What is it about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) that makes it so important? Isn’t marketing equally as important, if not more so? What about web design or branding or social media or a hundred other things?
How Important is SEO to my Overall Marketing Efforts?
Well, that depends a little. If your business is only a brick-and-mortar storefront, with little or no web presence, and you are turning customers away because of how busy you are, then it isn’t very important at all. However, if your business does have a website, e-commerce store, or doesn’t show up when you search for the goods and services you offer then it is of vital importance If you want to your website to earn for you, either in terms of leads or sales, it is absolutely vital.
SEO Services Get Your Business Noticed When It Matters
SEO services exist for the same reason that traditional marketing and advertising companies do: to get your business noticed. However, SEO is a method of doing so online rather than in print, on the radio or on television.
Instead of a new product or focusing on a brand, the focus is on making your website more visible when people search for the product or service that your company sells. That means that you get visibility when it matters a whole lot more than just randomly showing a person an advertisement.
Visibility is great in and of itself, but better than that is visibility when a potential customer is looking to make their next purchase.
Think about it this way: it’s one thing to see a buck deer. Seeing one in hunting season is something else. SEO services make sure that your website is seen when people are looking for it.
SEO Can Future-Proof Your Brand
SEO can also future-proof your site and your brand, at least to the degree that anything can.
The thing about marketing and advertising is that it’s only as good as the campaign you’re running right now. It’s either working or it isn’t. You can also end up perpetually chasing that next viral advertisement that’s going to break your business wide open, at least for a little while.
Wouldn’t you rather assume a dominant position and maintain it with relative ease?
That’s what SEO services can do for you. Once a site gets dominant rankings, it tends to stay there as the site and the brand has become a recognized authority in Google’s algorithm. That’s a pretty good position to be in.
That doesn’t mean it comes easy. The hard work in SEO is all up front, getting your rankings going and targeting all the right keywords so your site can climb in search results. Once you reach the top of the front page, you can expect some fluctuations over time but also that you’ll be there to stay…IF you stay on top of regular maintenance or keep your SEO services firm engaged in doing so.
ROI On SEO Services Can Be Outstanding
Another benefit of SEO services is that no other marketing, advertising or otherwise promotional activity has an ROI or cost per acquisition that’s in the same league. Companies find that conversion rates outpace that of typical marketing activities or even social media campaigns in many instances.
- A marketing department is always chasing that next big campaign, and very few actually are.
- Social media is continuously chasing that next viral meme or video.
What is an SEO team or SEO agency doing once you’ve achieved your rankings?
Carefully monitoring your rankings. Auditing your site and links, and optimizing as they go, like vintners carefully pruning and managing vines to get the best wine grapes year over year. Regular maintenance is also cheap compared to chasing that next viral campaign.
You have to invest up front, but once the hard work is done the returns on investment begin to compound. Over time, the CPA drops and ROI climbs like clockwork if you decide to invest in SEO for the long term.
It’s one of the most profitable ways to get your name out there, gets you seen by people who are looking for what you’re selling and can keep you being seen by them in perpetuity. That makes SEO vitally important to any business with a web presence.