In 2018, SEO is the word on everyone’s lips, yet a lot of SMBs still doubt the effectiveness of composing an SEO strategy as the core of one’s digital marketing campaign. Sure, there are some benefits to SEO but how much time and resources should you actually dedicate to this trend. In order to answer this question properly, we have to examine top six reasons why your business needs an SEO strategy in the first place.
1. Improved visibility
With SEO, it’s all about visibility. Think about it, an average consumer checks at least several e-commerce websites before they decide to make a purchase. In fact, about 17 percent of the entire e-commerce shopping cart abandonment rate can be attributed to this factor. However, there is only so much effort that each person is willing to invest in this research. Therefore, by the time they reach page two of Google search results, about 95 percent of all users have already given up. In other words, even if your offer is far superior to that of your competitors, if your e-store or website is low enough in the search results, no one will get to see it. With SEO, you can ensure that this doesn’t become a recurring trend.
2. It gives lasting results
A proper SEO campaign, conducted by an expert, can give you results in years to come. Unlike spam and other black-hat techniques, real, white-hat SEO is all about the long-run. Sure, algorithm constantly changes and a metric you performed admirably at might not be as vital in the future, but you’ll still get something out of it. Sustainable SEO focuses primarily around the user experience, which is something that will never diminish in significance. That’s why a successful SEO campaign that you conduct now can pay off in the future.
3. Turning leads into sales
Even though this number differs across various industries, the average conversion rate online is merely 2.35 percent. Despite this, the top 10 percent of the internet has a conversion rate that is several times more potent at 11.45 percent. According to experts behind a prestigious New York SEO services agency turning leads into sales is one of the main reasons people turn to SEO in the first place. Therefore, it isn’t that far-fetched to assume that the difference before the above-discussed average and their top-10-percent counterparts is in the efficiency of their SEO efforts.
4. Everyone else is doing it
The next thing you need to understand is that in the 2018, every single one of your competitors is probably engaging in some kind of SEO. Sure, one may argue that about 50 percent of all SMBs don’t even have a website, yet, these companies probably aren’t your direct competitors in the first place. The companies you need to worry about are the top-dogs of your industry, seeing as how you are fighting over the same demographic. Ignoring this vital aspect of digital marketing and believing that you can just ‘wing it’ might land you in a horrible situation.
5. Following all the latest trends
Earlier on, we mentioned that algorithm constantly changes, however, sometimes, this change is so big that it requires you to reinvent your SEO strategy as a whole. For instance, before 2015, the number of people browsing the internet from their PCs was greater than that of people doing so on mobile devices. Nowadays, this is hard to imagine, due to the fact that it’s a common knowledge that mobile users are currently the vast majority of online population (even though mobile still has a lower average conversion rate than desktop). In the last several years, voice search also grew in popularity, which more than emphasizes the need for adaptability which high-end SEO brings.
6. Building a reputation
The problem that most SMBs and startups face online is the lack of actual previous experience in the industry. After all, most of these business owners are first-time entrepreneurs and customers always prefer to work with veterans. Luckily, with a proper SEO campaign, you can easily make your business appear more reputable and trustworthy and in this way, make up for a lack of an impressive business history.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, while SEO is capable of providing you with all the above-listed perks and more, before you even start engaging in this activity, you have to know what are your end-goals. Gaining subscribers is not the same thing as gaining paying customers, even though both of these goals can be achieved through a similar course of action. Nevertheless, you need to set some realistic expectations and actively work towards achieving them.
