If you’re asking yourself if you should be using SEO, then the answer is YES! Whether you are a leading global company or a new start-up, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is one of the most important tools in your digital marketing arsenal. SEO is a data-driven approach that helps with business growth, brand visibility, customer trust, and creating the ultimate customer experience. 

 Nowadays, customers using a search engine is where your sale begins. 

Potential customers need to be able to find your website for you to capture a sale. If you want to increase the number of visitors your website has each day, then you need to increase your organic search engine traffic.

 Keep reading to ensure that you never miss a sale opportunity!

 SEO for Growth

If you have noticed that your potential customer base cannot find your marketing content then it’s time to include SEO in your marketing strategy. For most businesses, SEO is one of the leading digital marketing tools that is implemented in the beginning stages of planning digital campaigns. Statistics show that businesses that incorporate SEO as the base of their digital marketing efforts experience greater return on investment. This is because SEO enhances paid search strategy and creates more effective pay-per-click campaigns as the costs per click are lower when your website is ranked high. With SEO your website will rank higher in SERP (search engine results page) and keyword- you can reach your customer base! 88% of the local search results contact a service provider within 24 hours. This organic web traffic is a free way to attract new customers and to get ahead of your competition when a customer searches up a product or service that you offer. 

Brand Visibility

You want your business to be discoverable! The goal of SEO is to improve your website’s visibility so Google and other search engines place your website as the first hit. The more visible your brand is, the more traffic will be driven to your website which means more sales! When a potential customer hops onto Google and searches for a particular product or service they are more inclined to visit the top five search suggestions. 92% of traffic goes to those business profiles positioned on the first pages of search engines. Most people won’t be venturing to the second page of suggestions, so the top five is where you want to be. The better your SEO score, the higher you rank, it’s that simple. Implementing SEO can help increase your rank and provide you with the visibility you need to be discovered by potential customers. Once you get them onto your site you now have the opportunity to make a sale!

 Increase Customer Trust 

 Customers consider whatever the search engine brings up first as a vote of confidence! Having customer trust is one of the most integral parts of running a successful business. With an increase in your brand’s visibility comes an increase in customers’ trust. A staggering 71% of customers turn to a business after using search engines. Most people automatically defer to the recommendations that search engines generate because they already trust the search engine.
If your business is coming up in the top hits on search engines then potential customers will be given the impression that your brand is trustworthy and will choose to do business with you rather than your competitors. While there is nothing wrong with SEM (search engine marketing) a paid advertisement does not attract as many customers as an organic search result. How often do you yourself overlook the paid ads that pop up first? 

SEO for the Ultimate User Experience 

As we’ve discussed, Google and other search engines are your best friend. The information on your website needs to provide the viewer with value and be of high quality. Google favours websites that follow E-A-T guidelines (Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness). For them to relay the information to customers, search engines need to be able to pull information and navigate your website easily. A well-optimised website means that your customer has a positive experience every time they jump on, locating whatever information they need quickly and easily. Search engines pull up the most relevant and helpful content for the user’s search. So, your website should also be able to address any queries or questions they may have around what you provide. This is another way to stay ahead of your competition by having a website that is more enjoyable to use. 

If you’re interested in learning more about the importance of SEO and including it to help your business succeed, we’d love to hear from you.