20 Reasons Why Your Business Absolutely Needs SEO

There are millions of businesses with an online presence. To that extent, it makes sense to have a strategy to take advantage of the platform presented by the Internet.

The fact is people are more likely to make a purchase online more than ever before.

Also, there are more likely to visit a site that appears higher in their search results.

The second page and others after it simply don’t get enough traffic.

All businesses, including small ones, can make it to the first page of search engine results.

It’s not a holy grail that’s unattainable. All that’s needed is a positive idea and strategy to beat the competition in search of better rankings.

Thankfully, this article is all about the advantages and benefits of SEO for small businesses.

Read on to learn exactly why SEO matters.

What is SEO?

SEO is short for “search engine optimization.” It is a process of improving your website to increase its visibility for relevant searches.

As your visibility increases in search results, the more likely you are to get more attention and attract prospective and existing customers to your business.

SEO is the go-to strategy for many businesses and the stats are mouthwatering.

For example, 68% of online experiences begin with a search engine.

Again, SEO drives 1000%+ more traffic in comparison to organic social media.

How does SEO work?

Search engines like Google and Bing operate with bots to crawl pages on the web.

It goes from site to site, collecting information about those pages and putting them in an index.

What follows next are algorithms that analyze pages in the index.

These algorithms take consider hundreds of ranking factors or signals, to determine the order pages should appear in the search results for a given query.

That’s some task when you consider that there are an estimated 3.5 billion searches on Google each day.

Further, the search algorithms are designed to locate and surface relevant, authoritative pages so that users have an efficient search experience.

You can optimize your website and content with these factors in mind. That way, your pages have a chance to rank higher in the search results.

You can’t pay to Rank Higher

One key thing to note is that unlike paid search ads, you can’t pay search engines to get higher organic search rankings.

Why Does SEO Matter?

As a fundamental part of digital marketing, SEO helps people go through trillions of searches every year.

A great deal of these searches is for commercial purposes with users eager to learn more about products and services.

As such, a search is the key source of digital traffic for brands and combines well with other marketing channels.

Greater visibility and high ranking in search results will see you well above your competitors.

Search results keep evolving to serve up more direct answers and information to keep users on the results page rather than redirect them. To other websites.

That is why it’s important to learn about the benefits SEO holds and how to key into this marketing strategy.

Advantages and Benefits of SEO for Small Businesses

1) SEO Helps your Small Business Build Brand Awareness

Brand awareness is important if you must get the conversions you want.

In line with that, people need to keep seeing your brand name somewhere on the first page of SERP (Search Engine Result Pages).

That way, they get more aware of your online presence.

It’s only natural that the next time they need a product, they’ll turn to the products and services you offer.

Get Noticed

It’s a given that users are more likely to opt for a brand that Google and other search engines rank higher than others.

Even if that other brand is more successful, not having an adequate online presence works against them.

As such, small businesses need to learn that proper use of SEO can help them reach their goals faster.

Also, it helps that 72% of consumers who did a local search visited a store within five miles.

2) SEO will make your Website Faster and More Convenient

A one-second difference in loading time can have a great impact on how your website performs.

Also, search engines examine how user-friendly websites are and reward them with higher rankings.

That means it is important to improve your site’s user experience to optimize the content of your website.

Your website has to be convenient to use and easy to navigate

Speed Matters

Stats show that pages that load within two seconds have an average bounce rate of 9%.

Again, pages that load within five seconds see their bounce rates soar to 38%.

Faster and convenient websites make it easy for people to visit and buy what you sell.

Why a Unique Website is Important?

Having a well-structured, smart, and uncluttered website compels a casual visitor to stay longer.

Besides, highly relevant content (sales pages and blog articles) will keep your readers happy as they are more likely to answer their questions, and helps them find exactly what they’re looking for on your site.

3) SEO Helps your Small Business beat the Competition

There’s no business without competition. The fact is that even big brands have to constantly up their game.

That doesn’t mean that you can’t get ahead by attracting more clients to visit your pages.

What you need is optimization.

As such, investing in SEO will see your business rise through the rankings, and if your brand optimization is done right, you will beat the bigger competition.

