There are some people that believe that SEO is starting to become a thing of the past. We’re here to tell you that those people are wrong. SEO is still extremely viable and is considered one of the top marketing strategies for local business. It is a straightforward tactic that has the ability to help increase the reach of local businesses as well as bring in many new customers. If you’re unconvinced, here are a few reasons why SEO still trumps other marketing strategies.
It Gets The Job Done
For anyone that’s used SEO, they know that it actually works. In fact, in a MarketDive study, they found that 82% of users said that SEO not only works, but it is becoming even more effective. SEO helps improve your company’s rankings, which can lead to more business. Search Engines are not going anywhere anytime soon, so SEO is still crucial to put you at the top of your competition.
It’s Cost Effective
With the development of outbound marketing methods like cold calling, businesses are beginning to migrate away from SEO tactics. This is because outbound techniques feel more direct and come with a sense of simplicity. Unfortunately, it has been shown that these tactics are actually more costly in the long run. Studies show that inbound leads, like those from SEO strategies, cost 61% less than outbound marketing methods.
Infographic: 14 Reasons Why SEO is Still the Best Marketing Strategy
1. It Improves Credibility
SEO works to improve your company’s ranking on popular search engines while simultaneously building credibility. For instance, when you search for a local keyword and one company appears on Google but another doesn’t, it is more likely that you will choose the one that appeared on Google. This is because when a company shows up on the first page of Google, people instantly feel confident and a sense of trust in that company and their abilities
2. It Keeps Your Ranking Safe
Google algorithms change so frequently, that if you don’t keep up with the changes then your rankings will suffer. That’s why you need an SEO expert who is aware of the current best practices in order to keep your ranking safe. Investing in SEO will make sure that you stay at the top of the search results while your competition falls behind.
3. It is Relevant for Mobile Searching
With mobile searching becoming more and more prevalent in today’s technological world, it is important to make sure that your company is findable. In fact, according to a Reuters’ study, 75% of Internet users will be mobile in 2017 – a 71% increase from 2016. This is why it’s crucial to make sure that your company’s website and blogs are optimized for mobile use in order to improve SEO. This will give those companies who utilize SEO a huge lead against the competition.
4. It is Also a Market Research Tool
SEO focuses on compiling keyword research in order to improve search result rankings as well as analyze data from different agencies. This means that the work done for SEO can double as a market research tool. It allows you to have a better understanding of exactly what your audience is looking for and gives you better insight as to how to deliver it. It also doubles as a way to see the problems and the solutions that are being considered.
5. It Provides a Huge ROI
SEO can be a slow process. It might take a few months for the results to start coming in, but once they do you will see a massive return on your investment. In fact, SEO provides one of the best and most consistent returns of all of the marketing methods available to choose from. When Brafton.com performed a study, they found that over 70% of small businesses that had invested in SEO as their marketing method increased their profits.
6. It is Low Maintenance
While the first year of SEO may contain quite a bit of work, the maintenance after that is extremely low. That’s because, once you have built the backbone of SEO for your company, it will continue to serve as a foundation for all of your online marketing in the years that follow. You just need to make sure that you follow the content marketing strategy and release content that will be able to stand against the competition. That’s all it takes to maintain a first page ranking for your keywords.
7. It’s Easy to Outsource
Thanks to search engine optimization, there are so many great companies that are successful in providing high quality SEO. All you need to do is search for them! Make sure you find one that you feel comfortable working with and has a good track record. SEO Fuel Marketing is a great place to fuel your mission.
8. It Generates Consistent Leads
If you’ve ever used a search engine, you know how rare it is to actually move past the first page and look at the results on the second. In fact, over 75% of people never leave the first page and the #1 result generates almost 33% of all clicks. This means that if you can get your SEO rankings up to the first result, you will generate more leads than all of your competition. If you stay at the top, your leads will continue to roll in and you may even experience a need to grow your company.
9. It’s Easy to Convert Leads
Once you get an influx of leads from your search result ranking, SEO makes it easy to convert those leads into profits. SEO works to target people who are actually looking for your specific products or services. This means that once they find you it is much more likely that they will follow through with using your services. It might be surprising, but SEO leads have close to a 15% close rate while outbound leads only tend to have an average of 1.7%. That’s a huge difference!
10. It Improves User Experience
Google has started to place a premium on their user experience, which means that if you don’t have strong SEO you may fall behind. Having strong SEO will help to improve UXO and vice versa, which means that people will prefer to visit your company’s site over others with poor user interface.
11. It Gives you Competitive Advantage
Utilizing SEO will help give you a leg up on the competition. Since it can be a fierce race out there to be at the top of your market, you want to make sure you have all of the advantages that you can get. This means that when your website appears on the first page of Google, you will instantly be ahead of your competition. Make sure that it happens by choosing SEO tactics over other marketing strategies.
12. It’s Here to Stay
SEO has been around for quite some time and will continue to be around for years to come. All of the top executives at Google have come to the same conclusion, so make sure to get started sooner rather than later.
While it’s your job to run your business, it’s our job to make sure your business gets the visibility it needs to succeed. With our SEO experts, we can help you achieve the results you want. Contact us today at SEO Fuel Marketing for all of your SEO needs.
