You might have been trying to attract more attention to your website without much luck, or maybe you’re wondering why your competition down the street sees twice the amount of business you do.
The answer to your competitor curiosity lies within the utilization of search engine optimization. Having a robust digital presence is essential in today’s day and age – it’s no longer enough to have an attractive storefront. The benefits of SEO in digital marketing are numerous and can take you from a little business no one notices to one of the number one ranking businesses locally and beyond.
1. SEO IMPROVES VISIBILITY IN SEARCH ENGINES
Utilizing SEO is an effective way to increase your website’s visibility in popular search engines. By optimizing your web pages for keywords related to your business and industry, your website will be more likely to appear at the top of search engine results. This can result in higher website traffic and ultimately lead to more customers or leads.
SEO BENEFITS ORGANIC SEARCH TRAFFIC
The overall goal for web pages that utilize the advantages of SEO, is to push you further up the results chain until your content features first on the page. Organic search gets a boost when you use SEO when outfitting your web traffic.
Organic search refers to any unpaid search results. In other words, those first results in the “sponsored box” at the top of the page are not organic. All the rest that show up below this box are “natural” search results that don’t show up because of pay-per-click advertising.
Web pages that rank in the top five organic search results receive 67% of all the clicks.
Ranking ahead of your competition on organic search pages literally puts you ahead of the game. Think of running a race, and the further ahead you are of your competition, the more likely you are to win. The further above other direct competitors means you have an exponentially higher chance of receiving those all-valuable clicks.
BUDGET FRIENDLY SEO
Organic SEO provides a cost-effective way to improve the visibility and performance of your website.
Unlike other advertising strategies such as Google Ads or social media campaigns, organic SEO requires minimal ongoing costs and will produce long-term results if implemented effectively. You don’t need to constantly update or tweak your SEO strategy – once it is set up properly, you can expect positive impacts on your search engine rankings over time.
This makes organic SEO an ideal choice for those with limited marketing budgets who are looking for a reliable way to generate organic traffic and experience benefits of SEO.
2. HIGH SEO RANKING EQUALS INCREASED CREDIBILITY
Showing up in organic search result on the first page doesn’t only matter because of the ranking. Many searchers don’t trust sponsored pages to give them what they need since businesses paid to put them at the top.
Since search engine algorithms are designed to rank more credible and reliable websites higher on search engine results pages, they do seem to trust the information that Google gives them.
Survey respondents in a 2020 Google Search Survey said that in general, they trust the information they find on Google, including the results that show up in the Featured Snippets and the Knowledge Panel.
The trust that users have in their search engine to prioritize the most recent and useful information is a significant factor, and it’s necessary to use SEO to show a search engine that you are valuable.
TECHNICAL BENEFITS OF SEO IN SERPS RANKING
SEO also focuses on technical elements that can greatly improve your website’s credibility.
Page speed and mobile optimization, backlinks and internal linking, proper use of meta tags and structured data, and even optimizing your images all play a part in improving the quality of your website in order to help you transform normal visitors into valuable leads.
3. SEO ENSURES A POSITIVE USER EXPERIENCE FOR VISITORS
Now that you have a credible, high ranking website that’s generating traffic, your focus shifts to creating a positive user experience.
Fortunately, SEO is beneficial in ensuring a more user-friendly experience for your website visitors. The goal of SEO is to prioritize content that people are likely to find useful and trustworthy, as well as create an intuitive website navigation system. This makes it easier for your visitors to consume and revisit the content on your site – which can ultimately influence their decision to purchase your product or service.
MOBILE OPTIMIZED WEBSITES
Many new website-owners are not cognizant that merely creating a website doesn’t mean that it will function well across various devices. Instead, you must pay attention to the site design, page structure, and overall speed to get an idea of how well the site will perform on a mobile device versus a desktop.
You should never overlook mobile optimization. Although it might take time to construct, it is worth it.
Almost 60% of all searches online are done using a mobile device. Some industries, such as the food and beverage sector, reach 72% of all searches. (Hitwise, 2020)
There are plenty of SEO best practices that you can use to optimize your website content for mobile access. The simplest way to start is to be aware of Google’s mobile SEO rules. You can use these to come up with a list of where your site falls short, paying attention to the priority search engines put on each factor. Some of them can help boost rankings tenfold, while others will act as a drop in the bucket.
4. SEO BENEFITS when TARGETING Specific Markets
Through targeted keyword research, you can understand which of your marketing strategies and content investments are resonating with your customers the most. This enables your business to create more tailored content that captures the attention of target audience, as well as potentially venture into new markets.
STAY COMPETITIVE IN LOCAL MARKETS
Local SEO is primarily beneficial for businesses that tend to serve a specific geographic area or have a physical location in the region.
When searchers want to find something close by, they often enter some keyword plus a geographic reference. The search engine then takes this and turns it into a geographic-specific search method. Pages that rank the highest will be those that rank for both the keyword and the geographic location.
When it comes to attracting new customers to a physical location, local SEO can be an essential marketing tactic.
In their second annual Major Purchase Shopper Study, a survey conducted by GE Capital Retail Bank found that 81% of shoppers check out a place online before going to the physical store.
If you are trying to get new customers into your store, it is essential to appear one of the top “recommended” results Google gives them. That is where local SEO comes in for you. If you want to learn more about the steps to rank locally, we have another article that provides you with a local SEO checklist to better your ranking.
5. SEO PROVIDes QUANTIFIABLE ANALYTICS AND DATA
As the saying goes, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” One of the best benefits of SEO is the usable data that it produces. It gives you workable numbers and quantifiable analytics that enable you to understand how you can improve and what factors affect your current ranking.
If you are new to the SEO scene, you might wonder where you can see these data points. The most convenient answer is Google Analytics. However, nowadays, most website domain hosts will also create analytics you can use about each page’s projected and present performance and piece of content.
Using an SEO analysis tool allows you to set measurable goals and develop structured strategies to achieve them. Instead of guessing why you don’t see the traffic or sales you want, SEO analysis gives you concrete answers and methods to solve those problems.
6. Pair SEO with PPC
While organic SEO will provide great results on its own, investing in your digital marketing strategy is almost always a good course of action. This is especially true for newer businesses, or those that need the internet to drive sales and brand awareness. One of the most common ways to do this is to invest in PPC advertising.
PPC, or Pay-Per-Click, campaigns paying the search engine so that it will highlight your results at the top of relevant pages. Even though you have to spend to integrate this strategy and SEO is a non-paid solution, they work even better when you combine them.
The reason? You reinforce your online presence when your website appears in the paid search results and the organic options below. It helps build your credibility, even if you essentially put yourself there the first time. It’s also a logical follow-up that the more times you appear in front of a lead, the more likely they are to click on your page.
Maximize Your Benefits of SEO with the Best Denver SEO Consulting Company
Even in the face of all these benefits, it may seem challenging to figure out the best strategy for your business. SEO strategies and optimization are changing the way we do business, and the results have proven long-lasting and impactful.
If you find yourself at a loss, consider using the website optimization services of an SEO expert to reap all the benefits this unique marketing strategy has to offer.
