Businesses have always needed the divine intervention of SEO. Post Covid-19, however, they realized the importance of maintaining an online presence more than ever.
The sudden shift of consumers from brick-and-mortar shops to online stores meant accelerating the transition to digital.
SEO, short for search engine optimization, can significantly help in that matter. Made up of several elements, this effective practice can assist with ranking higher on search engine result pages (SERPs).
And that’s only scratching the surface. Deep down, SEO increases visibility, generates traffic, and boosts conversions. Despite this, more than half of business owners do not consider investing in SEO.
Maybe they don’t have the resources. Or perhaps they don’t understand how crucial SEO is for their company. While we can’t do something about the former, the latter is very much in our domain.
So, without further ado, let’s discuss why SEO is necessary for every business.
Why SEO Is Important for Businesses
1. It Increases Visibility
In the intro, we mentioned that SEO can increase visibility, irrespective of the products or services you sell. And this happens because before doing anything else, customers type their queries on a search engine.
For instance, let’s say a person is interested in purchasing running shoes. So, they type ‘durable running shoes’ on Google. If you’ve optimized your website for this phrase, the search engine will most likely index it. And your site will show up in the top results.
2. It Boosts Website Traffic
Continuing the previous example, your website pops up in front of the user, and they click and land on it. This is called organic traffic – visitors diverted to your website through non-paid sources, like a search engine.
It’s important to mention that keywords are not the only element that can impact your SEO efforts; high-quality content and authoritative backlinks also matter in attracting traffic.
So, while developing an SEO strategy, if one of your objectives is generating traffic, make sure it revolves around these three aspects.
3. It Delivers a Better User Experience
Increased visibility and boosted website traffic mean nothing if you can’t deliver a seamless user experience. This, once again, you can achieve with SEO.
And that’s because, apart from technical factors, search engines also consider how users interact with a website. If they land on yours and leave almost immediately, your ranking will slip.
Keeping that in mind, one of your primary objectives should be to keep users on your website for as long as possible. That’ll ultimately result in ranking higher on search engines.
4. It Provides a Competitive Advantage
There’s a pretty good chance your competitors have already invested in SEO. And if they’re well-established corporations, having the basic knowledge of SEO won’t be enough to level the playing field.
What you need is a comprehensive SEO strategy that puts your business on the map, even if the market is saturated. To develop one, run an SEO competitive analysis by:
- Identifying your competitors
- Filling the keyword gaps
- Determining your rivals’ strengths and weaknesses
- Writing quality content (even better than they do)
5. It Enhances Brand Awareness
As of 2023, there are almost 1.2 billion online websites. But you shouldn’t be concerned with them. You must act as if only YOUR business provides relevant solutions to customers.
SEO can help accomplish this goal.
When you rank on Google’s first page, it makes your website authoritative. And if you’ve optimized your website with the KWs your audience is searching for, you’ll see an increase in the number of clicks.
This creates a domino effect, ultimately resulting in enhanced brand awareness.
6. It Promotes Your Brand 24/7
Paid advertising is great and all, but it isn’t without its limitations, the chief being budgetary constraints. If you run out of funds or the specific time comes to a halt, it means the end of your campaign.
That’s not the case with SEO; it functions even when you’re not there.
Furthermore, your target audience doesn’t have to be at a certain geographic location for SEO to work. They could be anywhere in the world, and you can reach them.
7. It Encourages Customers to Visit Your Store
So far, the benefits we’ve talked about are for online businesses. But what if you have an online and a physical store? Will SEO help with that as well?
Yes, it will.
After conducting a quick search on a search engine, there’s a high chance that the person will visit your physical address. And we’re not saying this on a whim.
According to Think with Google, 88% of people who conduct a local search on their smartphones will visit the store within a week. And 28% may end up purchasing from there.
What Happens to Your Business without SEO?
We’ve painted a pretty accurate picture of what happens when businesses use SEO. However, some of you might not be entirely convinced. You might think, “It doesn’t seem worth all the trouble.”
Well, here’s a glimpse of what could happen to your business without SEO:
- Your ROI Will Be Affected
This is undoubtedly the biggest impact of not using SEO – lowered ROI. In fact, we should use the word ‘nonexistent’ instead of lowered because not optimizing your website will translate to fewer visitors. And we don’t have to spell out what happens to websites that do not receive traffic.
- Your Competitors Will Take Over
A good number of businesses use SEO, including your competitors. As such, they’re already a few steps ahead of you. And if you refuse to implement this practice moving forward, you might as well wrap your customers in a pretty box and hand them over.
- Your Company Will Go Bankrupt
We’re not goofing around here. Not using SEO could mean the end of your company – for good. Without any leads, sales, or conversions, you risk becoming obsolete. Combine that with today’s super competitive landscape, and it won’t be long before you’re out of business.
Your Business Needs SEO to Survive, Grow, and Thrive
There’s no sugarcoating when it comes to SEO. If you want to survive in today’s cutthroat digital landscape, optimizing your website shouldn’t be an afterthought or the last resort. You need to incorporate this practice from the very beginning.
And when you do, remember to keep Design Genious close. We’re experts in all things SEO, whether your primary objective is to increase organic traffic or establish brand authority.
Utilizing cutting-edge tools with industry best practices, we’ll optimize your website for maximum performance and visibility.
