If you’re a marketer or a business owner, you’ve probably heard that SEO (Search Engine Optimization) should be used more than once or twice.
That’s because it’s now an essential component of any successful marketing strategy.
However, if you are unfamiliar with this strategy, you may be hesitant to invest your time or money in it.
That is why, on this page, we will discuss what SEO is in marketing, its role in marketing, and the five key benefits it provides your business.
Do you understand what SEO is in marketing?
To begin, SEO stands for search engine optimization, and it is the process of improving a website so that it ranks higher in search results when users search for specific words and phrases.
If you’re not sure why these matters, consider how you normally find the information you need in your daily life.
What would you do if you needed to replace your television but didn’t know which model to get?
If you were on vacation and needed to find a restaurant for dinner, where would you look?
What steps would you take to research your options for learning a new language?
Most people would reach for their smartphone or sit down at their computer and type a simple phrase into Google.
You’d look up “restaurants near me” or “learn Singlish.” Then you’d scroll through the results and select the one that seemed to be the best fit for your needs.
5 Advantages of SEO
As a result, SEO can assist you in improving your search engine rankings.
This has the potential to have a significant impact on your company’s most important objectives, such as increasing leads and sales.
But if you’re still not convinced, keep reading to discover five of the most significant advantages of optimizing your site for search.
1. SEO aims for high-quality traffic
One of the most significant benefits of SEO is that it is an inbound marketing strategy.
In contrast to traditional “outbound” advertising channels, which involve reaching out to consumers whether they want to hear from you or not, inbound methods focus on making it simple for your audience to find you when they need information.
These traditional methods, such as cold calling, spam emails, and interruptive advertisements, are carried out solely for the benefit of the advertiser.
And many customers find them downright irritating.
Inbound marketing, on the other hand, is much more focused on the customer. Rather than interrupting consumers while they are watching TV or listening to the radio, it entails creating useful resources and making useful information more easily accessible.
When users are ready to spend some time researching your industry or learning more about their options for a specific type of product, they will be able to find you on their own.
This is not only more convenient for customers, but it also generates more qualified leads for your company.
Furthermore, you will be able to reach your target audience while they are in the process of making a purchase or contracting a service, increasing the likelihood that your marketing messages will result in sales and leads.
2. You do not have to pay for advertisements in SEO
Google’s organic rankings are entirely determined by what its algorithm considers to be the best results for any given query. This means that if you create a page that a search engine considers worthy of directing their users to, it can continue to attract traffic to your site for months (or even years) after you publish it.
Of course, investing in research and writing high-quality content is necessary. That investment will be in the form of time if you create it yourself, or money if you hire a digital marketing agency to do it for you.
However, once you’ve made that initial investment, there are no ongoing costs to continue attracting traffic to your content. Depending on the nature of the topic, you may need to update the page every few months.
If your competitors decide to target the same keyword, you may need to add to and improve it. But, when it comes down to it, your valuable position in search results is completely free. This is a significant distinction from PPC ads, which incur a cost each time a user clicks and visits a page. With SEO, you may be able to avoid paying this fee and earn traffic to your site with no ongoing costs.
3. SEO outperforms PPC in terms of clicks
Even though PPC ads appear above organic rankings, 71.33% of searches result in a click on an organic result on the first page. It’s difficult to say why, but the most logical explanation is that users trust Google’s algorithm. They are aware of which advertisements are being paid for, and they prefer to visit the pages that the search engine has determined to be the best. Of course, this is all speculative.
However, regardless of the reasoning, the fact remains that the majority of clicks for any given search go to an organic result.
4. SEO aids public relations
Although SEO and public relations may appear to be completely separate marketing strategies, they can be used in tandem to maximize the benefits of each.
The most obvious link between the two is link building.
Earning links from reputable websites is an important part of any SEO strategy. This means that identifying opportunities for placement or coverage on industry blogs, news publications, and other relevant sites is a major part of an SEO professional’s job.
And, given that a public relations strategy revolves around getting prominent publications and influencers to write about your company, this presents a huge opportunity.
You will be much more effective in distributing content to potential customers and clients if you use link-building research to find new ways to get your brand in front of consumers.
5. You can get a step ahead of the competition.
Today, SEO is widely regarded as an essential component of any marketing strategy.
In fact, 61 percent of marketers rank improving their SEO and online presence as a top priority.
This implies that your competitors are most likely already working to achieve high rankings in search results.
And, with your own SEO strategy, you can keep up with — and, ideally, move ahead of — them to remain competitive in your industry.
