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Every other year a few voices from distant corners of the marketing world whisper that SEO is dying.
What these people fail to understand is that Panda and Penguin updates only killed spammy elements of SEO forcing the industry to evolve and mature into the fully grown-up customer-centric marketing discipline it is today.
And we think it’s a wonderful thing.
It has forced SEOs to put their audience first and become more rounded professionals.
SEO is a complete framework of processes and guidelines that optimise a website for search engines considering the user’s search intent, user experience, and site usability.
As the SEO industry is becoming more sophisticated, it will only grow in importance and global spend.
It is estimated that by 2028 the SEO industry will be worth $170 billion dollars, which is likely to be higher than online advertising spending.
SEO is growing for one reason: It works.
Search marketing will continue to be important because people will continue to search the Internet for many years to come.
Below are some impressive stats that clearly show the importance of SEO:
- 5.4 billion people search the internet every single day
- 68% of online activities start on a search engine
- There are 5.9 million searches every minute, and 8.5 billion searches per day
- Organic search is the #1 driver of global traffic (51%). To compare – organic social is only 5%.
- 81% of shoppers research and compare products online before making a purchase.
- Over 53% of revenue is captured by organic traffic
- 75% of people never go on the 2nd page of Google
- SEO leads have a close rate of close to 15%.
You can see based solely on the statistics above why every business that’s determined to grow is taking SEO seriously.
Simply having a functional website isn’t enough, because there are hundreds of opportunities for your business to be found on search engines when your target audience is looking to solve their problems.
Let’s look into the 10 greatest benefits of SEO in more detail …
No #1 SEO Traffic Converts Better Than Any Other Traffic
Search traffic has the best conversion rates for most websites.
SEO traffic is more likely to convert than other traffic sources because people are actively searching for the problem to solve rather than being advertised to.
This means that people don’t find your business unless they want to. Meaning, you only show up when people are looking for information related to your product or service.
How much more targeted and ‘warm’ of an audience could you ask for?
With more targeted traffic coming to your website, it’s a no-brainer that your sales will increase.
Your business can grow much faster with strategic SEO. The more visible your business is, the more it grows.
No #2 SEO Will Help You Gain Market Share
SEO can help you gain market share by being highly visible.
If your business is not on the 1st page of Google, you are virtually invisible.
The 1st Google organic search result gets 27.6% traffic share. The top 3 results get 54.4% of all potential traffic and it quickly starts declining from there.
Below is a visual relationship between a position on Google and its click-through rate.
Some business owners go without any formal SEO efforts because they believe that being anywhere in the search results is “good enough”.
The sad reality is that 75% of people never go on the 2nd page of Google.
Moreover, customers automatically associate those businesses that appear high on SERPs as the leaders and best choices.
So, if you want to be seen as the number one choice for your industry, you need to be ranking on page #1.
No #3 SEO Builds Trust and Credibility
Conversions aside, SEO will also build your brand awareness and credibility.
People trust Google. They associate the first listings on Google with reputable companies.
So, by investing in SEO, your company becomes THE go-to brand of your industry.
Awareness is important because your website visitors may not always be ready to purchase. However, by being aware of your offerings, they may purchase in the near future.
SEO is the best and most cost-effective way to increase your brand awareness and boost your business’s reputation.
No #4. SEO Provides 24/7 Promotion
The great thing about SEO is that it works around the clock 24/7.
This enables your online presence to be open nonstop without you having to pay for ads.
Your rankings won’t disappear overnight. If your content is worthy of being the best possible result for a particular query, it tends to rank for days/months/years.
No #5 SEO Helps to Turn Visitors into Your Sales Funnel
Customers are constantly asking Google questions related to your business.
Customers do their research at each buyer stage. From “What is X”, to “What is better X or Y” – the customers are constantly evaluating your business.
As a CMO or marketing manager, your main objective is to know what your customers are asking and how to turn that interest into a lead and that lead into a sale.
The 4-stage process of turning your target audience into buyers is called a sales funnel.
The sales funnel is the journey of your customers from when they first become aware of your business to ultimately buying from you. Whether you’re an online or a brick-and-mortar business, the best way to quickly grow your revenue is by building a sales funnel.
The goal of your entire sales funnel is to solve your customer’s problems by offering them enticing solutions at each stage.
Working with a reputable SEO marketing agency such as Digivate will help you to serve your customers at each buyer stage and turn them into buyers.
No #6 SEO Integrates Social Media, PR and Email Marketing
All online marketing activities can be attributed to your SEO rankings.
SEO improves marketing ROI for social media, content marketing, paid media, public relations, and email marketing.
