If you have decided to bring your business online and develop a website for it, you have probably already started hearing how important it is to develop a good SEO campaign. Still, what these people don’t tell you is why.
SEO is short for Search Engine Optimization and englobes the process of increasing your website traffic through organic search results. Put simply, the better your SEO efforts are, the more chances you get to rank high in consumer queries.
When consumers search for something online, they will use certain keywords that describe what exactly they are looking for. For example, if I want to learn more about SEO, I will go online and look for “SEO tips” or “How to do SEO”. The results I will find are ranked based on how relevant they are to the keywords I am using, among other criteria.
If done right, SEO can bring tremendous benefits to any company, no matter if you conduct most of your business online or offline. Why? This is what we are here to answer today. So, without further ado, below are some of the most important reasons why you should include SEO in your marketing campaign.
Generates more organic traffic
People can find your website in a variety of ways. It may be because they saw one of your ads or heard about your company through a friend and chose to give it a look. However, organic search is one of the most effective strategies to bring traffic to your website.
Through organic search, you can ensure that only those truly interested in what your business does will find your website. If your website is SEO optimized and incorporates popular keywords people are using when they look for something associated with your business, you will appear high in their search results.
To identify the most used keywords for your market it is advised that you use a website rank checker, which will tell you how certain keywords rank in consumer searches so that you can only include the ones that generate the most traffic.
Establishes you as an authority in the field
As we already established, SEO practices are used to help your website rank high in consumer searches. Why? Because very few people look past the second page in Google, so you want to be as close as possible to the top results.
What’s more, people seem to trust Google a lot, so they take its recommendations to the letter. Websites that appear first in search results are perceived as more trustworthy precisely because users consider Google’s ranking as some sort of validation. If Google shows your website first, it means it can be trusted, and this will usually establish you as an authority in the field.
If you want to attract customers and build your business’s reputation, you must establish yourself as a trustworthy company. This will give consumers who are unfamiliar with your products or services more reasons to trust the quality and work of your company.
Creates a better user experience
If your website is properly optimized, it won’t only help you rank high in consumer searches, but it will also provide a great experience for the users. Think of it this way: when you go on a website, and you are able to find everything you need in a simple, straightforward way. What is your perception of the brand after this great experience? Even if it’s your first time finding out about this company, if their website looks good and behaves impeccably, your impression will be a positive one. This happens to your consumers as well.
Google’s main goal is to provide its users with the best possible results for their queries. This is why it constantly changes its algorithm, learning how to recognize websites that will provide a good user experience and favoring them over poorly designed ones.
It is also worth noting that when Google indexes your website, it takes into consideration everything that exists on that website, including links, photos, or other media content, so it may be worth optimizing them as well.
It is more cost-effective than other strategies
If done right, most marketing campaigns are effective. The problem is, some of them can be incredibly expensive and will only work for a limited period of time. Take paid ads, for example, which usually give out good results. These ads will only run for a limited time, and, most of the time, they can end up costing an arm and a leg.
SEO, on the other hand, can be expensive as well, but it does not have an expiration date. SEO provides a better return on investment than many other marketing techniques, but that’s because it is much more than just another marketing strategy. It’s an investment that will pay off in the long run because once your website is fully optimized, all you have to do is analyze it from time to time and tweak things to meet new algorithm modifications.
Ensures your website is always optimized
As we mentioned above, Google continues to make changes to its algorithm to provide more accurate results to users and also to prevent websites from trying to bypass these rules. A new website that has been developed with the current algorithm in mind will do just fine for a few months or even a year, but if you want to keep up with the constant changes, you need to regularly optimize your website with SEO best practices in mind. This will ensure you keep ranking high and continue to drive organic traffic to your website.
Always keeping up with algorithm changes is a competitive advantage you don’t want to lose. This means you will be able to stay ahead of your competitors and always rank among the first results in Google searches.
If you fall behind, however, it will be much more costly to try and bring your website up to speed, so it is always best you include SEO optimization on your routine business tasks list.