The way we search for new products and services has changed immeasurably in the 21st century as long gone are the days where we actually had to visit a car showroom to learn about the latest vehicle, or we would have to rely on Yellow Pages in order to find a local law firm. Nowadays, everything is available on the internet, all we have to do is type what we want into a search bar, and then hey presto, we have what we need at our fingertips. But, how do we ensure that our website ranks at the top of a search engine’s algorithm? Well, that is where SEO comes into play, so here we are going to discuss why your website needs SEO.
To earn more traffic
The number one reason why Search Engine Optimisation, or SEO, is needed for your website is to drive more traffic, which in theory will lead to more sales. Basically what you are trying to do is to use the keywords or phrases that somebody would use if they were looking for the products that you sell, on your website, and more specifically on the home page of your website. If these keywords are present then the search engine’s algorithms will pick up your website when these terms are searched for and this will help to propel you to the top of the rankings. We all know that we are much more likely to click on the first link that we find, so the higher up you are on this list, the more clicks and therefore traffic you will receive.
To help build your brand
There are two main ways to go about building your brand through your website. The first is by writing your own content in the form of blogs or descriptions about your products or services, and the second way is to have other people comment about your content and link back to it. This all ties into SEO because you can create your content including the keywords that others will use to search for your products. The second way is to increase your homepage backlink profile by having other people linking back to your website which gains its authority in the eyes of the search engines, which will help it rise to the top of the rankings. In short, the better your website is in terms of using keywords, backlinks, and other SEO techniques, then the better overall brand you will have for your company.
You won’t need to pay for advertising
Traditionally if you wanted to market your business then you would need to take out expensive advertisements and put them in the correct place, so that your target audience would see the ads and then head to your website or social media pages. Well, by undertaking SEO on your website you are taking care of this advertising because it will be done for you through the search engines. The higher up the rankings you are, the more exposure you have for anyone looking for any of your products, and they will head directly to your website. So, rather than focussing on traditional advertising methods, put your energy into SEO and you will have more traffic and much-reduced advertising spend.
It will increase your credibility
Credibility and authority is everything in the eyes of the search engines. What you are trying to do with SEO is to create content that is informative and useful for the reader so that you can earn their trust. They will find you credible if there is an ongoing discussion about your products. These days there is so much information on the internet that a consumer is able to compare your product to that of a rival with ease, so the more credible you seem the more likely they are to buy your products or services. This credibility is manifested by your SEO, so the moral of the story is to up your SEO game if you want to be seen as the authority in your field, which will then lead to more traffic and, all being well, more sales.
You can get ahead of your competitors
SEO is no secret. You are not the only one that is using SEO to drive traffic to their website. This means that all your competitors are doing exactly the same thing as their goal is the same as yours; to appear at number one in the search engine rankings. You, therefore, need to be as hot with SEO as possible because as you are increasing exposure to your brand, you will also be pushing your competitors down the ranking list. It really is a win-win situation, but remember that the second that you ease up, your competitors will leap ahead, so to really excel you need to be studying the keywords that are used in your industry and you must write quality, informed content to stay at the top.
To learn more about your customer
One of the great things that SEO brings to your website and your business is the ability to understand more about your customers using analytical tools. You can use, for example, Google Analytics to find out everything from the demographic of the people visiting your website, to where they found out about your website, to the conversion rate of people landing on your website. This is all crucial information as it will allow you to further target your audience in more detail. In the previous traditional world, you would have had to compare an advertising campaign against increased sales, but this would tell you nothing more than raw numbers, whereas by using SEO and analytical tools you can find out in-depth knowledge about your customers, and you can also easily learn from your mistakes.
As we have learned SEO is key to help build your brand and to earn more traffic to your website. It is much cheaper than paying for advertising, you can gain more credibility much faster and it helps you to get ahead of your competitors as you rise up the rankings. In the modern world, it is a must if you want to understand your customer better and drive your business to be as successful as it possibly can be.
