Why SEO is Essential for Your Small Business from Rahul@12345's blog

eCommerce adoption and the need for online engagement have been and will continue to accelerate in 2022. People want to socialize with brands on their terms and are looking for unique and streamlined online experiences to do it.

In order to stay competitive, businesses will need to adjust their digital presence to be more visible, valuable, and available to their customers. One crucial way to do that? Focusing on SEO for your business website.

Now, you may be asking, what’s the real value in SEO? Why is it important? Well, let’s take a look at what implementing it could do for your business and how it can become one of your most effective marketing strategies.

Why Is SEO Important?

Despite the acronym, SEO is as much about people as it is about search engines.

Increased visibility, which means making it simpler for consumers to find you when they search for what you have to offer, is one of the most essential aspects of SEO. Your rating is closely connected to your visibility.

According to an SEO company in Mumbai, “You need to have an understanding of what people are searching for online, the answers they want, the keywords they’re using, and the content they need.”

If you know all this, you will be able to connect to the people who are searching on the internet for the solutions you offer.

Take the example of Zomato. It has put in a lot of effort to get organic ranks in search engines. Here are some of the top organic search phrases for which it ranks:

When these terms are typed into the search box, Zomato’s link comes up top. Do you think people will go to their website if they click on this link? They will undoubtedly do so. And we can see that with the estimated traffic each keyword brings in.

Benefits of SEO to Your Business

As mentioned, it may take a while before you start to enjoy the benefits of SEO. Keep in mind that search engine optimization is an ongoing process. The rules are constantly evolving and to stay on top of changes, you should be up-to-date with the latest SEO trends.

An interesting SEO update to keep an eye for in 2022 is the IndexNow protocol. Google has confirmed that they are testing it, and although it still has a long way to go before it’s live, the topic is sure worth finding out. With the IndexNow protocol, you will be able to instantly notify Google of new pages, updates, and removing outdated content. This can significantly speed up the results of your SEO efforts, and give you a competitive advantage.

As you can see, the search engine realm is dynamic, but whatever new changes come our way in 2022, they will most probably contribute to the benefits of SEO for your business.

Benefits of SEO for small business

The beauty of SEO is that anyone can do it and it’s more accessible than you might think. Instead of paying for traditional print ads or sponsored posts, taking the time and effort to understand SEO basics, and possibly investing in a few tools, can lead to greater long-term value for your business. Here are just a few reasons why you should consider leveraging organic search for your business. 

1. SEO Increases Organic Discovery & High-Quality Website Traffic

Organic visibility, leading to increased website traffic, is a monumental benefit of SEO. Search engine optimization is hyper-targeted and customer-centric. An effective SEO strategy will help deliver your web pages to a relevant audience via pertinent search queries.

As the user is already looking for what you have to offer, organic visibility drives high-quality traffic to your website without attempting to entice or persuade the visitor.

2. SEO Offers Impressive ROI

When evaluating digital marketing channels, return on investment (ROI) is often a priority consideration, if not the most important. While SEO results take time, a high-quality strategy eventually delivers impressive ROI.

Search engine leads offer a close rate of 14.6%, nearly 12% greater than traditional marketing – however, if your website ranks at the bottom of page two, three, four, or not at all, leads will likely be non-existent. On the other hand, the first Google listing receives 33% of all search traffic. Search engine visibility directly correlates to boosted web traffic and increased revenue, making ROI one of the most significant SEO benefits for many companies.

3. SEO Improves Credibility & Trust

Ranking on the first page of Google boosts credibility among potential clients. Google ranks websites based on dozens of on-page and off-page signals, such as created content, website speed, and mobile usability. While the majority of consumers probably do not consider these signals, users do expect Google to deliver relevant, valuable content first. Most trust the algorithm implicitly, and 75% of users do not move on to page two.

Trust is developed on search engine authority and a high-quality product or service that builds credibility among visitors.

4. SEO Provides 24/7 Promotion

Search engine optimization efforts do not stop after work hours. Content does not disappear after a budget runs out, such as with paid advertising. Rankings achieved through SEO promote your website 24/7, taking absolute advantage of the (at least) 60,000 Google searches occurring every second. Once more, SEO is unique because it allows your company to reach users while they’re searching for you – not on a billboard spotted on the way out of town.

5. SEO Targets the Entire Marketing Funnel

Content marketing, driven by SEO, includes a variety of content types targeting every stage of the marketing funnel. While a top-of-the-funnel or middle-of-the-funnel blog post won’t convert initially, content such as this builds brand loyalty and awareness – traits that lead to conversions.

6. SEO Reaches Your Entire Target Audience

SEO is not only for organizations with a single target audience. Search engine optimization is equally effective for companies targeting various audiences, perhaps with the same service.

For example, a pool installation company may service homeowners and commercial customers, two separate audiences. SEO allows organizations to reach each audience via intent-driven keyword research. To reach both audiences, separate service pages could be created, one targets the keyword phrase “residential pool installation services” and the other targeting “commercial pool installation services."

7. SEO Optimizes User Experience

User experience is a critical component of SEO and a significant Google ranking factor. Search Engine Journal explains, “Google has learned how to interpret a favorable or unfavorable user experience, and a positive user experience has become a pivotal element to a website’s success.”

A Google user expects to have his or her query answered in moments. A visitor who clicks into a website and is met with a poor user experience – such as mobile incompatibility or a barrage of popups – will likely leave within seconds. High bounce rates tell Google that the web page is not valuable for the user, often resulting in lower rankings.