If you are an online business owner, you must have heard about SEO. Maybe you are convinced that it works very well for various kinds of online businesses.

The thing you probably wondering about is why it is so important?

Well, there are so many reasons to consider SEO if you are an online business owner and I will be getting into that very shortly.

But first, for newbies (who are new into this field), let’s take a look at what SEO really is?

SEO which stands for Search Engine Optimization is a process of strategically improving and optimizing your web page or website so that it gains higher ranking in search results. Higher ranking leads to more number of impressions and in turn, increases your number of customers/visitors.

For people other than geeks, let’s put it in simple words – basically, SEO helps people increase their visitors who are searching for topics related to their content.

In a world where the website count has reached to almost 6 per person, if you wish to stand out, you must have a proper plan in place to promote your business.

Many people consider SEO as an unnecessary process and here’s an appealing scenario why – so, you have spent a fortune on creating a beautiful website for your business which you like. Now, the consultant calls you and asks you to invest even more money to make it visible on search engine.

What would you do? Many people will say ‘NO’.

But, Google needs to understand your website in order to give it a suitable position in search results and SEO agencies help you just do that.

Being a smart business owner, you must have Seo Campaign as a part of your marketing plan.

Even Google recommends you to have an SEO Campaign, that way search engines can understand your site better and it will also increase your visitors through organic search.

Here’s what Google has to say about the need of an SEO:

If you’re thinking about hiring an SEO, the earlier the better. A great time to hire is when you’re considering a site redesign or planning to launch a new site. That way, you and your SEO can ensure that your site is designed to be search engine-friendly from the bottom up. However, a good SEO can also help improve an existing site.

SEO is unarguably the best way to connect to your potential customers than any other methods. But, implementing a good SEO strategy isn’t so simple with a lot of recent Google Ranking Algorithm Updates.

Still not convinced? Here are some reasons why you should consider SEO as your first priority?

SEO Drives Relevant Audience with High Conversion Rates

Search traffics are usually highly targeted down to minor details. With good SEO campaign and keyword research, you can find how big your market is and What users are searching for.

You can drive such highly targeted audience to your website which usually provides high conversion rates. A recent study has shown that the conversion rates from SEO leads are up to 15%, which is higher than any other type of marketing or advertising.

That is why having a good SEO company or consultant can make you high returns for every penny you spend on SEO optimization.

Here’s an example – Most people go on vacation to other cities or place and they need a place to stay. How would they find a good hotel to stay? By ‘Googling it’. With a good SEO optimization, your site would appear in some of the top results of search pages. If your site is relevant to his/her needs, it is highly likely that he/she would turn into your customer.

SEO can Increase Offline Sales

Gone the era of finding stores and products physically, most people today use search engines to find the stores or products they need.

A recent survey showed that almost 86% customers use the Internet to find the local businesses to buy from them offline. Yes, in the stores.

This is one more reason why you cannot ignore the SEO if you are a business owner. Having a website is like having a sales person who works 24/7 and 365 days without resting.

There are people who seek out the Internet to find a solution to their problems and you are providing the answer at their doorstep.

Without SEO, finding your website would like finding a needle in a haystack, it is there but no one can find it.

SEO is Most Cost-Effective Marketing Strategy

SEO is considered to be the most cost-effective marketing strategy than any other means. Don’t believe me? Here are some key points:

• SEO drives highly targeted traffic which usually leads to higher conversion rates than any other means of marketing.
• SEO provides high returns on per dollar you spent on your SEO campaign.
• Hosting, designing cost remains same irrespective of a number of visitors to your site.

An effective campaign can attract a lot of customers searching for the same exact problem you provide a solution to. The impact of a good SEO campaign remains beyond time even after you shut your SEO campaign for weeks, months, or even for years. That said, SEO is no doubt the best marketing strategy ever existed.

 SEO Outweighs PPC Campaigns

Have you used Google AdWords? You may have used it successfully or maybe not. But, here’s the ironic thing –

PPC campaigns drive 25% of traffic but have 80% of marketing budget while SEO drives 75% of traffic but only have 15% of the marketing budget.

The people who run PPC campaigns ignore a large part of the key ingredient that is search traffic.

You have already done well with PPC advertising with only quarter of traffic, imagine what you can achieve with other third of the traffic?

SEO Helps Build Trust & Authority

How do people determine superiority? It simple, it’s human nature that whoever comes on top is considered as superior or top class.

Take an example of football league (everyone knows football, I suppose), whoever scores most goals or helps scoring it considered for ‘Golden Boot’.

Whoever wins it is considered to be top, the other nominees are runners-up.  All the others also played football but nobody cares about them!