Let’s look into some of them in more detail …
How SEO Leverages Social Sharing?
As a general rule, a website with high rankings and exposure will also gain more social shares – just ask any social media marketing manager.
Hence, SEO is good for the social promotion of your website. People who find your website by searching Google, Bing or Yahoo are more likely to promote it on Facebook, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and other social media channels.
How SEO Helps PR?
The more visible you are on search engines, the more it provides opportunities for publicity – interviews, mentions, and backlinks.
Quality backlinks are one of the strongest SEO ranking factors. The more relevant quality websites link to you, the higher you rank.
Hence, the relationship between PR and SEO is bi-directional.
How Does SEO Help to Increase Email Subscribers?
Your email subscribers grow as your website traffic increases – it’s given.
To make the most of the increased traffic, we recommend having a strong incentive at each buyer stage, also known as a lead magnet so that people want to sign up for your email marketing newsletter.
No #7 SEO Improves User Experience
SEO and user experience go hand-in-hand. When you optimise your website for search engines, you’re also making it easier for visitors to navigate and find what they need.
By incorporating relevant keywords into clear and concise headings, using bullet points for easy scanning, and ensuring fast loading times, you’re enhancing user satisfaction. A positive user experience leads to higher engagement, lower bounce rates, and increased conversions.
No #8 SEO is Cost-Effective
SEO is a long-term investment that yields significant returns. Unlike pay-per-click advertising, which requires ongoing costs, SEO builds organic traffic over time.
By focusing on high-quality content, technical SEO, and link building, you can establish a strong online presence without draining your marketing budget. While SEO may require an initial time investment, the results can be substantial and sustained.
No #9 SEO Provides Measurable Results
SEO offers unparalleled transparency into your marketing performance. With analytics tools, you can track key metrics like website traffic, keyword rankings, bounce rates, and conversion rates. These insights help you understand what’s working and what’s not, allowing you to refine your strategy accordingly.
By setting clear goals and tracking your progress, you can demonstrate the ROI of your SEO efforts.
No #10 SEO is Future-Proof
The digital landscape is constantly changing, but SEO remains a fundamental strategy for online success. By staying informed about search engine algorithm updates and industry trends, you can adapt your approach to maintain visibility.
Building high-quality, authoritative content, focusing on user intent, and diversifying your backlink profile are all essential for long-term SEO success. Investing in SEO lays the groundwork for a strong online presence that can withstand future challenges.
Benefits of Working with an SEO Agency
Without a doubt, SEO is the best long-term investment for your business.
We hope that this article proves the importance of SEO in today’s highly competitive market.
The question you are probably asking yourself…
“Should I hire an SEO agency or do it in-house?”
Below are the 3 major benefits of hiring an integrated agency:
1. Quicker Results
An agency already has established processes, skillsets, access to intelligent data and the most up-to-date tools to get your project off the ground immediately.
It can take a lot of time if you were to set it all up internally without any previous experience.
2. Better Results
What an agency with a long track record of success has is the experience. We know what works, why it works and how long it will take to work – we manage your expectations, so there are no surprises.
3. Integrated Solutions
We know that to convert your visitors into buyers, we need to integrate SEO with UX (user experience), CRO (conversion rate optimisation) and PPC (paid-per-click advertising) in order to make the most of your marketing.
This is why all our teams work together.
How We Can Help You Benefit from SEO
At Digivate, we don’t drive traffic for the number’s sake. Our goal is to grow your business, so we only concentrate on quality traffic that has the potential to convert. To achieve that, we go deeper than other agencies. We try to understand your audience beyond keywords: we conduct surveys, scrape forums and analyse data to understand your target audience‘s motivations and barriers to buying.
To achieve quicker results, we purposefully target keywords that are highly relevant to your business and customers but have low to medium keyword difficulty scores. This will help us to start small and grow big.
We don’t just do social media, SEO, PPC, content. We grow businesses. This means that all our departments work together for one goal – to increase revenue for our clients. We help you to understand your audience and build a sales funnel that converts.
Conclusion
SEO is far from dead; it’s thriving. By evolving into a customer-centric discipline, it has become an indispensable tool for businesses seeking growth and sustainability. With its ability to drive organic traffic, build trust, and integrate seamlessly with other marketing channels, SEO offers an unparalleled return on investment.
The staggering statistics speak for themselves: SEO is the foundation of a successful online presence. As search technology continues to advance, so too will the importance of SEO. Businesses that ignore this potent strategy risk being left behind in an increasingly competitive digital landscape.
Article by
Rodrigo Lasanta
