Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has long been used by digital marketers in achieving their respective business goals. SEO is a marketing strategy that is focused on increasing the amount of quality traffic to your website by generating organic search engine results. SEO experts advise that SEO is a multifaceted approach that allows businesses to simultaneously improve the quantity of traffic on their website and ensures the traffic is from the people who are genuinely interested in their product/service and find your site relevant to their wants and needs. Over the years, SEO has gained a sketchy reputation among its critics and you might be on the fence about its effectiveness in pursuing your marketing goals for your company. But fret not! Check out the post below to find out why SEO is here to stay and how it can help you fulfill your business strategy!
Improving Credibility
Picture this: you are looking for a nice hotel to stay on your upcoming holiday. Once the search engine result comes up, which result would you click first? The paid ads or the actual results that the search engine has crawled? You will most likely go for the organic search results. This is one of the biggest advantages of SEO marketing. In fact, studies have found that only 2.8% of people who made online searches in the US clicked on paid advertisements. As internet users become more informed, they tend to form an opinion and rely on information that is genuine and not sponsored. Hence, if you want people to find your website and know what you provide, employing best practices when it comes to SEO marketing is very crucial. In general, SEO marketing has better value than paid advertising.
Wider Reach of Audience
SEO marketing takes care of your website ranking on search engines. Each time you search for something on Google or Bing, it yields thousands of results. How often do you click on the last few pages of the search results? You will most likely stop at page 3 or 5 of the search results. If your website is not SEO optimized, then the chances of your website landing on the top page are very slim. Reports have found that websites on the top page get 42% of the total traffic. Those who are on the second page get 11% of the traffic, while those on the third page only get 8% of the traffic. Obviously, the farther you are from the top page, the less likely your target audience is going to find you. And the less traffic you have the smaller number of leads and sales you get.
Builds and Establishes Your Brand Authority
Did you know that building your brand authority online is equally important to your brand authority offline? Brand authority refers to the trustworthiness and expertise of your brand in your respective industry. Competition is very tight, and to stand out, one must have a solid SEO marketing plan to stay on top of the game. This can be done through numerous SEO Marketing efforts, including working with an SEO agency and creating excellent content to optimize the end-user experience and adding backlinks. Remember, an established brand generates more traffic which translates into leads and possibly sales. This is because an established brand is recognized by its audience as authentic and reliable. It lets your audience and potential customers hold a better image of your company in their minds.
Better User Experience
Investing your time, effort, and resources in a good SEO marketing plan can also result in a better user experience. Now, why does better user experience matter? It boosts your website’s retention rate. The better your website’s user experience provides, the more likely your customers are to return and engage on your website. This includes being sure your site passes a Google mobile-friendly test. This also means audiences will stay longer on your website and this can greatly affect your conversation rate. Apart from that, a better user experience helps you stand out among your competitors. So, it is truly an advantage to work on your SEO marketing strategies if you want to be a major player in the industry.
Long-Term Effect
Your SEO marketing plan is not a campaign that ends after one launch; it is a long-term strategy that not only boosts your metrics in the initial stage but also as time passes. SEO practices tend to change and update so having a solid marketing plan helps you gain a competitive edge over the years. It is a long-term solution that grows along with your company. You have to remember that to see tangible results from your SEO marketing effort, you will need to provide at least 4 to 12 months of SEO strategy. It just does not happen overnight. Also, it is worth noting that SEO is still a form of advertising so if you want to yield constant results and gain a competitive edge you need to work on it.
Competitive Edge
Here’s a secret: your competitors are also working on their SEO marketing strategies. Reports have found that 50% of digital marketers consider SEO an important tool of the trade. Given its cost-efficient nature and value, SEO marketing is an effective way to bypass your competition. After all, you do not want to be the only one without an optimized website in this digital age! Through several strategies and best practices, you will be able to discover new opportunities for your business. You will also gain a better understanding of what your competitors are doing and what you can do better.
Through years of practice and application, digital marketers have proved that SEO marketing is crucial to the growth of any business. It offers multiple long-term benefits that can drive your company to success through improved visibility, authority, and conversion. Despite the critics, SEO remains a relevant and powerful marketing initiative for any business.
