SEO or not to SEO, this is the question. With so many marketing channels, methods and tools that have sprung up in the last ten years, is SEO still important? Should you invest in an SEO strategy and a team for your new business or keep out of it and have one less problem to worry about?
If you’re a local or online business providing services to customers around you, this post will be helpful to you. In it, I want to discuss the top reasons SEO might be super important to your business and especially how it’s important to others like yours. Don’t miss out and get lost in the cyber abyss!
1- SEO Generates More Online Traffic For You
No matter how you’re currently pulling in traffic to your company website, improving your SEO will bring in a rather large number of new visitors every day. The traffic you receive is a very small portion of the people searching for your services and the topics you cover in your content on Google (and other search engines), but can be expanded and grown through SEO best practices and posting new content.
New traffic means new leads and that equates to more revenue and sales. As Search Engine Journal puts it, SEO can help websites rank higher (on search result pages), engage their users, drive more traffic, and ultimately convert more leads.
2- SEO traffic is highly targeted
The difference between traffic from banner ads, social media posts, and organic search engine traffic like SEO visitors is their “intent”. Intent means how actively they are going in and looking at the topic they’ve just searched for. SEO visitors are not passive users, and they actually have very high intent. Since they are actively looking for a solution to their problem, they will be better positioned to buy from you once they find you online.
WebFX says the leads from SEO are 8 times as likely to convert to a customer than leads from traditional marketing methods. That is a game changer for your business.
3- Without SEO, you’re Practically Not Seen
If you aren’t investing in a proper SEO strategy through an in-house or outsourced team, or at least following SEO best practices, then you are basically not visible. According to AHREFS, 90% of website pages receive zero organic traffic.
And the ones that do rank in organic results on search engines like Google, are mostly getting a very small share of the potential traffic they can. A whopping 95% of search traffic goes to the results in the first page. That should make you worried.
4- SEO has the best Return on your Investment (ROI)
With 8 times the close rate of traditional methods you might think it is a very successful idea to invest in SEO. Pair that with the fact that MOZ says SEO has 20 times more traffic opportunities than pay per click ads.
Considering the volume and closing rate of SEO traffic to a website, it’s no surprise 85% of retailers feel SEO and paid search are most effective for getting new customers (WebFX).
5- Improved Sales Conversions from SEO Traffic
SEO visitors on your website need no reason to be convinced they have a problem. And once they become a lead, no time from your sales team is wasted on convincing them they need to find a solution. This group or active buyers are usually very far ahead in their buying journey, and that will help you save time.
Google Ads states that almost one-third of local searches result in a purchase. And most of the traffic from search pages go to organic results. Hubspot reports that “Nearly 80% of users ignore paid ads in search results. People tend to prefer organic links more than paid ones, and of the links search users click, about 70% are organic.”
Why not have a claim from this high converting traffic source?
6- You can likely double your revenue using SEO
If you are wondering at the end of the day will investing in SEO traffic actually bring me any significant improvement in my total revenue, then you are behind. The good part about SEO is that it is there when you aren’t. That means you might not be open and the traffic is still pouring in, bringing you leads for the next work day.
Even though it may take time to get proper results from SEO, SEMGeeks report “Organic traffic, however, can capture more than 40 percent of your company’s revenue.” And that means for many they are missing out on doubling their business’s bottom line.
7- SEO is Essential for Online Success
According to Search Engine Journal, 93% of online experiences start with a search engine (like Google, Yahoo!, Bing). Many of those conducting these searches will become customers.
And if you’re a local business providing to a certain region around you, local SEO is more than key to developing it. Hubspot reports that “88% of searches for local businesses on a mobile device either call or visit the business within 24 hours. Local SEO has excellent SEO — the number of local searches are increasing by 900% in two years, and by optimizing content and web pages for nearby audiences, organizations can see remarkable growth.”
Whether you are a stable business looking to improve your bottom line, or a new business fighting for a strong position in your first year, putting time and budget for SEO is vital to your success.
