As a small business owner you have a lot to deal with. From operations, to watching over employees and marketing your business. In order to keep things running at a certain level your always busy with specific things. You have a website, however, it is just sitting there and not doing much for your business so not much attention is paid to it. Hey we get it. This tends to happen for small businesses.
But here is the problem. Many of your competitors are doing things everyday to keep you down. From big corporations, to pure digital companies and even other small businesses. Especially online. One of the major strategies that they are using is called SEO (Search Engine Optimization). What it means is that not just your website, but your brand is visible to the world. Google has algorithms that determine whose websites show up first.
Whether you sell online or you are brick and mortar, its important to show up online when persons type certain keywords such as "Flower shop in New York". It is a great way to not only make people aware about your business but engage them when they get to your site and give them reasons to choose you.
To expand, here are our top 5 reasons to invest in SEO:
1. Google is the most used website in the world
It's true and I bet you don't find it hard to believe either. According to
Internet Live Stats in 2019 there are around 73000 Google searches on average each second. Whether you sell online or not, it is the number one way to promote your brand's visibility to local audience or even nation wide. But in all honesty when someone looks for something on Google, they never go on the second page. So a good SEO strategy is a long term plan to get you on the first page for the best searched keywords relevant to your business. This will bring awareness to your business for years to come. It should be the dominant means of bringing in new customers for your business and should surpass other means of traditional and online channels such as tv, radio or social media. Check out this great
case study.
2. Understanding your customers & getting measurable results
Once SEO starts bringing in more traffic to your site, you can then use
Google Analytics to understand a wealth of information about your visiting audience. Where they come from, what browsers they use, what device they use, what pages they are visiting, how long they spend on your site. With these measurable Key Performance Indicators you can know if you are getting return on your investment and make adjustments for the future. The insights discovered about your visitors can also prescribe effective solutions to your other advertising channels as well.
3. Becoming a trusted company
Other than proper keyword research, SEO is about develop relevance and authority in your industry. This is done by creating helpful content tailored to your target market, collaborate with online influencers, enhancing user experience on the website and ensuring you have good reviews. All of these initiatives will not only help to increase your Google rank but also lets people trust you more easily. This means people who discover your website will more likely to convert into customers.
4. SEO's benefits greatly outweigh's the cost
Of course it will cost some money but SEO is quite cheap when you think about what it can do for your business. Don't think of it as just an investment in marketing but an investment in your business as a whole. You could have internal people working on it or attempt it yourself if you have time. The problem is Google changes it's ranking factors many times each year. You could do enough to be on page 1 but within a week realize that you are on page 10. This is why it is important to invest in a
good SEO company or team who are pros in what they do.
5. SEO has high conversion potential
Many of the people who do research online already know what they want. All you have to do is show up on the first page of Google and be right there when they need you. No need to be shouting at persons to acknowledge your brand because a good strategy ensures you only show up for the right people. So half the job is basically done. You just now have to stand out against the other people who showed up on the first page.
Conclusion
To summarize SEO is a MUST for any company these days. Whether you have heard about it but haven't gotten around to it, or never heard of it... it's time to invest in it. Are you interested in SEO services that will bring return on your investment? Let us know in the comments below.
