The value of SEO is, of course, tied to organic search traffic. But why do you want it? Why is it so important to the business? The value of growing your organic search traffic is intrinsically tied to the value of conversions that drive the revenue that feeds the business. Search Engine Optimization is still one of the best customer acquisition strategies for locally-focused businesses.
Why SEO still matters in 2021
SEO is here to stay in 2021. SEO is a major driver of traffic and leads to your website. Search Engine Optimization activities are particularly beneficial for locally-focused businesses, those looking to reach more users with their content, and businesses hoping to adopt a multichannel approach. By writing content that’s tailored to your audience and optimizing your website for high-traffic keywords, you can expand your reach and boost your brand’s authority online.
It is common not only for business owners but for marketers as well to wonder if the effort and expense of SEO are worth it. So, to answer the question we’ll cover the most direct outcomes of SEO, driving high ROI and making it a must-have marketing channel to include in your budget, year after year.
- Organic traffic continues to dominate
A study conducted by BrightEdge found that in the online environment, 53% of traffic to all websites comes via organic search. In the world of digital marketing, traffic is a currency, and SEO drives the majority of that traffic.
- SEO is essential for other marketing channels
SEO practice makes all of your other marketing channels effective. This is a piece of the value that it is easy to overlook. When all marketing activities are integrated and aligned towards a common sales and business goal, you can maximize the exposure of a message. Combining SEO efforts and different marketing channels will impact a brand’s exposure resulting in a successful promotion.
- SEO reinforces your credibility and reputation
Credibility is a major characteristic that consumers look at when buying products or trying services. It is why big companies can easily penetrate a new market, regardless of how far it is from their original audience. They already have the reputation, whether their product is good or not, they’ve put in the legwork to attract a loyal tribe.
Have you asked yourself if the current search rankings are helping or hurting your brand? The higher you rank in Google’s organic search results, the more clicks you get. And the more search volume those keywords have, the even more clicks you get. Searchers often view the top organic search results as Google’s own vetted recommendation of the best answer to their search. So, it stands to reason that if you want to be viewed as a leader in your industry, you have to get in those top spots in the relevant keywords to your business.
- SEO has long-term ROI
You might be wondering how SEO efforts are providing ROI, but there are many indicators that prove that SEO return on investment is higher than other digital marketing methods. So, thankfully SEO and ROI are two concepts that go hand-in-hand. Some of the indicators of SEO’s ROI are lower cost, improvements over time, and long-lasting results, meaning that the initial investment will be worthwhile in the end.
SEO is a long-term investment, so it gains more value over time, but a longer time frame will not help if you have a poorly developed SEO strategy or low-quality content. To secure SEO success for the long term consistently add new content, maintain the relevance of your site, and update your SEO strategy.
- SEO gives you a sustainable competitive advantage
By investing resources into long-term SEO strategy and execution, you can achieve a leadership position that could take your competitors some time to catch up with. It’s hard to beat good SEO and it definitely takes time. It can take months for your competitors to rank ahead of you, and if you’ve spent those months-long before them, you have a competitive advantage.
Make your SEO investment worth it
Whether you’ve been burnt by previous attempts at SEO or are having a hard time justifying the cost in your marketing budget, it’s important to fully balance the risks and rewards for your business. A successful SEO program will take time to start showing results, but the return on investment is notable. Every day you put off investing in an SEO plan is another day your business misses being exposed to millions of potential customers. So what are you waiting for?
Results from a successful SEO strategy increase over time, this is because SEO rankings build on themselves over time, and the difference between a few ranking positions is exponential. And unlike pay-per-click positions, SEO rankings don’t go away as soon as you stop paying for them.
Closing Line
When beginning an SEO strategy, it is important to have realistic expectations, SEO is very much a long-term strategy, but don’t let that detract from its overall value.
The difficulty of attaining high search engine rankings is exactly what makes them so valuable. As I discussed previously, SEO rankings cannot be purchased or negotiated, they must be fought for and earned, which takes time and skill. However, once high rankings have been achieved those coveted rankings are yours until somebody else manages to put more skill and effort into SEO than you have, but you won’t let that happen, right?
For small businesses, SEO is one of the smartest investments you can make. If you don’t know where to start, don’t worry. You’re not alone. You can start with a free strategy session with one of our SEO consultants to see where you can use search to make the most impact on your business goals.