Positives

When you rise through the rankings and take the spot of bigger brands, you will have much control over traffic and whisk potential sales from the competition.

Online shoppers who previously clicked on their sites will more likely find your brand instead.

4) SEO Encourages People to Visit your Physical Location

More people are getting comfortable doing business online with studies showing that 81 percent of people will search online for what they want before heading out to visit the physical store.

For example, if you’re visiting New York for the first time, you can do an online search for “best hot dogs in New York.”

You can go ahead to browse the results before settling on the top choice. Visiting the location makes you their customer.

Optimize your site

About 60% of smartphone users have contacted a business directly using search results that include a “click to call” option.

That’s one way to optimize your website to get people to visit your business location.

5) SEO Helps you make a Better First Impression

First impressions matter and last for a while yet. Sure, you can’t tell what’s in a book by merely looking at it, but that’s what a vast majority of people do every day.

People take things at face value and will often make snap decisions based on first impressions.

In line with that, they take a look at the search results pages and go ahead to make decisions based on what they see.

A Strong SEO Campaign Helps

For many brands, a snippet optimization helps here. That is often the first thing you will see when they see your brand on Google for the first time.

For example, 40.7% of all answers from voice searches are gotten from a Featured Snippet

If it’s good, it adds more credibility to you. As such, you want your audience’s initial perception of your business to be worth a closer look.

For example, having a 5-star review will give off a strong impact.

No doubt you’ll get more visitors if prior ones think positively about the products and services you offer.

A better first impression leads to more clicks and sales.

6) Keep in touch with Latest Trends and Developments

Generally, digital marketing, compared to traditional marketing, is one of the fastest-changing concepts in the World.

As a result, SEO Rules and practices are bound to change all the time.

If you want to maintain your SEO rankings and traffic, you need to keep in touch with the latest trends developments.

How to get it Right

The first thing to do is to follow the changes made in the SEO industry and make the necessary changes to your website to adhere to the latest standards.

It’s all about being informed and going ahead to make and adjust to changes.

Small businesses may not have the funds to hire SEO companies.

However, SEO practices are easy to understand especially if you pay attention to current trends and developments.

For example, you can expect the long-form content trend in 2020 to continue in 2021.

7) Better Conversion Rates

Websites optimized for search engines will load faster and have better ease of exploration.

Such websites are also compatible with mobile and tablet devices.

That means your small business’ website is available to your potential buyers whichever device they operate.

For this reason, websites are more likely to attract and hold visitors’ attention and converting them into regular customers.

Swift and easy

With a website that’s easy to navigate, users only think about subscribing to what you provide.

The go-ahead to boost organic traffic when they search for something they need. That gives off a high chance of a conversion.

With the SEO industry poised to reach  $80 billion, it makes sense to invest in SEO.

If done rightly, SEO can drive a 14.6% conversion rate for small businesses.

8) SEO and the Drive for new Customers

It’s a fact that the growth of small businesses that have a website is two times faster than for those who lack an online presence.

It doesn’t matter the industry you are in, it’s a given that buyers are always online, waiting to make a deal.

You need them

No brand puts a marketing plan into practice without thinking of new customers.

Sure, the old ones are fine, but new ones indicate growth and acceptance.

SEO takes the drive for new customers to higher levels with diverse methods and strategies.

You’ll gain more targeted visits and customers.

9) SEO Creates a Mobile-Friendly Atmosphere for your Visitors

A mobile-friendly site has a significant impact on how Google ranks it.

When you consider that 30% of Google searches from a mobile device include a location, you’ll best optimize your SEO to include mobile devices.

A further 1/3 of all searches that come from a mobile device also specify a location.

Smartphones and tablets are ideal for many users when searching for products to buy.

Google Encourages Better User-experiences

Google does all it can to boost the user experience.

As such, running an excellent SEO campaign is designed to ensure your website works accordingly no matter the device your customers are using to view it.

10) SEO gets you more Targeted Traffic

Keywords are likened to currency in SEO. That is because they are the most important elements of search engine optimization.

