By now, most businesses have heard the term Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and understand that it helps with how your site performs on Google search results pages. But how much does it really matter? Is the investment worth it? Let me tell you the top reasons why I waste money on SEO before you decide.
- Can You Find Your Website?
Do me a favour and perform a quick search in Google based on your popular products or services offered by your company and see if you can find your website. If you can’t find your website easily in search results, it is primarily due to a lacking of SEO. Studies show that 91.5% of searchers do not make it past the first page of search results and over 30% of them click on the very first page that shows up. By not appearing in Google search results, you are essentially losing business in real-time.
- What Value Does Your Customer Hold?
The type of business and industry you are in can dramatically change how you view SEO and how much you invest in it. You must consider the average order value per customer as this will vary between a business that sells $20 products to a business that sells multi-million dollars in equipment. For service-based businesses, you should determine the lifetime value of the customer as opposed to average order values. Once you perform your calculations, set a standard rate of value you wish to apply to invest in the future growth of your customer base.
- Give Your Business Credibility
Making your website visible means people can find you when they look you up. This builds customer trust and impacts how they view you. Ranking high among search results also means the search engines find your site content relevant and valuable to readers. For certain types of industries, good SEO can affect how you compete among local businesses for services.
- A Positive Return on Investment
Studies have shown that SEO generates a higher return on investment for businesses making it cost-effective in the long term. According to the Search Engine Journal, 50% of companies gave organic search a higher ROI rating as opposed to just 20% for paid search results. Unlike pay-to-play marketing tactics, good-quality SEO yields long-term benefits and results.
- It Acts as a Snowball
You may have heard the phrase, “content is king.” One of the best practices known to SEO is to offer good quality and relevant content to your visitors. This pays back a solid dividend in time. Ranking for the right keywords means your traffic will continue to grow over time, building one piece of content on top of the other for a snowball effect. Optimising your site means you are delivering better information to search engines.
- SEO vs. Traditional Marketing
In plain and simple language, traditional marketing efforts cost more than SEO to get started, monitor, and maintain. It does not guarantee results and is difficult to target the right audience. SEO is different and easier to place your visitors into the sales funnel when good practices are followed. This is why SEO has a much higher close rate than traditional marketing at 14.6% to just a measly 1.7%.
Is SEO worth it? Yes, it is. 93% of online experiences begin with the search engine.