For small businesses, especially in the current COVID-19 era, SEO is a long-term strategy that has become a must. Statistics tell us that only about 2% of internet users will go to page two of an organic internet search. That means if you aren’t found on page one, then you are likely not to be found at all.
And the lower you come up in an internet search, the less traffic you drive to your website. The good news is that it doesn’t take a whole lot to further your rankings, especially for small businesses. Unfortunately, SEO strategy planning isn’t free. And, if you still aren’t sold, these are eight of the biggest benefits to invest in SEO for your business website.
SEO Builds Brand Awareness
Brand awareness is the process of familiarizing yourself with the public so that they become accustomed to seeing your brand, and therefore, when they need your product, they are more apt to think of you versus the competition. Your presence as a company on Google is highly critical to your success.
And the higher you rank on an internet search, the more you will be seen and build brand awareness. When you are recognized more over the competition, there is a greater likelihood that a customer will choose your company over others.
Search Engine Optimization Makes Your Website More Convenient and Faster
Google cares very much about the user-friendly nature of websites and rewards those sites that are easy to navigate by ranking them higher. So to get your website to rank highest, you have to put time and effort into making your website as convenient, quick, and satisfying to the user as possible.
That not only ranks you higher than your competitors; it gives internet users a favorable opinion about your website and your product. And it also gives you a better chance that your viewers will convert to customers by following through with purchasing your product or using your service.
SEO Helps You Beat Competitors
The best thing that the internet does is level the playing field for small and large businesses. Even if your competitors are bigger than you, with a good SEO strategy, you can excel. If you invest wisely in your SEO strategy, you can rank higher, surpassing even more well-known and established companies. When you rank higher, you are more likely to build brand awareness that will set you apart and target your niche market over larger competitors.
Enhanced Conversion Rates
When your website is optimized for SEO, it loads quickly and it is easier to navigate. And being optimized also means that your website is mobile-friendly and compatible with other mobile devices, which means that you can attract a greater audience. When you cannot just attract, but hold users by reducing bounce rates, you are more likely to convert them from viewer to customer.
When the consumer can find all that they need at their fingertips without having to search, they are more apt to subscribe and sign up for things as well. When you can entice viewers to give you their information to sign up for promotions or information, then you can further your e-mail marketing, which is also highly critical to the success of your company.
Also, when you understand who your audience is, you can better target things that attract them, which will help to drive the organic traffic that you might not get otherwise.
Search Engine Optimization Helps you Find New Customers
Statistics say that the growth of any small business is as much as two times quicker when they have a presence online. So regardless of what industry you are in, you have customers who are waiting to be found online. The goal of digital marketing is to find potential new customers and that is accomplished by ranking above competitors and making it easy for people to find you.
Search Engine Optimization Will Drive More Targeted Traffic
One of the best tools that you have at your disposal is keywords. They tell you what potential customers are searching for. And once you know what your target audience is actually looking for, in terms of words, you can use those words and phrases to match yourself to them.
Being able to pinpoint and target your audience is one of the very best SEO techniques you have at your disposal. When you know what content you need to attract your audience, you aren’t just throwing things out hoping that they will stick. You are using your time and resources on something that you know will work. When you have the right beacons on your static pages for customers to find you, they will.
SEO is Highly Cost-Effective
Small businesses typically don’t have an extensive budget for their marketing efforts. That is why bigger companies tend to hold a bigger presence. But if you use your SEO dollars wisely, then it takes very little to make a big impact. PPC or Pay Per Click ads are an effective avenue for you to attract potential clients, but often, it is an expense that not many smaller companies can afford.
The good news is that an effective SEO strategy doesn’t involve paying for advertising, it is a way to use free tools and knowledge to further your efforts. If you can get your website to rank higher, then you won’t need to pay for advertising – your presence in organic searches will be enough for you to achieve success.
The Results of an Effective SEO Strategy are Long-Lasting
When you invest in online ads, they are usually only effective as long as you pay for them. Once they are taken down, their effect is over. Investing in SEO has a much longer effect and will help to drive new customers and traffic to your site for the long-term.
A digital marketing strategy is not an automatic win; it is a slow and steady wins the race type of strategy that will have you reaping the benefits long after the hard work is over. Once you raise brand awareness, increase your presence, and drive traffic through targeted tools, you have the foundation to continue to grow exponentially with nothing more than upkeep and tweaking.
SEO is a process, and sometimes a slow one, but the benefits are numerous and long-lasting. You might not see results today, tomorrow, or even next week, but once you do, the benefits are numerous and extend well into the future with very little needed.
Contact Fu Dog Media today to discuss how we can rank your website higher, increase your online presence, and drive new viewers who will convert to customers today.