SEO seems to be the talk of the town lately and there are reasons for this. Do you want to know why?
#1. Organic Search
SEO means “Search Engine Optimization” and it is the procedure of increasing both the quality and quantity of website traffic, through non-paid (organic) search engine results.
When people are looking for something online, they generally use search engines such as Google (which owns something like 75% of the overall search market), Bing, DuckDuckGo etc. If you want people to visit your website, you have to figure out ways for it to appear in their searches. Moreover, it needs to be one of the first ones that appear there, as most people don’t bother to move to the next page of their search.
This “organic” search is very important for businesses’ website performance, as it is the most effective way for visitors to engage in a transaction with the business. At this point we have to specify that SEO is only connected to Google’s search engine and you can only benefit from it if your target group is Google users. Of course, other search engines users are equally valuable, but it’s important to keep in mind that Google is clearly the leader.
Thus, if you want more people that belong to your target group visit your website and know about you and your business, you’d better optimize it properly and make sure that you (or your SEO specialist) understand Google Analytics.
#2. Happy users
Let’s assume that you pay for your website to be the first to appear when someone googles something relevant. Statistically, more people will click it and you will have more visitors. Surprisingly, though, nobody engages in any kind of transaction with your business, whether it is reading your website, shopping something or watching videos.
SEO can show you why and it can help you improve your website in all ways possible, by allowing you to realise the importance of optimal user experience. If, for example you use huge, bold, red letters for your blog, people will not be able to read it. You might not realise it, but huge, bold, red letters are really annoying for online readers in general and it could be the only reason why nobody reads your blog!
SEO helps you improve not only the aesthetics of your website, but also its structure and content. Moreover, Google can separate a pleasant or an unpleasant user experience and will not recommend a website that does not offer its visitors what they need. Quality SEO provides a positive user experience, which ultimately leads to Google trusting you that you will not let your visitors down.
#3. Trust & Credibility
If a Google searcher sees that your website appears somewhere at the top of their search results, they will immediately decide to trust you. Why? Because you’re there!
If you are there, this automatically means that you’re trusted by Google and if Google trusts you, searchers also trust you. If Google says you’re relevant, then you are. Being at the top of these rankings spontaneously builds credibility and for a business that depends on organic searches, this is vital.
Moreover, your SEO optimization can clearly show if visiting your website is a pleasant experience for users and, if your search rankings are high, this means that Google knows your visitors are happy with your website and recommends it!
#4. Return of Investment
SEO is the cheapest and the best way to advertise your website. What quality SEO basically does, is that it sees the progress and the efforts of your business and translates it into clicks by the people you want.
SEO is more effective than offline advertising and internet marketing and the reason is very simple: It does not aggressively market products to people who are peacefully watching TV in their home. It appears to people’s online searches when they’re looking for a business relevant to yours. What this means is that half the job is already done! The other half is making these people see that it’s your business they need to choose. Quality SEO can definitely do that with you and it is by far the wisest way to invest your money if you care about improving your interaction with potential clients.
Thus, the money you invested in SEO always returns to you, with even more profit for you and your business, if you choose to do it right.
#5. Know your Customers
Quality SEO will bring traffic to your website, which means that more people will click it and wonder around its pages. Through Google Analytics, the tool that is used to analyse this traffic, you can learn various and incredibly valuable information about your potential customers.
You can see their gender, age, location, device used, what they searched for originally, when they are more active and many more. This can assist you form an idea about the profile of the people that visit your website, which means that you can make more informed decisions concerning your business strategy.
#6. Competition
If you consider that half website traffic comes from organic search, another 35% comes from various other ways (like references and links), third is paid search and social media come last, then you’d better start using SEO tomorrow.
One thing is for sure, your competitors are using SEO and they’re attracting all your potential clients. If you want to enjoy some of this pretty big piece of pie, we advise you to start using SEO and bring those clients to your website ASAP!
Watch your competitors, see what they’re doing right and don’t hesitate to do it yourself! Keywords are important, as well as content in general. Moreover, pay attention to the user experience, because google will not put you in the first page, no matter how many important keywords you’ve got there.
In short, it just doesn’t make any sense to have a website if you’re willing to let everyone else get the clicks. If you plan to have a website that will assist your business go to the top, you need to understand that SEO is clearly the means for it.
#7. Branding
If you have read what we wrote in the 6 previous articles, then you are by now aware that in order to get more clicks and ultimately more clients, you need SEO. What you do not know yet, is that these clicks are also building your brand.
The more people see your website, the more visible it becomes. In other words, SEO is also doing your branding for you, by putting your business at the highest ranks and showing everyone that google trusts you.
You must be prepared for this kind of trust, by making sure you’ve got all the proper content in your website and ensuring that the visitors will be satisfied by google’s recommendation. By establishing your business into people’s minds, you have done half of your business’s branding which is the hardest part!
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