If your website is not appearing at the top of the search engine result pages (SERPs), then it’s not doing what it is meant to do. Even after being such an integral part of contemporary business, search engine optimization (SEO) is greatly misunderstood. There are many results on the web claiming that SEO is dead. Instead of looking at the contradicting views, your aim should be to gather the correct information about SEO to make an informed decision.
You need to have a strong online presence to connect with your constantly-online customers, and there’s no other option in this online world. Yes, it takes a little work and time to reflect the results, but when they show up, things can change drastically for your small business.
Here are the top 7 reasons for you, as a small business owner, to start investing in SEO.
You Need More Than Just Social Media
Marketing channels like Facebook and Instagram are certainly very hot, and no doubt marketing experts always recommend these. In overall marketing, the role of social media is quintessential. But social media marketing, on its own, is not enough to market your small business.
According to a study by Search Engine Land, Google alone accounts for more than 50% of the traffic on most websites. The same study says that Social Media is responsible for around 5% of traffic generation. This means that even if your social media game is top-notch, it’ll still be nowhere around what search engines can offer you.
Social media is definitely great for brand awareness and even better for customer service. However, it does not drive traffic to your website which is responsible for lead generation and conversion. Moreover, only quantifiable data is included in Google’s search algorithm. And because it doesn’t have access to social media metrics, socials are disconnected from the search rankings. If you want your website to perform up to the mark, small business SEO services can be really helpful for you, here are some criteria for when you choose an SEO agency.
Investing in SEO is Cost-effective
There’s this myth going around that investing in SEO is expensive. To be fair, it’s relative but it’s not expensive generally. As a matter of fact, it is even possible to rank number one on the SERP without having a budget at all. It is not possible to pay your way to the top, you just have to be strategic with your post.
SEO is all about the time you invest patiently and your expertise in making campaigns. Searching for external expertise does require some money, but it still is not expensive considering what it brings to the table. SEO is about authenticity. It’s your website that ranks, not your paid campaigns and promotional messages.
Investment in SEO works for a long time. It’s an investment that if you make correctly will definitely pay off in the future. You have to keep working on your SEO game for it to not disappear. When something comes to you at such cost-effective prices, and with a guarantee that it’s going to multiply your revenue in the future- you should not leave this opportunity.
SEO is Slow but Steady
There are many believers in the idea that SEO is not effective because of its inability to achieve results quickly. It’s absolutely true. SEO takes around an average of 4-6 months to reflect a significant increase in web traffic. However, it is essential to keep in mind that this slow and steady change is not a bad thing at all.
While working with SEO, your goal should never be short-term. The reason you should focus on the long game is that once you make the investment, it builds and pays off multifold. It is understandable that as a small business you might want quick results, but you don’t necessarily have to abandon SEO for that. You can target both short and long-term goals simultaneously by implementing both SEO and SEM together.
Beat the Competition
Do you know what can be really depressing? Looking at the relevant keywords of your industry and seeing that your competitors are ranking so high and you’re nowhere to be seen on the SERP. But you gotta start from somewhere. If you can’t beat your competitors in terms of search result ranking if you don’t even start. Start with Google Analytics and Hubspot integration.
Moreover, if your competitors are ahead of you in search results. It gives you a cushion to find the chinks in the armor of your toughest opponent. Even they are not doing the best either, after reaching the top of the SERP, they tend to get lazy. That’s where you can strike with a robust SEO strategy.
When you know what your competitors are up to, you’ve already won half the battle. You can uncover their tactics and find ways to beat them. No one will see you coming until you suddenly start getting more clicks and overtake them in rankings.
You Get Traffic of Better Quality
To ace the online game, lead generation is something that you have to master for sure. It is true that more traffic does not guarantee a higher rate of conversion. But as you start ranking higher on the SERP, you start getting traffic of better quality. SEO makes it easy for small businesses to attract traffic and boost sales using tactics like link building, directory submission, web audit, keyword optimization, and analytics.
Final Words
Over the last few years, the role of SEO has expanded significantly. When you have a better ranking on the search engines, you’ll notice that the traffic and hence the sales on your site will also increase significantly. With changing Google algorithms, these SEO strategies also need timely changes, and when implemented appropriately, your small business will no longer be small.
