We are living in the digital landscape where everything you want is just at a touch of a button. Staying ahead of the curve in this era is not just an advantage; it’s now a necessity. SEO has now become the cornerstone upon which digital empires are built. Many online businesses have made millions and billions in revenues by spending a serious marketing budget on SEO.
Every day, there are more than 8.5 billion searches carried out on Google. Just imagine how many potential leads you’re missing out on by not ranking your business on SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages)? The numbers are staggering, far too many to count in your head.
Thus, SEO is not just a choice for your business; it’s an imperative.
12 Reasons Why Your Online Business Definitely Needs SEO in 2024
While it’s evident that SEO enhances a website’s search ability and visibility, what additional value does it bring? Why should online businesses consider it as an indispensable element of their marketing strategy?
These 12 reasons provide valuable insights into why SEO is essential for your online business if you aim to take your business to new heights.
1. SEO Gets You Qualified Organic Traffic
When you optimise your web pages with a smart SEO strategy and consistently update the pages with more relevant keywords, you can improve search rankings and drive traffic.
When a website is properly optimised for its target audience, search engine results direct the users to the website based on their queries. The more time you invest in aligning your strategy with your target market, the more organic traffic you will attract.
2. Seo Helps Your Business Beat the Competition
If you see your competitors online when you search for a query that matches your product/service, it’s because your competitors are investing in SEO, which means you should too. If you invest in SEO with a smarter approach, you can outrank the competition in search engine results and gain market share.
You need to identify the gaps where your competitors are not ranking and tailor your strategy around this to gain the advantage. Assess their strengths and weaknesses, and actively manage your online reputation. Make sure your website is mobile-friendly, loads faster, has top-quality content, and delivers an exceptional user experience.
3. SEO Helps You Attract Your Local Market
If you run an online business in Auckland and you want to target the local community, focus on local SEO Strategies. With almost 80% of mobile local searches leading to conversions, it’s a market of ready-to-buy customers that you can’t afford to miss.
Create your business profile on Google Maps and Google My Business to gain instant visibility in less time. Optimise your listings by ensuring accurate details like name, address, and phone number. Additionally, tailor your content for voice search; try to address common queries and provide solutions to users’ issues.
4. Build Trust with Your Customers
Customers trust businesses that have a strong online presence; and by this I mean that your website should deliver a positive user experience. It includes how your audience interacts with your website, how good the scrolling experience, the graphics, the copy, the colour palette, the checkout process, and everything in between.
When your customers have a positive experience with your business, you become a credible source in their eyes. And when your website has that authoritative online presence, Google and other search engines prioritise your site over others and your pages will rank higher in search results.
5. You Gain a Better Understanding of Your Customers
SEO serves as a valuable tool, guiding you through macro market shifts and providing intricate insights into consumer intent. Whether in spoken or written formats, SEO data offers explicit signals regarding intent and user behaviour.
By examining search query data, conducting SERP analysis, and delving into Google Analytics insights, you can comprehensively understand customer behaviour and align your SEO strategies accordingly.
6. You Can Improve Other Marketing Strategies
SEO gives you better insights into your customers; their location, their active time, their likes and dislikes, their buying habits and more. The research and insights provided by your SEO team can inspire your advertising team to further explore more search queries or experiment with different phrases. Moreover, SEO analysis reveals emerging industry trends, customer preferences, the most clickable elements of a product or service, and more.
7. You Will Be Able to Create Relevant Content
Content holds the crown in SEO. By conducting thorough keyword research and understanding the search intent of users, you can create content on the topics that resonate with the audience. Your content strategy becomes laser-focused, allowing you to capture the attention of your audience more effectively. This will not only make your content discoverable but also lead to increased credibility, customer engagement, and sales.
8. You Become Memorable at The Point of the Buying Decision
Strong brands are built on memories; and memories generate sales. Both B2B and B2C brands must prioritise creating a lasting impression precisely at the point of the buying decision. When you tailor your SEO strategy that resonates with the needs and preferences of your customers, you will be on the top of their minds when they are on the verge of making a purchase. This strategic alignment not only ensures brand recall but also establishes a profound connection, influencing their buying choices positively.
9. If You Optimise for Category Entry Points, You Win
Category entry points (CEPs) serve as the triggers buyers use to access their memories during purchasing decisions. In buying situations, buyers initially rely on existing memories to identify potential brands for purchase.
To effectively utilise CEPs in communication, a thorough customer research is essential. Creating natural associations with specific moments and situations relevant to your brand increases the likelihood that potential customers will think of you.
For instance, you would think of Volvo as a family-safe car after the birth of a child. What would you think of when you are going on a long drive?
Embrace diverse possibilities without limiting your approach to improve your brand’s resonance with customers.
10. It’s Cost Effective
Compared to paid advertising, organic traffic from SEO efforts is more cost-effective in the long run. SEO enables authority websites to maintain their presence on SERPs for a long time, and as long as you are ranking in the top positions, you’ll continue to receive traffic.
11. It’s A Long-term Gain Thing
SEO is a long-term strategy that yields lasting benefits for businesses. Over time, SEO efforts establish trust, credibility, and authority, making a website a reliable source in its industry. By adapting to changing search engine algorithms and user behaviour, SEO ensures continued relevance and effectiveness. It makes it a valuable investment for businesses aiming for enduring online success.
12. You will Get A Greater Return On Investment
Research shows that companies with their digital marketing efforts focused on SEO gain a higher overall return on investment. According to the Forrester TEI Report, SEO significantly improves paid search strategies, leading to more efficient pay-per-click campaigns by reducing cost per click through improved page rank and quality scores.
Where to Start with SEO
Knowing where to start developing an SEO strategy for your business can be incredibly difficult. I recommend working with SEO experts at Kiwi Website Design. Their SEO team always stays updated on latest SEO practices, Google updates and user search intent. Working with SEO experts can really make a big difference.
Kiwi Website Design also offers services like Website development, app development and more. So, it’s an all-in-one-package agency for you.
