You’ve no doubt heard marketers and digital specialists talking about SEO.
Be honest now – have you known what they’re on about? Or, have you nodded and listened (while really, really hoping nobody asks you a question)?
No judgement here! Staying ahead of the fast-moving digital wave is a challenge for plenty of businesses.
So, let’s break down the basics of SEO and shine a light on why it’s important to your business.
What is SEO?
Search Engine Optimisation, most commonly known as SEO, has left many business owners feeling confused.
Some feel it’s millennial nonsense, most think it’s a code that only those with inside knowledge can crack. But neither is correct.
SEO is the process of optimising your webpage and content in a way that appeals to the strict standards of search engines, that gives your website a high ranking in organic search listings.
These processes are primarily driven by Google, which holds around 95% of Australia’s search engine market share.
But, why is this important?
Why You Need SEO For Your Business!
SEO is both accessible and highly advantageous to every business owner.
With 8.5 billion Google searches performed every day (that’s about 5.9 million searches per minute!), standing out is crucial to avoid getting lost among the digital noise.
SEO addresses this problem by increasing the visibility of your online content for certain keywords on search engines (yes, we’re looking at you Google).
Technically crafted SEO content practically begs Google to make it a top result on that coveted first search engine results page (SERP), a position that rakes in more than 70% of all click-throughs.
Essentially, if your content is about the latest Apple update, you want it to be presented as a top result for everyone who searches for the key phrase ‘latest Apple update’.
But, why?
The overall purpose is to increase the quantity and quality of traffic by ranking your content highly within the unpaid, organic listings section, which is where users will find the most relevant search results that match their query.
This is exactly where you want to be. It shows Google considers your content as a trusted high-quality resource, building trust and credibility with users.
This is amplified by the beautiful website design and smooth-sailing user experience inevitably created by SEO tactics.
Google’s reputation relies on providing quality, relevant content with efficient user experience in seconds – so, that’s what they’ll rank highest.
How Will SEO Revolutionise Your Business?
Cost-Effective ROI
SEO involves some of the cheapest, yet most effective, digital marketing strategies available.
It also provides one of the highest ROI, making it more of a long-term business investment than a marketing cost.
It involves simply following an inbound marketing recipe to optimise your website to meet Google’s standards and rank higher in the long term.
Using inbound marketing allows you to market your offerings to a targeted audience that is already searching for your products and services.
You don’t need to convince them that they need what you offer, rather that your brand is the right choice to buy them from.
And, the higher your organic rank, the more credible you seem, which leads to more clicks, more website traffic, more genuinely interested leads, and more conversions!
Brand Awareness
By using SEO to increase your rankings in SERPs, you are increasing your brand’s visibility and discoverability.
Ranking higher for multiple different keywords relevant to your business will result in your page regularly being present in top positions on SERPs.
This increases your reputation, user familiarity and positive conversation around your brand, making it much more popular.
The ability to position your brand as a credible industry leader will allow your brand to hold space across many channels.
A bonus is that users are more likely to engage, transact and share across social media. In this way, your brand expands through social promotion and recommendations, making it a trusted source of information.
Quantifiable Results
Implementing a marketing strategy holds no value without the ability to see what is working, what isn’t working, and how you can leverage that information to improve your bottom line.
Remember, if you can measure something, you can improve it!
This is a big reason why BRANDiT loves SEO. Its quantifiable nature means you can measure your successes, take action on soft figures and dive deeply into analysis.
This is crucial to understanding results, improving your efforts and ensuring a high ROI by strategically allocating resources.
By using an SEO analytics tool, you can track multiple key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure your success. Some of the most important and valuable metrics to track for reporting are:
- Keyword rankings
- Returning users
- Average time on page
- Organic search traffic
- Pages per visitor
- Bounce rate
You can also use this data to get insight into your customers. How? By tracking your traffic and customer interaction pathways, you can see what worked for them and what didn’t. This will inform your decisions when improving the optimisation of your page to better suit what they need and want.
Remember, your website may be yours, but it still needs to appeal to your target audience in order to successfully convert leads and increase sales.
It’s no secret that SEO is crucial for the success of any business in this online world. But, it takes much more than just employing the basic strategies to ensure this success.
Does your business need a hand with its SEO strategy? Talk to BRANDiT about how our SEO specialists can help take your brand to the top of that search page!
