Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably at least heard about the basics of SEO. In fact, it’s almost impossible to ignore things like algorithmic changes and the latest tips for optimizing your website. Due to its effectiveness, SEO is one of the best ways to bring organic search traffic to a website and establish authority within a niche. In order to understand where the true value in SEO is, let’s get into some details about why it’s so important.
Low Cost
Maybe the biggest reason to implement this technique into your marketing campaign is its cost effectiveness. While other marketing strategies like a PPC campaign continually cost money, SEO can be done for little to no money. If you hire an SEO agency to handle your campaign, it will obviously cost some upfront money. However, once your website is ranked in a favorable position, you should keep receiving traffic and consequently conversions. If you handle your SEO yourself, it won’t cost you anything except time. While using a PPC campaign is good because you can see quick results, you have to continually funnel money into the campaign to make sales. Basically, the only thing SEO requires after you reach the ranking you want is a little maintenance. Fortunately, this is minimal and will only involve periodically generating new content or creating backlinks.
Almost Everyone Uses Search Engines
Another part of SEO’s value lies in the fact that millions of people use search engines every day. Whether it’s for finding local businesses, checking the news or any other need, seemingly everybody uses search engines. While most people used the Yellow Pages for many years for local information, the majority now simply use search engines to find what they need. By performing keyword research and using phrases with high search volumes and minimal competition, you stand a good chance of capitalizing on those searches. When this happens, you can bring highly targeted traffic to your website where people are prequalified to purchase an item or service. This is valuable because it’s a relatively ethical form of marketing in most cases. Rather than being spammed, people wind up finding content on their own accord.
Build Credibility
Along with this, SEO is an ideal way to establish authority and build a positive reputation within an industry. While it was possible for black hat SEO marketers to manipulate search engines a few years ago, it’s now becoming increasingly difficult. Thanks to Google’s Panda and Penguin Updates, they have placed an emphasis on high quality content that’s relevant to a user’s needs. As a result, getting your site ranked on the first page for a search query usually means that it’s trustworthy and offers real value (like the kind you get with a custom website design. When your site ranks well, it should be relatively easy to establish yourself as knowledgeable. This way you can expect to build a positive reputation and a long term customer base in many cases. If you’re looking to brand your business, SEO can also play an integral role in doing so.
Beat Your Competition
In addition, you can maximize your visibility and often surpass your competition when correctly doing SEO. While most businesses have at least some web presence, not all utilize SEO. When you take the time to optimize your website and engage in an SEO campaign, it only makes sense that your overall visibility will grow. In some cases, you can even dominate your niche when competitors fail to take advantage of this marketing technique.
Article written by Jet Russell. In his spare time Jet likes to contribute articles to the blogosphere where he is an avid community member. His favorite topics are SEO and SEM.