SEO is probably a term you’ve heard thrown around plenty of times when discussing marketing with colleagues or agencies. It seems simple enough, but is it all about ranking on Google? What can it really do for your business? Let’s have a look at why small business SEO matters and why it should be an important cog in your digital marketing strategy.
The Modern Consumer Journey
Think about the last time you made a purchase that you had to put some thought into. There’s a very good chance that you used some kind of online platform to find out information about the item and the alternatives to it. Whether it was social media or a search engine, the customer journey is becoming more online based. SEO will ensure that your business is a part of that journey when customers are looking for information relevant to your business.
Small Business SEO Improves Your Website’s Visibility
SEO is the process of making your website visible in search engine results pages (SERP). The Google algorithm uses over 200 factors when determining which websites to display for any given search term.
Google uses automated robots to visit every accessible page on every website across the internet. These robots collect information on each webpage and store it all on servers located around the world. When someone searches for a term related to your website, the Google algorithm processes the information collected from your site and those that are similar to it.
Once it has done this, it determines which of the sites are most authoritative and relevant to the query. The results are shown in the results list of your search, with the most relevant websites appearing at the top. SEO ultimately makes sure that the person searching for information is connected to the best information available. Furthermore, by using small business SEO effectively, you ensure that your website is among it. If Google can’t find you, then how will your customers?
Reaching Relevant Markets and Optimal Conversion Opportunity
Many small businesses provide a product or service to small or selective markets that know exactly what they want. As a result, their customers will look for very specific information. By ranking well in relevant searches and for keywords that are specific to your industry or product range, you can place yourself ideally to the specific customer groups that your business targets.
SEO is the reason that when you search for something, the highest rated options appear first. Its purpose is to provide useful and relevant information. By focusing on SEO, you can ensure you’re your business is a part of that information.
Organic vs Paid Search Results
Small business SEO is vital to ranking high on search engines and is no longer optional, it’s critical. It creates a significant advantage over customers and is the equivalent of placing your product at eye-level in a store.
A concern for many small business owners is the cost of ranking well amongst your competitors and the spend associated with it. However, it is important to remember that 70% of the links that searchers click on are organic rather than paid.
Search Behaviour
Whilst nearly nobody searches past the first page of results of a search when trying to find something online, small businesses can rank locally by consistently generating keyword-rich content that search engines will find and index.
Consider this: roughly 60% of all organic clicks go to the top 3 organic search results. The global average click-through-rate for paid search results is around only 2%. Effective small business SEO can ensure that you’re ranking is high enough organically to get into the optimal place for searchers to click through to your site.
SEO allows small businesses a way to compete with their larger competitors. It rewards relevant and useful content on websites by placing them right under their customer’s noses. Getting it there takes time and effort but the benefits are a massive asset to your business. If you could use some tips on how to use SEO effectively have a look at what we’d recommend here.
If you’re looking for affordable SEO for your small business, have a look at the services that we have to offer. Get in touch with us, we’d love to lend a hand.
