In today’s competitive world, Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is becoming increasingly important. This is because online users rely heavily on search engines, and for some users, it is the only way they browse the internet.
As time goes on, it becomes more and more apparent that an online presence absolutely critical to the future success of your business. But, your business needs to have a presence in the top search positions for the keywords your potential customers are searching for so that those users can find your website. A higher search position will, in turn, boost your website’s traffic. It is crucial for business owners to understand at least the basics when it comes to SEO as well as the potential it creates for every business regardless of the size.
What is SEO?
SEO or search engine optimization is the tactical and strategic effort to optimize a website for search engines and thus improve its search engine rankings. There are many facets to this: focused and useful content, fast load speed, meta descriptions, to name a few. It is a viable marketing strategy that can bring more qualified leads and potential customers for your small business. In fact, research has shown that SEO has a better ROI than traditional channels of marketing like TV and print ads.
Types of SEO
SEO is divided into on-page and off page SEO. On-page SEO refers to all of Google’s ranking factors that you control like quality content, keywords, HTML tags, website structure, etc. Off page SEO (which are links to your site from other websites) is not always in your direct control, but you can influence it.
SEO is not a cost but an investment with a high return. You will always read one person or another stating that SEO is dead, but that truly is not the case. In fact, the more competition increases in every niche, the more SEO will play role in your ability to be relevant.
Increased Traffic
It is not enough to build a fantastic website and then hope people will find it. Developing an SEO strategy for your local business can help draw consumer traffic to your site. With the regular updates of relevant content on a website search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing will reward you with a higher ranking which brings in more traffic.
Cost-Effectiveness
Compared to the costs incurred by other forms of online marketing like PPC advertising, social media marketing or email marketing, local SEO is more cost-effective and has one of the best ROI in advertising. While you may need to invest in a professional to help you get started, SEO generally requires very little to nothing in payment to feature listings on the results page.
One thing to note though is even with SEO in full motion there is a good chance that, depending upon the competitiveness of your industry, your website could need both organic SEO and PPC marketing. However, if you’re working on a tight budget, SEO is a great way to drive qualified traffic to your site without too much cost.
Increased Site Usability
A well-executed SEO strategy will help to make your website easier to navigate for the search engines as well as users. A properly optimized site will have fast loading times, a safe connection and a mobile-friendly design that creates a great experience for the user when they navigate through the page. A happy visitor often becomes a returning visitor.
Brand Awareness
When people search for your services, you obviously want to appear as high in the search engine rankings as possible. Being on the first pages of the search result gives you instant credibility as customers can trust your brand and become subscribers or loyal visitors compared to brands that don’t have a good web presence.
Increase your chances of getting found by potential customers through local SEO. Now is the time for you to take advantage and boost your business before your competitors catch on. Get started today.