Many people ask why SEO is important for business and this article aims to give you.
Most businesses understand by now that they should be investing in SEO as a priority. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) increases your chances of ranking higher on the search engine results optimizing your website visibility.
But there are still some who think how much does that matter? They feel they are already investing in marketing in several other ways, and they need convincing that every investment is different and has distinct ROIs.
The following few pages will tell you the importance of search engine optimization and how your business will benefit from it.
Importance of SEO in Business
If you own or manage a website, how will you get traffic to it? Without visitors, how will your website sell your products and services?
SEO is the tool that will improve your website’s search engine ranking and help your business be noticed by customers who are looking for the things you provide.
The significant benefit is that you will get genuine organic traffic to your site, and conversions will happen if your products are good.
Before going into further details, it is essential you know SEO is not for your business if
- You are building websites for your company’s internal use and have confidential data not meant for the outside world.
- SEO is also not for your business if you seek immediate results. SEO takes time, and you must look at other digital marketing strategies if you want quick results.
Otherwise, yes. SEO is necessary for every online company, regardless of the size and nature of the business. It is mandatory if you want an excellent online presence, increase organic traffic, and help to grow your business.
Benefits of SEO
Read on to understand why SEO is important for your business and how your investment now will yield results in the long run.
1. Greater exposure and better ranking
If done correctly, SEO can ensure your website is available to your audience in all the relevant searches. You will have unlimited high-quality visitors since consumers are already searching for services like yours, and you can be sure of more conversions and sales.
Organic SEO ensures you get a natural standing on SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages.)
The process involves:
- Using keywords analysis
- Enhancing metadata on existing pages
- Backlinks
- Link building
- Writing appropriate quality content
Related Article: SEO Copywriting Tips to Boost Your Content Performance
2. Increase in visibility and increase in traffic
This is one of the important benefits of search engine optimization. Using relevant keywords can draw more traffic and help increase your website rankings. One significant way to use SEO digital marketing to build your web traffic is keyword research and long-tail keywords.
You must know what words and phrases audiences use to find products and services related to your industry. You will see these in the keyword planner tool.
You can update your site content to match the most popular search terms. If you are unaware, long-tail keywords usually are phrases that provide a better description of your site’s content.
Phrases with three words or more can improve conversions. For example, suppose you are a furniture rental company; simply using the short keyword “furniture” will compete with everyone dealing with furniture, i.e., furniture wholesale dealers, furniture retailers, furniture manufacturers, and furniture hire companies.
Instead, if you are more specific, “furniture rental agency,” you are only competing with businesses similar to yours.
3. Location-based keywords
If you are running a local business and have no immediate plans for expansion, you might think, how important is SEO for me? Your SEO team or SEO agency will create marketing plans that can help search rankings by using location-based keywords.
You can focus on local SEO to attract your local clients. Why should you advertise in places where you do not intend to sell your services?
Continuing on the same example above, if your location is Chicago, your long-tail keyword should be furniture rental agency in Chicago or furniture rental agency Chicago. So, when a customer in Chicago searches for furniture rental near me, the search results will reflect your business.
You must optimize your Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business) listing. Also, ensure consistency in your listing- business name, address, timings, contact details, phone numbers, and the services you offer should be consistent across all platforms, data aggregators, and local directories.
The consistency of your business name, address, and phone number (NAP data) across data aggregators and local directories are some of the important ranking factors in your local area.
Useful Article: Keyword Research: An In-Depth Guide for Beginners
4. Credibility and trust
Consumers have faith in search engine results. Nowadays, everyone uses Google to search for something, and they usually click on the top sites on the first page. Users rarely click till the second page to search for a result.
So, with proper SEO, if you reach the top of the relevant search pages, your audience will understand you achieved the top position because of your reputation and high-quality services.
5. Branding
Unless you dominate your industry or are a monopoly, unlikely in today’s competitive world, your customers are not searching for you using your brand name.