Keywords show what the prospective buyers are looking for and what their intents are.

Through them, brands get to learn whether visitors are just getting informed, window-shopping, or ready to make a purchase.

Small Businesses can take Advantage

Targeting is by far, one of the best advertising techniques for small businesses.

With it, your small business won’t waste time and money on people who will never become your customers.

SEO brings those that are actively searching for a product like yours to your doorstep. That is right on the landing page of your website.

11) SEO is Cost-effective

A constant with small businesses is a limited budget. That’s a limiting factor that doesn’t let you spend more on marketing.

On the flip side, big companies can waste significant sums of money on marketing campaigns without hassles.

However, a good SEO strategy can provide a way around a tight budget for smaller businesses to get the same results.

They won’t have to spend a fortune on advertising.

Get your SEO Strategy Right

A small business like yours needs to employ a smart SEO strategy to help you measure up to big competitors.

Your results can match and surpass theirs when you consider that 93 percent of online experiences begin with search engines.

Spend less with the Right SEO Strategy

It’s a given that when you attract the right traffic and start converting, you won’t be spending over the top on SEO.

Your ranking will serve to get new customers without using paid marketing campaigns.

Sure, you have to maintain the SEO, but the cost of that service is much lower than what you would pay for ads.

12) Long-lasting Results

The thing about using online ads is that they bring results, but they last just as long as your investment.

On the flip side,  SEO investments will last longer since it will bring you some new customers over a longer period.

No Instant Rewards

Like other marketing channels, SEO takes time. There’s no instant reward for the process or efforts you put in.

That is not the point of optimization.

What you want for your small business is high-ranking positions in SERP, and remaining there for a very long time enough to raise brand awareness leading to conversion.

To do that, you have to maintain your SEO to stay on track, but that investment is far less substantial than investing in online and offline ads.

13) SEO Measures and Tracks your Success with real Numbers

It is important to understand the impact of your investment, whether it’s in advertising or marketing.

That is why it’s an advantage of digital marketing and SEO to monitor and track the success of your strategies.

Also, it sure helps when you can access your digital marketing analytics in real-time.

Google Analytics is the best tool

With Google Analytics, it is easier to keep tabs on how your SEO strategies perform. You get to learn critical things like:

• Where your traffic comes from
• How good the pages are performing
• Specific actions visitors to your site take before buying products
• Determine where your best visitors are located

All these are worth taking a second look at especially with a few metrics to monitor your bounce rate, conversions, and time on site.

To give you some perspective, the average bounce rate is around 40% or higher, depending on your industry.

The fact is measurable results enhance your approach to SEO.

14) SEO Improves your Digital Marketing ROI

When you invest in digital marketing strategies, you do so because you want to earn the highest return on investment (ROI) possible.

That’s achievable with a smart and competitive SEO strategy geared towards an impressive ROI.

As far as search engines go, they offer a close rate of almost 15% for new leads.

Many brands will scoff at that figure, but when you compare it to traditional marketing which is less than two percent, it’s big!

That means there’s a possibility to increase your lead conversion rate by almost 13%.

More ROI

Let’s take an in-depth look at it. Imagine that your average lead is worth about $600 and you sign about 18 new leads every month.

With digital marketing, and by extension, SEO, you’ll now sign about 21 new leads a month.

What that translates to is an additional sum of just over $2,000. It makes sense to learn how to measure SEO ROI yourself.

It’s Beneficial

For small businesses, that revenue increase is one of the biggest benefits accruing from SEO.

However, any increase in revenue depends on whether your site ranks at the top or bottom of search results.

If you’re on page two, three, or four, users won’t find your business. They’ll stick to the first page of results and you won’t get the leads you need.

What’s the best time to Report ROI?

The best time to report the ROI of your SEO campaign is immediately you start getting positive ROI.

You should never report a negative ROI.

What’s more, it’s not uncommon for SEO campaigns to show negative ROI for the first few months.

When the results start getting positive, no matter how small, report it.

15) Explore new Markets

The web and the Internet are two of the fastest-growing markets in the world economy, but it is not the only one.

