Why Is SEO Important For My Business?
SEO can lead to excellent ranking. And ranking is everything.
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization refers to the process of refining your website content and that of your entire online footprint to increase your ranking in search engine results. This is especially important because your target customer is searching for you using keyword phrases that they would expect you to show up for. If you don’t include those high volume keyword phrases on your website, chances are, your marketing won’t be very effective. You can’t sell very many shoes if your shoe store can’t be found. One of the keys to good SEO is comprehensive keyword research to identify the very best keywords to market your business most effectively.
Not All SEO Efforts are Equal
There are lots of cheesy shortcuts to ranking, but most are not effective long term.
Sometimes called ‘black hat tactics’, most will get you banned from Google search results. Google is beginning to systematically crack down on all kinds of shady tactics, even those that a few years ago were considered shortcuts to good rankings. Try some of those today, or fail to change your ways, and you may find your site penalized in the rankings. And forget those cheap subscription services that promise to give you tons of backlinks to your website. Most are completely ineffective, because they are completely irrelevant to your brand.
SEO- Best Practices
Good SEO takes time and hands-on effort.
Good initial SEO efforts are the result of comprehensive keyword research, competitive research, and a thoughtful marketing strategy designed to gain dominance for your users’ top search phrases. Next comes creative content, relevant topics embedded with your high quality keyword phrases, well-marketed on your website and across your internet footprint on all your platforms. And repeated at regular intervals throughout the year. Included in good SEO are onsite custom title tags, headlines, top level content, and meta descriptions that not only help users find your website using Search, but compel them to click through to your website, and follow the rose-strewn path to becoming a customer.
Ongoing SEO is also important since keywords change or go out of style, competitors suddenly step up their game or enter your field, Google changes its algorithm, or any number of other factors. Staying on top of your SEO is important so you stay on top of your categories in the rankings.
Top 4 Benefits of SEO
Good SEO practices are absolutely imperative when you want to rank well in search engine results. And good ranking can become excellent ranking with consistent efforts. So, you’re doing all this correctly. What can you expect next? Here are the top 4 reasons we use SEO to build and maintain good ranking, leads, and sales on the internet.
Build Brand Authority– Top rankings result in more exposure and traffic for your website and positions you as a trustworthy authority. Higher ranking absolutely leads to a higher clickthrough rate by website users, and depending on their experience when they get there, can often result in much higher leads and sales than a lower ranking would. This all helps build your brand authority, or the recognizability of your brand.
Dominate Your Competition– Companies who rank highest for their industry keywords tend to eventually bypass online competitors. Since users usually click on one of the top 3 organic results, you’ll get a larger portion of the market share if you are in one of the top 3 listings. Dominate rankings and you will eventually bypass your competition in clicks, sales, market share, and brand authority.
More Sales Leads– Leads who find you through search are usually very interested in buying your product or service. Unlike most people who are exposed to TV, radio, billboard and other drive-by media for products they may or may not be interested in at the moment, those who search for you are already demonstrating- in that moment- an interest in what you offer. Get in front of an interested searcher with relevant keyword content, good ranking and a compelling user experience on your website, and that converts to leads and sales much more quickly.
Improved Marketing ROI– Statistics show that marketers consider SEO to return the highest ROI of all the tools in their digital marketing toolbox. Reduce your budget for Paid Search and other marketing expenses while increasing revenue, by using effective SEO tactics as part of a full-service internet marketing program. (Source: http://www.slideshare.net/NewsCred/50-best-stats-presentation)
Let us know in the Comments section- which of these benefits do you think is the most important to your business?
I like your point that there are a lot of things that some SEO companies may charge you for that don’t actually help with your ranking. I think it’s always a good idea to check online for reviews, ratings, or testimonials. They can give you a good indication of how much success other customers have had.
Yes, even today there are still SEO’s who use shady tactics and charge people good money for them. Good quality SEO is so important to being successful online, and if I weren’t an SEO agency, I would be very confused about who to hire. It all boils down to results, doesn’t it? And reviews are interesting because they are a high level ranking factor that work for both the buyer and the agency. They not only help the potential buyer figure out who to call, they can help the SEO agency’s own rankings for better brand authority, and ultimately more customers. Thanks for your comment!