How Can SEO Help Your Business in 2022
We previously wrote a blog explaining what SEO is and how it works. In this post we outline 15 ways SEO can help your business in 2022 and some of the key benefits of having an effective strategy.
1. The primary source of new traffic is most often from organic search results
These days organic search is a massive contributor to success or failure of most online businesses. It is a critical funnel for new customers. This is especially true in markets with lots of competing firms. Google is by far the dominant player in the search engine market and therefore getting up those Google rankings is critical.
2. Good SEO helps your business build credibility and authority
The aim of effective SEO is to gain authority in your domain. This is done in a number of ways but effectively in carrying out SEO activity you will enhance the experience of your users. It is like going for a new job, to gain you need to make sure you prepare yourself with skills and work on communication and conscientiousness. In working on these things you make yourself better at doing the job you would like to be hired for.
3. Improved user experience
As alluded in the previous point, good SEO means better user experience, google ranks pages that it thinks its customers want higher. Building authority, tidying up the layout of your site, delivering a smooth experience for your customers means better ranking,
4. Localised SEO
With the increased use of location-based searches you can now target customers locally. Making sure you rank on google is critical but effectively if done properly you can ensure without too much difficulty that for people searching in your local area you do turn up at the top of the search engines. SEO strategy here means making sure you get local recommendations and that you make sure your users post reviews.
5. Take advantage of new buying patterns
Search has changed the way we buy goods and services. Customers will use search to look for reviews of products and services, they look for authority and they look brands that have pre validation from other customers.
SEO means taking advantage of new these new patterns of buyer behaviour. Preparing your business for operation in the modern digital consumer space.
6. SEO is constantly changing
If you have previous SEO tricks implemented on your site this is fantastic however SEO is one of those things that requires constant vigilance. Best practices are always changing and search engines are constantly updating their algorithms. By constantly keeping your SEO up to date you keep your website fresh and keep funnelling in new customers.
7. Improving SEO skills improves knowledge of the internet
Again, as mentioned in the previous point, search engines are constantly changing their algorithms. They do this because the internet is constantly changing. I mentioned above location-based services as one of the major updates in recent years. Keeping on top of SEO therefore means keeping on top of the major changes that are happing across the internet.
8. SEO is cost Effective
You can scale your SEO budget as your business grows. Starting out it can be very low cost if your right your own blog posts and manage your own back links. Of course, hiring professional’s will incur a cost but in terms of ROI it is one of the most cost-effective marketing activities your business can engage in.
9. Good SEO has a long-term impact on your business
The actions you take while implementing your SEO strategy will have a lasting impact on your business. Improving user experience, building authority in your domain, getting reviews from local customers etc. You should very quickly start to see a noticeable impact of SEO with the actions you take leading to a sustained improvement in your lead generation activity.
10. With Google analytics you can measure results
Google analytics allows you to track traffic to your site and also track where traffic is coming from. Using this data, you can assess how effective your SEO activities are. Of course, you won’t be able to see directly which activity leads to which result, but it shouldn’t be too hard over time to work out what is working for your business.
11. Good SEO will bring more openings for your business
As well as new leads and prospects. Effective SEO will help you engage with all of your stakeholders. It can and often does lead to new opportunities in areas you would have thought of. It is all about visibility and getting your brand out there to people who are looking to connect with you.
12. The first page is king
It is a fact universally acknowledged that getting onto the first page of a search engines results leads to a major improvement in click through rates over the second and significantly more beyond that. For a new business that is not established a good SEO strategy therefore is absolutely vital.
13. SEO targets quality traffic
Search engines want to send users to websites that are relevant to their needs. Therefore, the traffic that you gain from SEO is likely to be high quality qualified leads. This is particularly the case when you are offering clearly defined products and services.
14. Good SEO can also be a part of your PR strategy
One of the key elements of SEO is link building. I.e. the practice of getting established reputable businesses or influencers to link to your site. In terms of public relations this is a major plus. It helps your business establish trust which is gold dust when you are just starting out.
