To answer the question immediately, yes. SEO is still important for your website and it should be a part of your online marketing strategy. While the rules of SEO may have changed over the years, the basic principles remain the same. In this blog post, we want to explore some of the most important reasons why you should invest in SEO and how it can help your business grow.
What is SEO?
On the rare chance that you’re new to the world of online marketing, SEO stands for “Search Engine Optimization.” In short, this means making changes to your website so that it will rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs), like Google. Just some possible changes include adding relevant keywords to your website content, optimizing your website’s title and meta tags, and creating quality backlinks.
Is SEO Important?
As we’ve already seen, SEO is a process that can be beneficial to any business with an online presence. Here are some of the most important reasons why you should invest in SEO:
SEO Drives Traffic & Increases ROI
One of the most important benefits of SEO is that it can help you drive more traffic to your website. A well-optimized website will rank higher in search engine results pages, which means that more people will see it. And, as we all know, more traffic means more potential customers and leads. Without strong search engine performance, your brand is less likely to be discovered by potential leads.
SEO Increases High-Quality Traffic
But SEO isn’t just about driving traffic to your website; it’s also about driving quality traffic. That is, people who are actually interested in what you’re selling or offering. This is where SEO and content marketing intersect. If you create content that is relevant to your target audience and optimize it for the search engines, you are more likely to attract visitors who are interested in what you have to offer.
SEO Helps You Build a Better Website
Another benefit of SEO is that it can help you build a better website. How? By forcing you to focus on the things that matter most to your target audience. As we’ve just seen, you’ll create content that resonates with the people who can spend money with your brand. You’ll also be forced to pay attention to things like user experience, site speed, and mobile-friendliness. All these factors can help you build a better website that will rank higher in the search engines.
SEO Drives More Revenue than Paid Search
Finally, it’s worth noting that SEO can actually drive more revenue than paid search. In a study by BrightEdge, it was found that organic traffic drives 51% of all website visitors and has a conversion rate that is three times higher than paid search.
While paid search generates clicks, it’s not as sustainable as getting your links to the top of organic searches.
SEO is Different
So, SEO is still relevant and it will be for many years to come. However, the SEO of today is very different than it was even just a few years ago. The days of keyword stuffing and link buying are long gone. Today, SEO is all about creating quality content relevant to your audience.
It’s also important to make sure that your website is mobile-friendly and fast. Google now penalizes websites that aren’t mobile-friendly, so if you’re not optimized for mobile, you’re already at a disadvantage. While SEO is still important, it evolves over time so make sure you always know your goals with SEO. If you’re struggling, plenty of SEO services in Norfolk are willing to help!