5 Reasons Why Small Businesses Need SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a strategy that helps increase the likelihood of a website to be found in search engines, particularly Google and Bing.
You’ve probably heard for the nth time that you need SEO for your small business, but you feel there isn’t any pressing reason to invest in it. However, facts surrounding SEO are proving otherwise.
In the past decade, SEO has steadily become an increasingly essential marketing tool for companies – regardless of their size. In fact, it offers far greater opportunities for small businesses that failing to include it in your marketing efforts can mean you’re missing out on the benefits it has to offer.
If you need further convincing, we’ve outlined 5 of the many reasons that demonstrate why small businesses like you need SEO.
Understanding SEO
The primary function of SEO is to define how well your business, its website in particular, performs online and where it ranks in search engines.
For instance, when a user searches in Google, it returns with a list of websites that meet the criteria of the search. The sites with the most relevant content are ones that appear first and rank highest in the results. Now, the purpose of an SEO is to optimize your website and its content using a set of ever-updating techniques and strategies so it will appear on more related searches. Here is an informative article that explains further what SEO is.
Why You Need SEO
- SEO works
SEO, as what most businesses have already discovered for a long time, works. When done effectively, it can help raise your rankings and drive traffic to your website. Sure, Google consistently updates its algorithm, but an experienced SEO agency also upgrades its cutting-edge practices to keep up with the changes and help you navigate through its complexity.
- Your customers are online and searching
A 2014 study said that more than 80% of users research about products and services online. If your small business lacks online presence, you’re basically missing out on the opportunity to be discovered by your potential clients every day. Being on the Internet isn’t enough though, as the study also reveals that about 90% of the users don’t go beyond the first page of the results. So, it means you need SEO to improve your search engine rankings.
- Your competitors do it
More than ever, SEO is becoming more important and your competitors know it. You might be under the impression that you only need SEO until you rank in the search results but, it’s actually the exact opposite. Once you penetrate the first page, your competitors will go after the top positions as well. So, you need to work even more to maintain and further improve your rankings, otherwise let them have a leg up on you.
- SEO builds your credibility
Brand awareness is one of the many wonderful perks of an improved visibility and higher rankings have to offer. Several studies show that a user is more likely to trust a website that appears on the top results than those on the bottom. Alternately, approximately 80% of web users skip the paid ads and turn instead to organic search results. It means when you invest in SEO, you increase your chances of achieving higher rankings, thus giving your customers a positive feeling about your business.
- SEO is cost-effective
SEO is a research-intensive and highly-targeted process. When done the right way, it can be one of the most cost-effective tools you will ever implement in your online marketing strategies thus, securing a return on your investment and profit. What’s more, not only it’s affordable, but it can also be tailored according to your respective budget and needs of your business.
SEO is here to stay and probably will be around for as long as the Internet is here. Getting involved in SEO will always be one of the best decisions you will ever make – and it’s never too late to jump into the game. But, wait too long and you’ll have a long way to catch up.
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Company Bio:
M2Social is a digital marketing agency in Quezon City that is committed to help businesses establish their brands online and on social media, through engaging content and conversations focused on things relevant to them and to their business.
