6 Benefits and Importance of SEO
For starters, SEO stands for search engine optimization, and it’s the process of improving a website in ways that help it rank in search results when users search for specific words and phrases.
If you’re unsure why this matters, think about how you usually find the information you need during your everyday life.
SEO has the potential to make a massive impact on your company’s most important goals, like increasing your leads and sales.
But if you’re still not convinced, keep reading to learn five of the most significant benefits of optimizing your site for search.
1. SEO Is Not A Cost But An Investment
An investment with a high return. You may observe specific keywords having great conversion rates for which you rank only on page #2 on Google and know that you’re leaving money on the table.
Search engine optimization lavishes your sales' attention, generating the highest performance by giving it the right emphasis and focus in your marketing arsenal.
Lifting your rank to the top 3 spots on the first page, where most clicks go, can provide a massive return on your modest investment into SEO.
2. SEO targets quality traffic
Unlike traditional “outbound” advertising channels, which involve reaching out to consumers whether they want to hear from you or not, inbound methods center on making it easy for your audience to find you when they want information.
Like cold calling, spam emails, and interruptive ads, are done solely with the advertiser’s goals in mind and many consumers find them downright annoying.
Inbound marketing, on the other hand, is much more customer-centric. Instead of interrupting consumers as they’re going through Facebook or Instagram, it involves creating helpful resources and making information useful more easily accessible.
After all, who do you think will be more receptive to your marketing efforts:
Someone who sees your ad on a billboard during their commute, or someone who comes across a list of tips you published while searching for help online?
The answer is clear.
When you focus on attracting users who are actively looking for information related to your industry, products, and services, you’ll be much more effective in reaching your target audience.
Plus, this allows you to reach your audience while they’re already considering making a purchase or contracting a service — increasing the chances that your marketing messages will translate into sales and leads.
3. SEO Builds Brand Credibility and Awareness
Ranking first, second, or third may give your customers the idea that you are one of the industry's top players. It shows that you are popular, and many users have researched you, too.
Brand Awareness is the extent to which the target market recognizes a brand. Search Engine Optimization ensures that search engine sites easily find your product through regular and organic search. Once you remain at the top of the ranking, Internet users will be able to see you more.
SEO leads to a higher tendency for your link to be clicked, which shows the users to your website. One of the benefits of SEO for your business is establishing your brand's awareness even further.
4. SEO Leads to Better Website’s User Experience
There are many ways you can improve your website and maximize user experience. SEO includes providing your audience with relevant information, related photos or videos to support text, easy-to-navigate web pages, or a mobile-friendly website configuration.
All of this leads to a better user experience. SEO results in more clicks, more leads, better brand recall, and higher conversion rates. This is what search engine sites are looking for, thus improving your search ranking.
5. You don’t need to pay for ads in SEO
Google’s organic rankings are based entirely on its algorithm to be the best results for any given query. Once you’ve created a page that the search engine deems worthy of directing their users to, it can continue to attract traffic to your site for months (or even years) after you publish it.
Google’s organic rankings are based entirely on its algorithm to be the best results for any given query. Once you’ve created a page that the search engine deems worthy of directing their users to, it can continue to attract traffic to your site for months (or even years) after you publish it.
Researching and writing high-quality content requires an investment. That investment will either be in the form of time if you choose to create it yourself or money if you decide to hire a digital marketing agency to make it for you.
However, your valuable spot in search results is free of charge when it comes down to it.
This is a significant major difference from PPC ads, which involve a cost every time a user clicks and visits a page.
To give you an idea of just how big of an advantage this is, consider that the average cost per click (CPC) is $2.32.
With SEO, you have the potential to avoid paying this amount and earn traffic to your site with no ongoing costs at all.
6. You don’t need to pay for ads in SEO
Although PPC ads appear above organic rankings, 71.33% of searches result in a click on an organic result on the first page.
It’s difficult to say why this is, though the most logical conclusion is that users trust Google’s algorithm. They know which spots advertisers are paying for, and they choose to visit instead of the pages the search engine has determined to be the best.
But regardless of the reasoning behind it, the fact is that most clicks for any given search go to an organic result.
Conclusion
These compelling reasons have convinced you about the value and benefits of an integrated SEO strategy in growing your business and taking your company to new heights of profitability, branding, and success.
So, to answer the question of, “what is SEO in marketing?” the simplest explanation is that it’s the best way to improve your online visibility and reach consumers as they’re actively searching for information.
It also presents a wealth of benefits that no other digital marketing tactic can offer. For many marketers, the biggest draw is that it enables them to earn new customers without ad space. For others, it’s that organic results deserve even more clicks and attention than ads.