This theory is similar about search engine rankers. The top position rankers get 35% of total search traffic, the 2^nd ranker gets 13% and the third one gets about 9% of traffic.

Being at the top helps people remember your brand and build awareness and trust, which in turn results in more sales.

So, if you are not on the first page for keywords that are crucial for your business, then you are in serious trouble.

Even if you are doing well without any SEO efforts and ranking, imagine how much money you are leaving out on a plate, ready for your competitors to grab.

SEO Helps in Brand Building

What do you do when you need to find some information? Ask your Parents? Ask your teachers? Ask Your Friends? No. In today’s world, anyone who wishes to find something, they just ‘Googles it’.

With an effective SEO campaign, you rank higher in search results. When user search for particular topics and you are on top of the result, it helps improve your credibility.

Brand building is often considered to be a hectic and difficult task. You throw many things at customers and hopes that they will remember you at time of purchasing.

SEO campaign can accelerate your brand building efforts very effectively and help your customer memories your brand.

As we know, SEO drives highly targeted consumers to your site and when you rank higher, the user is most likely to click on your site.

When the users use your site or buy some products, it is most likely that they will come back again and tell their friends about it. So basically, SEO helps to turn a first impression into long lasting recall by presenting the most relevant content for which the user is looking.

Long Term Strategy

SEO is a long-term strategy. While SEO can deliver quick results and that’s what many business owners need but, the impact lasts for a long time.

Many marketing campaigns like PPC delivers quick results but, they are also expensive and have a specific timeframe. A recent survey showed that 91% of people prefer search results over paid advertising.

So, investing in SEO campaign is a smart move if you wish to stay longer in the competition. If you do your SEO correctly, your ranking will last even after you stop spending money on your SEO campaign.

Although I wouldn’t suggest it as it involves risk of losing your ranking as SEO is a continuous process.

SEO is a Continuous Process

SEO is like mining, people mine for gold, silver. You need constant mining and depending upon the ground you may need to tweak your drills. If the ground is hard you may need bigger drills, it might also cause frequent need of maintenance, changing drills more often.

SEO is just like that, you will constantly need to tweak your strategies, budget, and plans. Your SEO might feel expensive because of tougher competition, but the reward will also be higher.

A good SEO company will guide you in the right direction. You might feel it is a bit expensive at first but you will soon see the results paying off.

SEO Company is a Secret Weapon

“Marketing is a war and you don’t go to war with conventional weapons.”

SEO company can be a great asset in expanding your business. A skilled SEO expert can carry out your market analysis and find the keywords which provide great ROI.

A good SEO company can run an in-depth analysis of your market, your competition and study their strategies. They can improve your site and its content which results in higher user engagement and better user experience giving you an edge over your competition.

Your SEO company can also find out an ineffective strategy and also steer you away from where the competition is too tough with very little gain to save your time and money.

It isn’t only About SEO Plug-Ins and SEO-Friendly CMS

You might think using SEO plug-ins and SEO-friendly CMS would do the job. But, Google uses over 200 factors in their algorithm for ranking a particular site and it updates many times in a year. CMS is just a fraction of the whole.

So, this plug-ins and CMS is not going help you with your ranking. An SEO company works 24/7 and 365 days in the field of SEO, their only work is to track and update their knowledge about algorithm changes, plus they have lots of experience about what works and what not.

They know the SEO from top-to-bottom and they can really help you with your rankings. But, the major thing in SEO is ‘content’. ‘Content is King’, a good SEO company would help you tweak your content which is both user and SEO friendly which will help you gain higher ranks.

SEO is an Important Ingredient of Your Online Business

SEO isn’t just a process which you can start at any time and expect results. As an SEO expert, I get calls from lots of companies who have built a state-of-the-art website and want SEO stamped on it.

But, this doesn’t how it works, you don’t make tea by boiling the water first and sprinkling tea powder on top. You need to combine those two at the start to produce a better result.

According to Google, the best time to hire an SEO is when you want to modify or build a new website, earlier the better. SEO is a thread that effectively needs to be woven into the site’s DNA so that, it can produce results most effectively.

Taking SEO into consideration while building your site structure, CMS, Param, Slug, and design can really help you boost your SEO game and can produce expected result in a very short period of time.

Hopefully, these compelling reasons have convinced you about the benefits and importance of the SEO in building and growing your business to success.

On the last note, many people seek out to cheap SEO companies to save money. Here is my advice – handing over the camera to someone doesn’t mean they are going to take great pictures for you if you want great pictures, hire a professional photographer.

Similarly, if you want top-notch SEO, hire a top-notch SEO company.

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