15. Data suggests in the long run SEO leads to higher click through than PPC (Pay per click)
Despite the fact that PPC ads appear above organic results, just over 70% of searches lead to a click on an organic link. This is because users trust Googles algorithm. I know I myself normally start clicking on the organic links and rarely use the ads.
The creation of original content showcasing your business for the individuality of the service or product you provide is now a key facet of an effective overall digital marketing strategy. Nowadays when we want something we tend to search google. The links that pop up are content which all of us now consume daily. The aim of an effective content creation strategy is to captivate your audience and build authority.
There is a broad and diverse range of things on the internet which constitute content. News articles, opinion pieces, blogs, how to video’s or even simply top-quality images. Top quality content now guides much of our decision making which includes importantly for businesses our purchase decisions. When we buy a new electronic goods for example many of us will go onto YouTube to look at reviews and comparisons.
Online content is now a large part of our lives. Most millennials now live and breathe this stuff. What we want to do as effective marketeers is leverage content that will attract new customers, keep these new customers engaged and then entice them with a fantastic range of services and offerings.
Why creating top quality content is important?
Content creation is now the daddy of digital marketing. It is used by everyone from politicians, to celebrities, to chefs, to fitness fanatics, to self help gurus, to NGO’s, to foreign governments, to businesses of all shapes and sized. Even the United Nations has taken to promoting itself using digital content.
From a business perspective the potential returns on investment from an effective content marketing strategy are huge.
- Content marketing is a low-cost marketing tool compared traditional methods.
- Business that use content marketing obtain 126% more lead as opposed to business which do not.
- As much as 61% of purchases made online now are the result of customers reading relevant content online.
- Companies that blog regularly have 3 times more traffic going to their website then companies that do not.
Creating top quality, engaging content now equates to business growth. If your business doesn’t have an effective content strategy it needs one.
Strategy
Developing a content creation strategy requires a plan and there are many things to consider in ensuring the plan is right for your business.
Who are you creating content for?
There are many different digital marketing channels to choose from for developing content and getting your brand out there. In choosing which one to you use you need to define who you are targeting your services and at where they are likely to be, if for instance you are selling healthcare supplements, Instagram would be great place to go as there are a lot of fitness fanatics, yogis and sportspeople on that platform.
What problem are you trying to solve?
Every product and service you sell is solving a problem or satisfying a need. Your content should educate your customers on how your service does this. Our business for instance is a digital marketing business aimed at solving the problem of getting your brand out there and bringing in customers. This blog is about how using online digital content creation can help bring in leads and prospects. A clear problem with content created to show how our services solve that problem.
Why are you unique amongst your competitors?
The internet is awash with content, to stand our in a crowded field you must demonstrate why you are unique. As with other forms of marketing this is all about creating a brand. You need to think about what you want your brand to represent and tailor content creation so that it is consistent with this message.
Which Format is right for you?
As alluded to earlier there are many different types of content. Whether videography or blogging is right for you depends on your product and the market you are marketing it to. If you are an education resource creating YouTube videos is a good place to start for as people typically use YouTube for this purpose and if you are selling to business, you probably want more in depth writing with white papers and blogs showing what you can do in the business services market. The format will also dictate which channels are best for your content strategy.
How are you going to manage content creation?
Finally, you will need to come up with a strategy of how you are going to manage your content strategy. If you are going to stick with a blogging strategy for instance you need to set up a regular schedule of how often you are going to publish and what types of articles you are going to include. You will need to be consistent with this for two reasons. Number one search engines reward consistency and number two regularly creating content build authority with your brand and keeps customers coming back.
Conclusion
Content creation is a marketing tool that has the potential to massively increase returns on investment to your business. Once you have an effective strategy and process in place for content creation you will see a steady inflow of prospects. If used effectively it will turn your brand into an authority in your market.
If you need help with your business Content Marketing, please get in touch so that we can assist you further.