When your brand has user recognition, it will strive on the search engines, boosting company awareness. Several consumers admit they prefer to go to known brands even if they are not top rankers.
Doing business with a familiar company is better than taking chances with a new unknown brand despite being on top of the search ranking.
Many consumers also directly search for products using the brand name. For example, a branded search is if someone were to search “Colgate Palmolive.” It is a branded search – the user searches specifically for some products from Colgate Palmolive.
Likewise, when they search for your services using your brand name, it is evident your brand is famous, and consumers have seen or heard about your products.
6. Quality traffic
Merely getting traffic to your website is not sufficient. Sometimes typing a wrong keyword or spelling or misunderstanding your business can flood your site with unusual traffic, but when the users realize they are in the wrong place, they will retreat. There will be no conversions or sales. You do not need such traffic.
You need high-quality traffic, and that is where you will know the importance of SEO in business. The traffic will consist of genuine consumers who are seriously searching for products, information, or other resources your site offers.
SEO puts all your website pages in front of those people, influencing their decisions.
7. Better ROI than many other marketing platforms
Marketers have a variety of options when it comes to reaching new customers. You cannot keep experimenting with the marketing platforms to decide which best suits you. It would help if you focused on the channels that give you the best investment returns.
SEO dominates when it comes to the best marketing channel for providing exceptional ROI. SEO is one internet marketing strategy that offers a wealth of analytical information. You get almost all the data from basic metrics like traffic, bounce rate, and user flow, which will help plan your strategies.
You also get a good insight into a user’s decision-making process. By leveraging Google Search Console, you can learn what keywords are driving traffic to your website.
Although SEO is a long-term strategy, it provides an impressive ROI because you don’t pay when visitors click on your site. In platforms like PPC, you pay every time somebody clicks on your ad.
8. An investment for the future
As mentioned in the beginning, you must have understood that SEO will not give you instant results. It may take six months to a year to find the results.
Once it starts, you will have a continual flow of visitors in the deciding stage and a big reason why SEO scores over paid ads. Once you stop paying for the ads, the traffic also will drop.
9. Cost-effective marketing
One of the best advantages of SEO that makes it better than many other digital marketing strategies is that it is cost-effective. You are not searching for customers but are engaging those customers who are in the process of making the purchase.
SEO can ensure a better success rate than the other digital platforms since the traffic is more qualified and organic, enabling significant savings. An SEO expert can tailor strategies to your business’s specific requirements like marketing budget and desired results.
10. Competitors use it
As mentioned in the beginning, almost all online businesses invest in SEO regardless of industry. So, it could mean your competitors might be in different stages of getting investment returns.
Imagine what you are losing in visibility, exposure and, ultimately, customers. All the users searching for services like yours are going to your competitors. People are relying more and more on the internet, and it will continue, so moving with the trends will benefit you.
11. Round-the-clock lead generation
Investing in SEO makes your brand continuously visible to potential customers. Someone somewhere is searching for products like yours even when you are sleeping, and they may go ahead with the next step without your knowing.
When your site ranks for business-related keywords, it will keep attracting visitors 24/7 from different locations.
You could find a significant jump in traffic, and to attend to their needs, create a strong SEO strategy and make your website an effective tool to attract healthy traffic.
12. Improves your offline stores
Even if you do not have an online store, please understand that your customers are. People automatically reach out to their mobile phones when they have a query. Tell them about your brick-and-mortar store so that they come to visit your physical store. This should explain why is SEO so important.
A proper SEO strategy ensures your online audience will find you, and your business will have a new group of visitors. There are still several products that make sense to buy in a retail store rather than online; if your business pertains to any of those, you should popularize your store online.
13. A great addition to the marketing blend
Every successful business engages with different marketing channels at a given time. As they influence one another, directly or indirectly, you could organize a cohesive marketing approach where the two platforms synergize to optimize your marketing approach enriching your brand’s user experience.
SEO, with its broad diversity, complements well with various marketing channels. Blend one of your paid search strategies with SEO and maximize your search engine results page, increasing your site’s visibility and reliability. It will also improve the chances of getting clicks from visitors.
