Search engine optimization (SEO) is the key to making your company visible and searchable for your target audience. However, SEO offers more than the search element. Here’s what you need to know about investing in SEO for your small business and the benefits of SEO for your small business once you have an effective SEO strategy in place.
Why You Need SEO For Your Small Business
One of the main benefits of small business SEO is that it improves the overall visibility and searchability of your website. There are a number of benefits to why you need SEO for your business, and we’ll go over six benefits below.
1. SEO helps your business build credibility and trust with your target audience
While the internet is great for making information available at your fingertips, it can be difficult to see which sources are trustworthy. Making sure your website has the best SEO strategy in place can help build credibility and trust with your target audience. The SEO elements that help create this level of credibility include:
- Optimized on-page elements and content
- High quality backlink profiles
- Machine learning signals
- Positive user behavior
However, it is not possible to build trust and credibility overnight. Therefore, it will take time to make sure that your SEO is helping your business. The Search Engine Journal states: “Establishing a brand as an authority requires patience, effort and commitment, but also requires a valuable quality product or service that customers can trust a brand with.”
2. Organic search is usually the main source of traffic on your website
Perhaps the most well-known benefit of small business SEO is that SEO is usually the primary source of organic search traffic for your website. If your website is recognized as a trusted resource by Google and other search engines, it will only work for the benefit of your business. To be known as a trusted resource by search engines, you need a quality website and SEO strategy.
3. A good SEO strategy can lead to a better user experience
Google has announced that its algorithms will focus on user experience in 2021. Some business owners may not realize that making sure your website has the best user experience possible for visitors is one of the benefits of SEO for your small business, which plays a huge part in maximizing your website’s visibility and improving your website’s rankings. According to Search Engine Journal, “Google has learned to interpret good or bad user experience, and positive user experience has become a critical element in the success of a website […] Quality SEO implies a positive user experience and uses it to work for a brand. ”
4. Developing a local SEO strategy can increase traffic, engagement and conversions on your website
The benefits of SEO for small local businesses are immeasurable. Local search engine optimization is important to ensure that your target audience can find your business quickly and easily, taking them one step closer to closing the sales funnel and buying. The Search Engine Journal states: “With the rise and dominance of mobile traffic, local search has become an essential part of the success of small and medium-sized businesses […] Local optimization focuses on specific cities, regions, and even states to create a viable medium for a brand’s messaging to take place locally. “
To ensure that your website and content are fully optimized to take full advantage of SEO for your small business, make sure of the following:
- Add local quotes, posts, and backlinks relevant to your company’s location and industry.
- Complete your company’s Google My Business listing, including the Knowledge Graph control panel and social media profiles.
- If necessary, emphasize your company’s reviews on Google, Angie’s List, Home Advisor, and Yelp.
5. SEO is a relatively inexpensive way to increase sales over the long term
Another great benefit of SEO for your small business is that it is relatively inexpensive to implement, which makes it a viable option for most businesses. Yes, it costs money to develop and deploy an SEO strategy to support your business, but it is usually worth it. Don’t think of SEO as a marketing expense, but as a real investment in your business. The Search Engine Journal states, “A good SEO implementation will hold water for years to come. And like most things in life, it only gets better with more attention (and investment). “
With the right strategy, SEO can help your business see positive profit growth within the first year. The more effort, money and time you can invest in SEO for your business, the better and longer you will see for your website and your business in general.
6. SEO delivers measurable results and offers your company new opportunities
With the right tracking elements and analytics connections, you can measure the benefits of SEO for your small business to justify the ROI. The Search Engine Journal states, “Brands want to know and understand where they have been, where they are, and where they are going in terms of digital performance, especially for SEO when they have a person / company to pay to run be in his name. “The best way to determine the success of your SEO strategy is through the data and the results of your optimization efforts.
Successful analysis of the results of your SEO efforts can open up new opportunities and revenue streams for you.
Best practices need to be continuously monitored and updated in order to take advantage of SEO for your small business
While implementing SEO practice may seem like an accomplishment in and of itself for your business, you can’t just stop there. The world of search and search engine optimization requires constant vigilance to keep up with any changes that are constantly being made and to stay one step ahead of your competitors. “We know that Google makes thousands of algorithm changes every year,” the Search Engine Journal said. “Fall back too far and it will be extremely difficult to come back. SEO professionals help ensure that this is avoided. “
Author: Pam Aungst
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Pam Aungst, Pam Ann Marketing Owner and Chief Advisor, has been creating websites since 1997 and has worked in internet marketing and e-commerce since 2005. She has an MBA in Marketing and several certificates related to Internet Marketing.
Pam specializes in a comprehensive approach to SEO that is traditional … Show complete profile >