Search engine optimization is crucial if you want to build long-term brand awareness, broaden your target audiences, and increase revenue. For sure you have explored the basics of SEO so far and studied how it works. But while doing so, you’ve probably discovered that implementing it in your digital marketing strategy is complex and time-consuming. Also, optimizing your content is a long game, and it may take months to reap the results. There was probably a point where you were wondering – is it worth all the hassle? Well, rest assured that it is!
In this article, we’ll show you the top 10 benefits of SEO for your business in 2022 and if you are not sure yet, by the end of it you will be certain why you need an effective search engine optimization strategy to boost your content’s performance in the SERPs. Learn how SEO services can be helpful for your business:
1. SEO Improves the Brand Awareness of Your Business
Search engines choose the site that ranks high on search engine results pages(SERPs) for being of high quality and trustworthy. Therefore building an SEO friendly website will increase your company’s potential.
By making your brand more recognizable and building credibility, you consolidate your position as an industry leader and an authority in your field. Customers will always bet on the choice that provides them more security and includes less risk, and being on top of the SERPs shows that others have already trusted you and you’ve provided. It also promotes word-of-mouth marketing and can help you build up your business and increase sales.
“Creating brand awareness is one of the key steps in promoting a product.”
2. SEO Is a Primary Source of Leads
Inbound strategies are the most effective and successful source of leads among Business to Business (B2B), Business to Customer (B2C) and non-profit organizations. Inbound includes search engine optimization, social media, content marketing, referrals and others.
However, if you are not generating new leads from your SEO tactics, then you should revise your approach and make sure you are targeting the right audience. Also, check up on your competitors, maybe another player in the market optimizes their content better and is getting your share of the pie.
3. SEO Results to Higher Conversion Rate
The good ranking of your site on any search engine can significantly improve your conversion rates. If you manage to maintain a top position long enough, your target market will soon become more aware of your business and the quality of your work. This will increase your credibility and your reputation as an authority in your industry.
As customers are becoming more familiar with your brand and as their knowledge about products/services increase, there is a great possibility for customers to close the deal with you.
4. SEO Helps You Gain Market Share
Being on top of the search list means a high probability for your website to be found by prospective customers. Once they discover their required information on your website, they may become leads, and, eventually, turn into customers.
Leads may either make a purchase, sign up for a membership or subscribe to a newsletter. Once this happens, your market share grows and so does your business.
5. SEO Builds Brand Credibility
Ranking first, second, or third may give your customers the idea that you are one of the top players in the industry. Another benefit of SEO is that it suggests that what you offer is better than the competition.
On the other hand, if you are at the bottom of the search engine results, people may not even find you or, if they do, they may think that you lack credibility or expertise in the industry. This may also lead some customers to reconsider doing business with you and choose someone with a more solid online presence and a better reputation.
6. SEO Ensures Mobile-Friendliness of Your Website
SEO doesn’t improve your website’s mobile friendliness – it’s the other way round, for SEO advantage you need a website that looks and functions well on mobile.
66% of all web traffic now comes from mobile devices, and if your website is not optimized to look good on screens of all shapes and sizes, your customers will not be likely to stick around your pages.
With Google’s mobile-first indexing, websites that are not mobile-friendly, lose their visibility in organic search results. Not complying can compromise all your content creation efforts and hurt your business immensely.
SEO benefits the user experience because it results in better and easier navigation of websites.
7. SEO Leads to Better User Experience
There are many ways you can improve your website and maximize user experience. This includes providing your audience with relevant information, related photos or videos to support text, easy-to-navigate web pages and a mobile-friendly website configuration.
Better user experience results in more clicks, more leads, better brand recall, and higher conversion rates. Both your website visitors and search engines value good UX, and delivering it will improve your ranking and keep people longer on your pages.
8. SEO Aids You in Achieving The Highest Ranking in Local Searches
Over 80% of local searches on mobile result in conversions. Local SEO strategies can help you attract these buyers who are regularly on the lookout for something to buy. Firstly, apply local SEO tactics by creating a Google My Business account. Then start soliciting feedback from your clients. Make sure your listings have the right name, address, and phone number.
Also, make sure your listing is optimized for voice search, which means creating rich, engaging content in a conversational tone that responds to the most often asked inquiries and addresses searchers’ concerns. Another option is to carefully consider your local keywords.
9. SEO Can Be a Long-Term Marketing Strategy
As mentioned, SEO is a long-term marketing strategy. Six months is the minimum duration for a website to maintain optimal ranking. The good news is that, although it takes what seems an eternity to reach those top ranks, pulling you down the list also takes time.
However, Google algorithm regularly changes and updates, and other competitors work hard on their SEO advantages too. Monitoring your ranking will allow you to track your performance and make adjustments when fluctuations in your performance occur.
10. SEO Takes You Ahead of The Competition
One of the most lucrative benefits of SEO, which unites everything we covered so far, is that it can help you beat the competition.
By making your brand more recognizable and building credibility, you consolidate your position as an industry leader and an authority in your field. Customers will always bet on the choice that provides them more security and includes less risk, and being on top of the SERPs shows that others have already trusted you and you’ve provided.
You will grow as a business once you’ve implemented digital marketing strategies to your overall organizational plan. These strategies include search engine optimization. Integrating all of these together will help you take the lead amidst competitors in the market.
Conclusion
The opportunity for your brand, in terms of awareness and brand equity, is limitless. The digital world has provided us with a myriad of options to explore with the aim of achieving overall organizational goals.
Search Engine Optimization is one of the strategies that will help you ace the competition. SEO refers to the ability of a website to gain quantitative and qualitative website visits through organic search engine results. Make sure to take on the challenge and use SEO to your advantage.