A successful SEO strategy leads to the discovery of new markets and economies you can explore.

That will take your small business and traffic levels to a whole new level.

16) Build a Dedicated fan base with Email Marketing

A good and steady SEO approach not only means more traffic but is also a great way to build a dedicated fan base via email marketing.

Since email marketing existed before social media, it remains a very important source of traffic and revenue.

It’s a nice Combination

Many businesses have incorporated email lists in their SEO campaigns.

There’s no reason why your small business shouldn’t do the same. For example, including a recipient’s name in your email subject line increases open rates by up to 18.30%.

Also, on average, the open rate for emails sent in North America is 19.49%.

Easy Service

While working on your SEO, users should find it easy to subscribe to your newsletter.

17) Reach more People on Other Platforms

One of the best things about local SEO being digital is that there are many other avenues you can access other than Google.

There are websites and apps like Yelp, Yellowpages, Waze, TripAdvisor, and Apple Maps.

These platforms are growing in sophistication and help in local marketing for small businesses.

Compete

If you have a large retail brand near you that’s a competitor and dominates the rankings on Google, you can turn to these other platforms for help.

In 2019, Google held 74.19% of the search engine market.

Sure, they are not individually bigger than  Google, but altogether the fact is a lot of people use them to search for local businesses.

Cool ads

Yelp, Waze, Yellow pages, and others also let you create ads and enhanced listings to generate more customers and awareness.

18) SEO Increases your Trustworthiness & Authority

The best strategy in many local SEO campaigns is creating good quality and locally relevant content.

That way, brands attract more local audiences which tells search engines what your geographic focus is. As a result, you appear in more searches in your area.

Become an Authority

Local content can help to establish your business as trustworthy and authoritative to people in your community.

With more people finding your website and your content for information, they’ll see you as the go-to source in that niche.

Further, online reviews on such content help you rank better locally with 97% of consumers surveyed agree that reviews influence their purchases.

19) SEO Generates more Clicks than PPC

Even though PPC ads appear above organic rankings, up to 71.33% of searches result in a click on an organic result on the first page.

Perhaps that’s is because users have more trust in Google’s algorithm.

As such, they know which spots advertisers are paying for, and go ahead to visit the pages the search engine suggests to be the best.

Organic Result Stands out

When it comes to organic results and clicks, the fact is the majority of such clicks irrespective of the search behind it, go to an organic result.

20) SEO Helps your Brand’s PR Efforts

Many people are quick to point out that SEO and PR are entirely separate marketing strategies.

They couldn’t be more further from the truth, though.

That is because you can gain all by using them together to maximize the results you see from each.

How can you do that?

Short answer – through link building.

You’ll come to learn as you grow that earning links from reputable websites is a significant part of any SEO strategy.

That means one of the parts of an SEO professional’s job or yours (if you’re doing it yourself) is to identify opportunities for placement on industry news publications, blogs, and other relevant websites.

A Working Strategy

Most times, a PR strategy revolves around getting prominent publications and influencers to talk about your business.

As such, it’s a great opportunity to get excellent content to potential clients and customers.

For a small business, micro-influencers will do.

Reports show that micro-influencers enjoy a following ranging from 2,000 up to 50,000 on a specific social media channel. They’re affordable, too.

Using SEO to Attract the Right Audience

SEO can help you attract the right audience when you adopt the following measures:

• Carry out an extensive competitor analysis. Sure, you’re a small business, but it helps to know who the competition is and what they’re doing.
• Research existing customers. You have their data and other necessary information. Understand it to better target them and people like them. That includes knowing more about customers in your industry. That includes their searches for content related to your business.
• Learn about the technologies people use
• Network with high industry authorities
• Build content around the buyer’s journey at different stages of the buying process and decision
• Develop a list of keywords. They appear in top-level domains. Keywords are important. There are about 87% of keywords with more than 10,000 monthly searches consisting of only one or two words.

Conclusion

From the post above, you can see that SEO is thoroughly beneficial and relevant for small businesses.

The potential is enormous when you optimize your site for search engines.

You will make it easier for your future clients to access your products and services.