14. SEO supports customers at every stage of the sales funnel
Getting an insight into the path a consumer takes while shopping online and understanding how you can guide them through your site is vital to optimizing organic traffic conversions.
Creating appropriate content for the SEO marketing conversion funnel can convince the customers to narrow their search to your business in the purchasing stage. The three major stages of the marketing funnel are explained below.
a] Awareness: The consumer is unsure what to buy and where to find the product or service. You must capture the consumer’s attention towards your services.
The best way for you to get leads at this stage is to create queries that first-time consumers ask to see your products.
Answering the questions will help in SERP and draw customers to your site. Your answers must be simple and easy to understand and give complete information.
b] Evaluation: The consumer is still undecided about where and what they would make the purchase. They only are sure they want to buy something.
They are still in the deciding stage and researching various options, so if you put your best content that is informative and trustworthy, it could make them give preference to your products.
c] Conversion: The customer has decided to buy but needs a little coaxing to make a move.
Focus not on keywords but on creating more content about the products through descriptions, testimonials, case studies, and blogs. Be informative but not repetitive.
15. An authority in your industry
Continuously ranking high in the SERP will build your reputation and trustworthiness. Consumers will understand your services are among the best options they have.
If you feed them with educative and authoritative content, they will look towards your site with confidence and preference. It will raise your credibility and show your business’s success.
Customers looking for information will keep increasing each year. If you continue to be active with your customers and probable customers, your reputation will grow further, and you will be a leader in your industry.
You can also read the article Showcasing the Value of SEO to learn more.
Conclusion of Why SEO is Important for Business
Any online store looking towards growth and expansion needs SEO. The above points should make it clear why SEO is important for business. There could be some more points one could add specific to their requirements.
The first move you must make is to look for a specialized and experienced SEO agency to help you grow.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why SEO is important for small business?
SEO is very important for small businesses as it offers a cost-effective means to enhance online visibility, making it easier for potential customers to discover their products or services. Local SEO, in particular, enables small businesses to target their immediate communities effectively. Moreover, a strong online presence achieved through SEO not only boosts credibility but also levels the playing field with larger competitors. It’s an enduring investment that ensures a steady stream of organic traffic and long-term growth, making it an indispensable tool for small business success in the digital age.
Why SEO is important for startups?
In the case of startups, SEO is a crucial digital tool. It provides cost-effective marketing, amplifies online visibility, and allows startups to compete alongside industry giants, all while building credibility and attracting niche audiences. The beauty of SEO for startups lies in its longevity; it’s not a short-term campaign but an enduring tool that ensures sustained growth and success, making it an indispensable ally in their entrepreneurial journey.
What are the different types of location-based SEO?
Location-based SEO is crucial for businesses looking to target specific audiences. Here are the key types:
- Local SEO: Local SEO focuses on optimizing for a specific local area, typically for brick-and-mortar businesses or service providers targeting a local clientele.
- National SEO: National SEO aims to reach a broader national audience within a single country, suitable for businesses with a wider geographic reach.
- International SEO: International SEO targets global audiences by optimizing for multiple countries and languages, making it ideal for businesses with a worldwide presence.
How does SEO benefit businesses in terms of online visibility?
SEO enhances a business’s online visibility by ensuring that its website ranks higher in search results for relevant keywords. This increased visibility means more people are likely to discover the business when searching for products or services related to its industry. Conducting an initial SEO audit is often the first step in identifying areas for improvement and setting the stage for ongoing optimization efforts.
Related Article: SEO Audit: A Complete Guide
Can you explain the concept of organic traffic and its significance in SEO?
Organic traffic refers to the visitors who come to a website through unpaid, natural search engine results. White hat SEO practices, which prioritize ethical and sustainable optimization techniques, play a key role in driving organic traffic. This kind of traffic is highly valuable because it often consists of users actively seeking information or products related to a business, making them more likely to convert into customers.