Why has SEO become so popular? If you’re marketing in 2017 you’ve heard of SEO, and know there are benefits to doing it right.
But what are the benefits of SEO? And how can your business capitalize from search?
To uncover these benefits, we reached out to SEO Experts. And they delivered. Keep reading to discover eight reasons why your business needs SEO.
Want to see the value of SEO in real-time? Then watch this blog SEO video showing how to quickly optimize posts for increasing site traffic.
Builds Credibility and Authority
When looking for products, services, or solutions, searchers want to do business with a credible brand. Stoney deGeyter from Pole Position Marketing shares why SEO builds brand credibility.
Aside from all the standard benefits SEO brings (rankings, traffic, etc.), properly executed SEO builds up credibility and authority. Most look at those things as the means to achieve the results they want, but those are some incredible results in themselves.
The more credibility and authority any individual or business has, the more likely they are to draw and convert targeted traffic. At the end of the day, customers want to work with people they can trust. That trust comes from the ability to demonstrate your knowledge, skill, and experience. That’s credibility!
Another side-benefit of credibility and authority is the ability to secure a higher premium on your products or services, which can bring in higher profit margins. All this stems from the implementation of quality SEO. If the focus is only on rankings and traffic, SEO has a tendency to fail. SEO that focuses on business growth provides far greater benefits.
Great Return on Investment
Driving traffic to your site can run up costs. So for savvy businesses looking to get the most bang for their buck, SEO makes complete sense. Connor Hitchcock from One Click shares one of the key benefits of SEO.
I believe the greatest value of SEO is that it is a long-term, future investment that acquires customers for free. Good SEO leads to high ranks for certain keywords, and allows you to meet potential customers when they’re likely to convert. Unlike PPC or traditional advertising, it costs zero dollars to acquire these customers, outside of a handsome payment to your SEO Specialist, of course.
Generates Consistent Site Traffic
Generating site traffic is a popular benefit of SEO. Megan Frisina from Factor Finders dives into the details of generating site traffic with SEO here.
SEO is valuable because it helps bring traffic to your website. Research shows that 90 percent of people searching online will not go past the first page of search results, so set your goal of getting as close to the top as possible. Search engine optimization is complex but small business owners can easily learn how to implement the basics. There are many online guides and resources to help. If you have the budget, it’s not a bad idea to hire a marketing agency to help with SEO. If your site doesn’t rank well in search, you’ll miss out on tons of customers who may be looking for your product or service.
Brings in High-Quality Visitors
We just discussed how SEO reels in high volumes of site traffic. But let’s not stop there. Gabor Papp from Shapr3D explains why SEO traffic is valuable to your business.
SEO works even when you are not. That is just huge. The brand, the authority and the rankings all work in your favor, even if you are sleeping, on holiday or just focusing on other aspects of the marketing stack. SEO drives valuable traffic to your site all day long, cost efficiently. You just can’t beat that. This has been the biggest source of growth for us in the past years. Of course, it takes time to build it up, but with following the right approach you’ll definitely see the benefits of it in the long run.
Increases Lead Generation
As a result of high-quality traffic to your site, you can expect lead generation to spike. Lindsay Engle from MedicareFAQ goes into more detail below.
My one reason for search engine optimization is lead generation. Our company pays lots of money for pay per click ads on Google each month. I was hired to match a number of leads it brings so the company has the options to reduce PPC costs or use my SEO efforts in addition to PPC. The ROI on SEO is 300 -400 percent. Once you rank on page 1 of Google, top ten, you will see a significant increase in leads, brand authority, traffic in general, etc. Depending on the industry, having an online presence is essential to any small or large business success.
Helps Businesses Compete
When done right, SEO can boost online presence for up and coming businesses. And this is important for leveling the playing field and fostering innovation. Steffen Ploeger from 9thCO shares a unique SEO benefit.
It helps level the playing field for businesses large and small, allowing them an equal opportunity (in theory) to be rewarded with a larger share of the market for good SEO practices. It also helps businesses better understand their customers and the market they serve through the use of search analytics. This results in an improvement for a business to better match customer demands and expectations.
Boosts Brand Visibility
Want to spread the word about your brand? Then start optimizing your site. Carlos Crespo from Motoza Marketing shares the SEO benefits for boosting brand visibility.
The value of SEO comes down to one simple factor: visibility. As more people use Google and other search engines, those who appear in the top results for their respective keywords gain more visitors, more brand exposure, and ultimately more sales. While a business can focus on an excellent product, a beautiful and effective brand and website, it comes down to visibility. Whether that’s via traditional methods such as billboards and print, or social media and paid advertising, SEO is simply another avenue to gain more exposure.
Lowers Business Costs
For business-savvy marketers, lowering costs is always in the playbook. Deborah Sweeney from MyCorporation shares why SEO helps lowers marketing costs.
SEO is relevant because even if you have a significant budget for SEM, it is often the overlap between content, links to your site, and good SEM strategies that yield more visitors to your site. Paid search can be expensive. It’s important to reach your online customers in more relevant ways. Writing content in differing outlets, connecting with partners who also work with your clients, cross-blogging and generating content on your site about your business and industry can be a much more cost-effective and directed way to reach your customers.
The Benefits of SEO – From the SEO Experts
For businesses looking to take their digital marketing to the next level, SEO is a perfect starting point. SEO done right can boost your brand credibility, generate leads and sales and lower costs for your business.
Thanks to our SEO Experts for sharing their insights. Want to jump in on the conversation? Make sure to leave your thoughts in the comments below.
