Approximately 64% of small businesses in the US have a website.
But having a website and having a successful website are two very different things. So what helps make a website successful? The answer lays in search engine optimization or SEO.
If you’re a business owner, big or small, you need to understand what SEO is. The benefits of SEO range from increasing sales to improving your credibility, and everything in between.
In this comprehensive guide, we explore what is SEO and what are the benefits to your business. Keep reading to learn more.
What Is SEO?
SEO is otherwise known as Search Engine Optimization. Today, there is contractor seo and an entire industry dedicated to increasing the amount of organic traffic that visits a website.
Organic traffic is comprised of traffic to your website that finds it via non-paid, editorial, or natural search results. Meaning, users type in a search query, websites show up on search engine results pages (SERPs), and they click on the website from there.
SEO increases organic traffic through a number of tactics. These tactics essentially make your website more worthy of high rankings on SERPs.
What Are the Benefits of SEO?
The benefits of SEO are numerous. We’ve narrowed it down to the top 4 SEO advantages and explained them in more detail below.
- Increased Sales
The idea behind SEO is that the higher you rank on SERPs, the more likely users are to click on your website. The more users you have visiting your website, the more likely you are to make sales. Indeed, the most important benefit of all SEO advantages is increasing your conversion rate and driving your profits.
- More Local Users
Local SEO is SEO but with a local focus. It’s comprised of tasks such as updating your name, address, and phone number across the web, including local-focused keywords and key phrases in your content, and optimizing your business’s Google My Business profile.
These tactics increase the amount of local traffic that visits your website. That means you’ll have more local leads and brand awareness. But it also helps you bring in local foot traffic to your brick-and-mortar store or service.
- Stay Competitive
If you want to stay competitive in today’s market, then you need to have a digital marketing strategy. Your competitors likely already know that. Implementing an SEO strategy can help you to stay competitive in today’s highly competitive marketplace.
- Be Seen as Credible
When your website appears on the first page of SERPs, it sends a signal to consumers. It tells them that you can be trusted because you’re trusted by Google, Bing, and other search engines that use highly technical algorithms to return the best results.
SEO also impacts your credibility because it requires you to optimize your Google My Business profile. That profile ensures that your customers can get all the details they need about your company, including reviews.
Learn More About SEO
If you’re competing in today’s marketplace, digital marketing is a must. And a big part of digital marketing is SEO. The benefits of SEO include keeping you competitive, improving your credibility, and even driving more sales.
But there’s a lot to know about SEO before you get started. Check with us regularly to learn more about SEO.