To all business owners, SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) may seem complicated but if you are running a local business nowadays it is one of the most important tools you can employ. It is estimated that over 20% of all searches on Google are searches related to local businesses and the products or services they provide.
SEO is a highly underrated marketing effort that should be used not just on websites but is useful on social media too. Making sure your digital marketing online is of high quality can grant your business to a huge amount of promotion went done right.
If these products or services are related to your business you could be missing out on hundreds if not thousands of potential customers, especially if your competitors have SEO or higher ratings. So to help get you started, here are 10 reasons we think that you need SEO:
Brand Awareness
Using SEO will help to better establish your brand online meaning more potential customers will be able to see your business and find its website. This will help greatly to increase your online presence and further advertise your products/services over the Internet. If you are going to be seeing increased traffic to your website you should make sure that it looks professional, responsive and everything is easy to find.
More information about brand awareness here
Build Trust and Credibility
Having good SEO can help to establish a strong trust between your business and its potential customers. IT will also help to show your credibility as having a nice optimised and professional looking website will ensure that users stick around longer and trust that you are a legitimate business. The only problem with this is that it can take a while for people to trust in your business as it is built over time by showing that you are a reliable source for their needs.
Traffic
If you employ SEO correctly then your website should receive increased traffic. The best part is that this traffic will be targeted based on the keywords or phrases they use which will mean that they are more likely to find your products/services useful and therefore are more likely to make a purchase.
When doing SEO we ensure that the keywords that are used are highly searched and are related to your business and your local area. This way it is more likely that you will appear at the top of the results which will mean you are even more likely to be considered by potential customers. This is because most customers only consider the top set of results and hardly any ever make it past the second page so the higher up your business appears the more traffic you will receive.
Reduced Costs
Using SEO will actually help you to reduce the costs of your business as you will not need to spend extra money advertising on paper and in print. Print advertisement is really expensive and in this day and age, it does not provide a good return in most or in any case. Print advertising is no longer effective and to be efficient it is best to just scrap it altogether and focus your resources online.
The money that is saved from not using this form of advertisement and just focusing on SEO can be used to further its development and reach more people than it ever could just being on paper.
SEO Impacts the Buying Cycle
Most people do their research before considering and purchasing a product from a business. If you use SEO tactics to show that you provide good deals, good quality products and great customer service then potential customers are more likely to come for you when in need of the products/services you provide.
This will also have an impact on the buying cycle in a positive way if it is done right. People will see this and this will make you even more visible to people looking for products/services that you provide.
Targeting
SEO services allows for the targeting of specific countries, regions, counties, cities, towns etc. which means you can narrow down and target your local SEO area in particular. Doing this ensures that bigger companies and competitors who aren’t local are less likely to be shown over you when someone local is searching for a product/service that you provide. This also means that targeted traffic is pinpointed straight to you and you can make more sales to these individuals.
SEO Practices Are Always Updating
SEO practices and tactics are constantly being tweaked, updated and changed which can be either a good or bad thing depending on how much you are willing to invest in SEO. If you can keep on top of these new and changing practices it can help you to always be on top of your game and make sure you don’t fall behind your competitors.
Also, if your competitors are slower to update than you there is a chance their customers might be diverted to you meaning you make more sales yourselves and stay even further ahead. The downside of this is that if you don’t keep on top of it then your own business could fall behind so it is imperative that you constantly check for new practices and ensure you are updating and tweaking existing ones to be as effective as possible.
Non-stop Visitors to Your Business
The best part of SEO is that it is constantly in effect and is working 24/7 for your business. This means that if you have employed a successful SEM (Search Engine Marketing) campaign then you will be forever diverting potential customers to your website day and night. This means that you will have an online presence that is there whenever potential customers need it meaning it is accessible to all.
All Things Considered, SEO is Fairly Cheap
When looking at the big picture SEO is fairly cheap when compared to the payoff of a successful SEM. Not only does it help you to generate sales and be visible to potential customers but it helps to build your brand and increase its awareness and trust. SEO should be considered as an investment rather than a marketing cost as it is an ongoing process that will constantly give back to your business like a mutually beneficial agreement.
Having good SEO will mean that you can be comfortable knowing that people are constantly being diverted to your products/services and will only improve the more investment that is given.
Return on Investment
No other investment can come close to the amount of ROI that can be provided by SEO. Even TV and radio advertising don’t even compare and are in fact quite costly when compared to simple SEO. With SEO, potential customers are being led right to your doorstep to view and purchase the products/services you provide as opposed to just being told about it.
Random people who are watching television or listening to the radio are much less likely to check out your business than people who are actively organically searching for key terms that are related to your business and that would actually benefit them.
Nowadays, businesses need SEO, SEO is a long term strategy that is worth doing, so make sure you’re up to date, don’t get left behind! Once you have implemented SEO, you will be able to see a noticeable impact, and then sit back and watch your profit flow through.
To see if the SEO is making a difference, try googling your business over a period of time to see where it ranks.