It’s important when building a new website that you’re working with search engines – instead of against them. Search engine optimization is important for the success of any online business.
Maybe you have heard that Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a vital digital marketing tool, but even if you have a basic understanding of what it entails, you may still not have a solid grasp on this complex and multifaceted creature.
SEO is made up of multiple different elements, and knowing what they are and how they work is key to understanding why SEO is so important. In short, SEO is significant because it makes your website more visible, and that means more traffic and more opportunities to convert prospects into customers.
Beyond that, it is also a valuable tool for brand awareness, building relationships with prospects, and positioning yourself as an authoritative and trustworthy expert in your field.
So, what does a SEO strategy entail?
Understanding the main principles of SEO
Search engine optimization describes a strategy that encompasses nearly every aspect of site building and content development. When it is done effectively, it creates an outstanding user experience for the consumer, further building their trust in the company. Thus, the main goal of SEO is to demonstrate your value to the search engines. When they know your value, your pages will rank highly for queries relevant to your content. The importance of SEO comes from its ability to help customers find you easily.
How search engine optimization works
Most search engines analyses websites with their spiders. These spiders look for key bits of information that signal to them the topics and value of the content on each webpage. This means that they will look for certain terms and examine the site organization to find clues about the value of the site. Here are some of the aspects of SEO that form the basis of any strategy.
The site construction and organization
Search engines such as Google use complicated algorithm to look at many aspects of the website including the organization of the site. The algorithm can determine many things and scores each bit with a positive or negative score which ultimately determines your ranking. A part of site construction also includes site load speed. Pages that load slowly on any device will be marked poorly by Google and also abandoned by viewers that expect fast loading experiences. Brands need to take the time to carefully consider how they construct their site, including the images and videos they use, to be confident that everything has been created to ensure an optimal load time.
Mobile optimization
Of course, SEO would not be complete without a discussion of mobile optimization. In most cases more searches now take place on mobile devices than desktop. In response, it is an essential requirement to improve mobile optimization.
To succeed in this mobile-first world, brands need to use mobile SEO to ensure that their content has been created correctly. The site should be easy to navigate with fingers. It should also load fast on mobile devices and be easy to read.
Overcoming objections to SEO
The most common objections that businesses raise regarding SEO revolve around the time needed and the investment. It can take a few weeks to a few months to see real results from an SEO initiative, which makes it difficult to find the resources to invest in optimization now.
Fortunately, there are some business results that brands can see right away from an SEO investment. Although the most significant results might take time, the positive changes seen with SEO can benefit customers, and therefore the business, right away.
As brands start to pay attention to the importance of SEO and thus begin to clean up their websites, they will improve the user experience. It will be easier for people to get around the site and find what they need. This will improve the reputation of the site. It will also boost engagement with users and encourage more leads to convert to customers.
Brands commonly feel concerned about the financial investment in SEO. Hiring several new employees can be a drain on the budget, particularly when people add in the tools needed to maximize site optimization. However, DMNI can give brands access to highly experienced professionals which allows Brand to concentrate on their business and leave the complexity of SEO to the professionals.
The Importance of SEO Now and in the Future
1. Brand building
Brand building can help create powerful organizations. When people recognize your logo, colours, and name with a positive reputation that precedes you, it can help build greater trust with prospects. SEO and digital marketing can help capitalize on this.
A strong online presence will encompass many channels. A complete SEO strategy will involve employing platforms, such as social media. Your brand will be present to customers throughout their digital lives, enhancing recognition and leads.
2. Better positions on the Search Engines
Your position on the Search Engines will play a large role in the number of clicks you receive. According to Advanced Web Ranking, the top three positions alone on the Search Engines receive an average of 60% of all the clicks. This means that the higher your site appears, the more results you will gain from your efforts.
Focusing on the importance of SEO will help you improve your rankings. As Google recognizes the value that your site offers users in this sector, you will rank higher. SEO helps you to communicate better with the search engine algorithms. Your topic will become clearer to the search engine spiders. You will also let the search engines know for which queries you will be relevant.
Customers expect that Google’s algorithm generally returns them the sites that will provide them with the best answer.
3. More traffic
As you build your rankings, you will be in a greater position to boost your traffic. SEO best practices include optimizing both your titles and meta descriptions to make your topic clear. This lets your customers know precisely what your piece offers. Customers want to know that your site will address their needs. Optimizing these aspects of your site will help persuade them to click.
When you combine these elements with the stronger site rankings you get through optimization, you will see increases in your traffic rates. More people will come to your website. As you introduce more people to your websites, you will also nurture more opportunities for people to become leads and then convert. The importance of SEO cannot be underestimated when it comes to organic revenue growth.
4. Higher percentage of traffic becoming leads
SEO will also increase the percentage of your traffic that becomes leads. SEO focuses on understanding what prospective customers want to see and then fulfilling those needs. Creating a strong SEO strategy, therefore, will result in a site that is tailored more towards your target customers.
With content that better engages your visitors, you will be able to lead your prospects through the sales funnel more easily. Customers will be able to find the content they want and you will know how to move them to the next level. This will result in a higher percentage of conversions at each stage.
5. Business growth outside of geographic boundaries
With traditional marketing, businesses often remain confined to their immediate geographic area. You promote yourself with direct mail, radio broadcast, and billboards, for example, which only people who live in your area see.
With SEO, you have the opportunity to expand your reach beyond your region. You can do business with people across the country.
By understanding the importance of SEO and creating an optimized site, your page can rank highly on SEARCH ENGINESs for people in a number of different locations. When your content is relevant, it will appear regardless of whether the prospect lives next door or thousands of miles away. SEO, therefore, provides your organization with greater room to grow. You have the chance to expand your prospective audience and thus increase your reach. You will be able to expand your business on a level that would not have been possible previously.
6. Greater understanding of what customers want to see
Customers today like to know that businesses understand their pain points. They want to work with companies who address their individual needs. Modern customers want to nurture relationships with businesses and not be viewed as only a number.
To serve these customers, both online and offline, you want to intimately understand your customers. This means going deeper than targeting people within a particular age range. You want to understand people’s behaviour and why they do certain actions.
Before SEO and digital marketing, businesses relied on market research and basic analysis of their own merchandise. They used market research to identify trends in their consumer habits, for example, and would use sales data to see which products and services were the most popular with customers. SEO, however, offers an entirely new level to the ability to understand the customer.
Through paying attention to the importance of SEO, you will begin to monitor customer behaviour on your website. You will see your bounce rates, how often people click through your site and where they go, your rate of abandoned shopping carts, and your rate of repeat customers.
SEO requires brands to make an investment. Without immediate results, like the ones a traditional ad campaign can produce, it can be hard to make that jump. As you begin to understand the long-term importance of SEO for your organization, it should become easier to take those first steps towards digital success. The longer you invest in SEO, and the more intense your dedication, the easier it will be to see how the benefits you derive from this strategy easily pay for the effort you have put in.
If you’re interested in ramping up your SEO efforts or just getting started, contact us to schedule a chat today and learn how DMNI can assist in your SEO campaign.
