Well, let’s first start with the first question: what is SEO?
SEO (or Search Engine Optimisation) is the name given to activity that attempts to improve search engine rankings. SEO ensures a website can be found in search engines by words and phrases relevant to what the website is offering. In many respects, it’s simply a quality control for websites.
If you speak with some SEO companies or experts about SEO, they’ll try to confuse you with scientific algorithms and have you thinking it’s a black art. In this article, I will try to remove the smokescreen and shed some light on what you need to know.
Search Engines
The job of a search engine is to take the words or phrases typed in by a user and locate the most relevant websites using those keywords.
An astonishing 93% of all traffic comes from a search engine results. That is almost 100% of your website traffic. The problem is, if you aren’t ranking on the first page of a search engine then you are never going to benefit from this source of traffic. It was reported that in August 2018, over 78% of global website visits were coming from Google. This is why it is important to keep up with the changes to the Google algorithm – with percentages like this, it would be silly not to!
To put it plainly, if you aren’t engaging in SEO, you won’t come up in the first page of search results.
Now, paying for ads may seem like an easy way to leave SEO behind and get to the top of the search engine results, and you will get results quickly by doing this. However, when using a search engine between 70-80% of people ignore the paid results showing up in the top 3 places. Instead, they head straight to the organic listings. This statistic shows that “Pay Per Click” campaigns can get you in front of your audience quickly, but aren’t all that effective.
Keep in mind, the results of SEO won’t happen immediately but they can be enormously beneficial when they do.
Why Should Businesses Invest in SEO Marketing
Building website traffic which turn into sales is the most important function of a website, and focusing on web design and page content are an essential part of this process. The internet is an ocean of information and it’s easy for potential visitors to get lost and distracted.
This is where SEO comes into the picture. SEO is ultimately about providing the user with the most relevant and friendliest experience possible. A search engine wants to provide the user with what they are looking for in a fast and efficient way, and when it can do that, everyone is happy and satisfied.
Internet marketing, which includes SEO, is used to attract people who are already looking for your service or product. You no longer have to stand on the side of the road dancing with a big sign or go screaming from the rooftops about your product; the person searching for your product is already convinced they need or want it which is why they went searching in the first place.
Of course you still have to convince your website visitor that you are the best company to purchase from, but half the battle is already won. Once they visit your website, if you have invested the same tedious work to optimise your user’s experience by providing the content they seek, you are well on your way to gaining a new customer.
Gaining Optimal Insight into Your Customers
If your website is properly optimised, it will increase your search engine visibility, usability, and credibility – all of which increases traffic to your site. Now that you are enjoying higher numbers of website visitors, Google Analytics (which every website should have set up) can track valuable information about your visitors. You can find out which browsers they use, what keywords they are typing in, their geographical location, the days and times they are most active, how much time they spent on a page…on so on.
This information will help you discover your target market, focus your advertising, and determine strategies based on facts rather than just educated guesses. The better you know your customers, the better product or service you can provide, the higher the ROI.
Content Is Still King!
While SEO is important for businesses that want to grow, be competitive, and see returns on their investment, it is only one piece of the puzzle.
If your website doesn’t contain relevant content, then no matter how much time or money you spend on SEO, it is wasted. Content will always be king. But when you use SEO in conjunction with other important marketing tools, SEO will provide visibility, traffic, credibility, branding and help you gain valuable insight into customer behaviour.
It IS possible be on the first page of Google, though it will take a bit of time and some work.
Summing Up
There are many reasons why SEO is important and should be implemented on your website. Whether you do it yourself or you decide to hire a SEO expert, you’ll be sure to experience many of the above mentioned benefits and more.