If you've arrived here, chances are you have heard of SEO before. However, maybe you're unfamiliar with what it really means and how it can improve your business. Ever since learning the in’s and out’s of SEO I now refer to it as the “secret sauce” of digital marketing. I see so many business owners skipping over this critical part of their digital marketing strategy and it's costing them money and clients!
SEO Benefit #1
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. When you implement SEO into your website, it allows you to rank higher organically in search engines for the keywords of your choice. This is down to a number of factors, such as adjusting the coding at the back end of the website, selecting the correct keywords, adjusting title tags, & a number of other things. But by making these tweaks, your website will appear higher in search results, helping your business get more visibility, traffic & in turn, sales.
SEO Benefit #2
Another benefit of SEO that is often overlooked is that it lowers the cost of Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising. If you are currently not engaging in paid advertising, SEO will help bring free traffic to your website due to higher domain visibility. However, if you ever plan to use paid ads, I recommend investing in SEO. Google rewards websites that are well optimized and have the ability to solve user problems. In order to do that, the website (both on the front & back end) needs to be extremely clear on what problem it can solve; and in turn, will lead to a higher quality score & lower PPC cost.
SEO Benefit #3
Your website reflects your business. Most of the time, it is all a customer has to go off. You want your website to be fully optimized. Quick loading time, all links and buttons working properly, easy navigation, etc. This is a benefit to your users because it will show your professionalism and make shopping easier; but also, this is another thing Google looks for when deciding where to put you on the search results page. This might sound like a no-brainer, but things such as the amount of pixels in a picture factor into this decision making process so hiring a professional or doing some research would pay off.
SEO Benefit #4
The last thing I want to touch on about the benefits of this service is the trust that can be built between you and your customers. Google isn’t just looking for specific words to rank your site. Google considers how you support your site visitors — even if they don’t ultimately purchase from you. The three-prong strategy Google uses to rank websites is EAT — expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness. What it translates into is: It doesn’t matter how often you use a keyword if your content is useless to your audience. Create content that people want to share because they value what they learn.
*Fun Fact*
Whether you have a brick & mortar business or are strictly online, 85% of customers according to Social Media Today, will conduct a Google search on said product or service before purchasing.
The last important thing to note is that SEO requires time. If your business is currently ranking higher on the results page, growth will be faster. However, if you are starting from scratch, expect it to take 6-9 months before you see major growth. It takes Google time to reread your website and see how customers react to the new changes. Make a long-term investment in your business today! Schedule your free consultation to see what we can do for you.
By: Sydnie Whiteside