As a business owner, you may be wondering whether or not you should invest time and money into SEO, or Search Engine Optimization for your website.
Improving your company’s SEO ranking can be a complex process and usually requires hiring a professional. But it can have a big payoff, which is why 61% of marketers say improving SEO and growing their organic presence is their top inbound marketing priority.
There are three main reasons that business owners and marketers tend to invest in SEO: it is immeasurably valuable, it improves your visibility at a crucial moment in the buyer journey, and it raises you above the competition by working for you 24/7. To decide if these reasons are enough to inspire you to take the plunge, read on.
SEO Improves Sales By Getting You In Front of Interested Buyers At Crucial Moments
Did you know that 93% of online experiences, either with products, services or otherwise, begin with a search engine? This means that when people are curious about a product or service, they no longer pick up the phone or talk to friends. They turn to the internet. The volume of searches on Google is growing every year, suggesting that SEO is more relevant than ever before.
A large appeal for having a search-optimized website comes down to one concept: intent. Put simply, when someone searches for a product or service on a search engine, they have a high likelihood of using the information they receive to make a purchase because they’re actively looking for a solution to a problem or need. Search engine optimization helps improve the chances that your website will appear in front of a potential customer while they’re presently looking for a product or service that matches your offerings.
SEO Saves Advertising Money Over Time
Organic search rankings are unique in that they don’t have to be paid for, so unlike search ads, organic rankings stick around even after your marketing budget is spent. In this way, investing in your organic search rankings and an improved search presence is a sustainable method of gaining new business, and it can even help you to reduce or eliminate your reliance on paid advertising over time.
While you can benefit from free organic rankings once you have them, getting them will require a little investment, or at least a little strategy, but it is well worth it. The number 1 position on a Google search result gets a whopping 33% of search traffic, which can convert to thousands of visitors and new customers every year. These visits are often comprised of potential customers that are likely not yet on your sales radar, which provides access to a steady stream of warm leads that you probably wouldn’t have found otherwise.
SEO Can Lower Your Customer Acquisition Costs
A common metric that marketers use to compare the effectiveness of different marketing mediums is customer acquisition cost, or the amount of money it takes to attract one customer through that particular marketing medium.
For example, if your business took out an ad in a local magazine for $1,000 per month and 5 new customers mentioned that they heard of you through this ad, you could assume that the cost associated with getting a new customer with this magazine ad was $200. However, if you spent the same $1,000 on services from a search engine optimization agency and found that your SEO efforts started bringing in 10 new customers per month, your cost associated with getting a new customer through organic search would be $100.
This is a simple example, especially considering that improved visibility on a search engine might place your website in front of thousands more interested searchers each month who could be a good fit for your product or service. If you’re not convinced, consider this relevant research: when comparing the difference in the cost of acquiring a lead, leading marketing software provider HubSpot found that the cost of gaining a new lead with SEO, blogging and social media was 61% lower than acquiring a lead using outbound methods like traditional advertising.
SEO Reduces Burden on Sales Staff By Working 24/7
Search visibility is crucial in our global economy because it allows your company to be available at all times. When you have prospective customers in different time zones, you need to be able to answer product questions and market your product at all hours of the day. Creating a strong organic search presence and an optimized website is a great way to do this, and build legitimacy at the same time.
How to Get Started with SEO
If you’re looking to take the first step with SEO for your business, it helps to gain a thorough understanding of where your current website and rankings stand to help identify areas for improvement and begin moving in the direction of forming a strategy. Requesting a website assessment from a local SEO company can be a great way to kick off the process and will help you achieve an understanding of how your current website is performing in organic search.
Form + Function helps location-based businesses across the country optimize their websites to get more visitors, leads and customers. We specialize in local SEO, dental SEO and SEO for professional services. If you’re considering investing in SEO efforts of your own, get in touch with us to request a free website assessment today.