SEO is nothing new. Often seen as a tried and tested way to generate more business traction, most business owners have dabbled in SEO at some point or another. But it’s not always easy.
If you’re wondering whether SEO is actually worth it for your business, read on.
What is SEO?
First things first, you may be wondering what SEO is. SEO stands for search engine optimisation. Although this may sound technical, it’s essentially a set of practices that you can implement to try to improve the appearance and position of your web page in the organic search engine results.
How can SEO be beneficial to my business?
In the UK, there are around 5.6 million businesses. Therefore, to stand out vs your competitors, it’s important that you’ve got your SEO strategy right.
SEO influences whether you ‘rank’ for your chosen terms. This means that the right SEO strategy can make or break your business. According to ONS data, 26% of all sales are online, meaning most of us dabble in online shopping. However, most people will never scroll past the first page of Google. Therefore, if you’re not ranking on page one, you could be missing out on lots of potential revenue.
As well as being able to reach a national or even international audience, some other benefits of SEO include:
- Local visibility – many people searching on Google are looking for local information. If you’re a small business trying to target local customers, SEO can help the right people find you.
- An increase in lead volumes – as there are so many people searching the internet at any one time, SEO cab be a way to get large lead volumes, if you do it right. For example, compared to making phone calls and sending emails, your lead volumes are potentially much greater – often without the need for substantial additional headcount in your business.
- You can build awareness – even if you don’t have products to sell, SEO can still benefit your business. By competing and ranking for blogs that answer the questions readers are looking for, you can position your business as a thought leader in your market, potentially resulting in greater awareness and sales.
- You could reduce the amount spent on paid ads – Google’s cost per click can be high and many of the top commercial keywords are often competitive to bid on, so gaining organic rankings may take some of the strain off your paid channels. This is especially important with many small business owners feeling the pinch of higher raw materials and staffing costs.
How to start with SEO
If you’re sold on the idea of a new and improved SEO strategy, you may be wondering how to get the ball rolling. If you’re tech savvy, there are plenty of online courses that help you to learn SEO. However, to really turbo-charge your strategy, it’s advised to get the help of a specialist SEO marketing agency.
As experts in the field, they can help give you a better chance of success.
Final thoughts…
As a small business owner, you probably have enough to think about! But if SEO isn’t on your to-do list, it probably should be! Given the opportunity it provides to grow your business, increase revenue and establish your brand, SEO is something everyone should be taking seriously.
If you haven’t already invested in your SEO strategy, what’s stopping you?
