO strategies to be crucial in helping boost their brand.

Another similar study published by Search Engine Land shows that search engines account for 300 percent more internet traffic sent to websites than any other marketing tool. All these numbers highlight the importance of having a presence online and investing in search engine optimization to guarantee the best ranking on SERPs.

Why is SEO important for Your Business?

Regardless of the type of business, you are marketing online, you can now leverage the increasing number of internet users to meet your goals. If you are able to leverage the internet numbers, you have to boost ranking on SERPs using different strategies. Below are a few reasons why you should invest in SEO irrespective of the size of your business:

Brand Visibility

If you are to compete in your niche, then you must make sure your brand is visible and easily recognizable. Some of the most popular websites on Google including BBC, CNN, New York Times, and Harvard Business School among others have managed to stay ahead of the pack in their niche through online branding.

By investing in SEO services, the companies are able to drive quality traffic and with time their brands have become more trusted due to increased visibility. When your customers try searching for you online, they expect to find you on the first page of SERPs for a targeted keyword and if they don’t, your brand will lose its shine.

Increased Quality Traffic

If you are going to ace it online, you have to start with lead generation. It is true that more traffic might not translate to higher conversion but eventually, you will start ranking highly and with time, your SEO strategy will move towards increasing conversion. In essence, you can’t convert if you don’t have traffic.

By implementing SEO tactics such as link building, directory submission, web audit, keyword optimization, and analytics among others, it becomes easier to attract relevant traffic and this eventually boosts sales on your site.

Impressive ROI

There is no denying modern business marketing is expensive. Small businesses have a hard time raising the necessary capital to compete with global brands that have dedicated budgets to increasing visibility and attracting traffic. However, digital marketing has changed all this because most of these tools are easier to build and implement. For instance, video, which has become an integral SEO strategy, is cheap to produce and launch. Most SEO techniques don’t require a big budget and it is no wonder that small businesses are able to compete favorably with their bigger competition.

Google Analytics for Better Consumer Insight

The modern marketing landscape has changed and today, the use of data in marketing now influences the success of the strategy used. For instance, choosing to market on Facebook might sound like a foolproof idea until Google analytics reveals that your target audience does not even use their social media platform but rather prefers Instagram. Your SEO strategy should be guided by consumer insight to achieve better results in targeted marketing.

Building Credibility

When you build an online presence, you will be conveying a subtle message to potential customers. Your website can be used to entertain, educate and convince customers about the value of your services.

When an internet user wants to find a reliable brand in a particular industry, they will go directly to a search engine, and if your company is not ranking highly, you can bet there will be reservations about how credible your brand is. This is one reason why small businesses have been able to upset big brands by building credible websites and attracting the conscious modern consumer.

Conclusion

There is no denying that the internet marketing platform is getting more competitive than ever before. However, there are more advances in internet marketing to boost your SEO campaign. With better ranking on search engines, you will increase the visibility of your brand and ultimately increase sales conversion. As Google continues updating its algorithm, your SEO strategy has to keep evolving to embrace such changes. Hiring an SEO expert is a great step towards achieving your business goals as these experts have the resources and know-how to promote your website.

Author Bio: Lalit Sharma is an SEO consultant who runs a SEO house called Ranking By SEO. He is specialized in link building and other SEO related activities. You can also find him on Twitter, Google+ and his personal blog.