What Is SEO And Why Is It Important?
Nov 04, 2021You’ve probably heard over and over again that Search Engine Optimisation is an essential marketing tool that you need in your business and let me tell, it couldn’t be truer. Even more than that, I am sure there is a decent chunk of you that aren’t 100% sure exactly what SEO is and I am going to take you through it.
In short SEO is important because it helps bring visibility to your website. The more traffic you get, the more opportunities for conversions which is the very reason you’re in business right? Let’s dive in and see how it can help transform your business.
WHAT IS SEO?
SEO is an acronym that stands for Search Engine Optimisation (or Optimization if you’re American).
In summary, it is the process of taking steps to help your website or content rank in the top positions on Google, Bing and other search engines when somebody searches for it.
The process requires improvements to your own website as well as taking actions on other websites. Together, these steps will influence organic search results, so your website ranks well for your chosen keywords in search engines. Paid ads are separate to SEO.
AN EXAMPLE
If you sell newborn baby clothes or local beauty services and want to rank in the top position for this keyword on a search engine like Google, implementing SEO will help you achieve this.
I am not going to lie, there are quite a few things to cover to make search engines choose you but once you’re there, you could score yourself a lot of traffic, leads and sales. Beyond that, it’s a great tool for brand awareness, building relationships with potential customers or clients and positioning yourself as a trusted expert in your industry (and to Google).
COMPONENTS OF SEO
SEO is made up of three primary components. Each component must work together to optimise your ranking in search engines like Google.
How your site is built and functions (crawlability, speed and responsiveness).
The words, images, graphics, videos and content on your pages and posts and how they’re optimised.
Backlinks from other sites to your website which increase your domain authority and help Google to boost your ranking.
Over the next few weeks, I am going to take you through each component and explain its importance in ranking in the Google beast.
WHY IS SEO IMPORTANT FOR YOUR BUSINESS
The goal of SEO is to get your website ranking at the top of the search results page.
It is estimated there are about 5.6 billion searches a day with an estimated 70-80% of these going to organic search results (not paid) so why wouldn’t you want to rank?
Implementing SEO well and ranking in the top positions is important because it:
- Capture people’s attention when they’re likely in buying mode.
- Makes your brand and site more visible to people searching on Google.
- Increases traffic and brings more relevant, better-quality leads to your site.
- Instil trust your audience – if Google is referring you, it’s a good sign that other people can trust you too.
- Gives you higher conversions rates at a lower cost per sale.
According to the Search Engine Journal:
- 28.5% of clicks, go to the number position in Google
- 15.7% go to the second
- 11% go to the third
- 75% of users never scroll past the first page of search engine results
We therefore need to:
- Rank for the keywords that deliver the right traffic and drive conversions (keyword research)
- Get users to click on our result (click through)
- Get users to stay on our site and take action (conversion)
CONCLUSION
There are numerous ways to drive traffic to your site but why wouldn’t you want to drive traffic directly to your store for free. It will only cost you in the time it takes to implement your SEO. If you're looking for a paid advertising strategy, be sure to check out my recent Facebook Ads blog 'How well do Facebook Ads work and will they work for your business?'.
And…the best part of all is that Google captures your audience’s attention when they are in search mode and ready to buy.
That’s why it’s important to implement SEO. It will help the person searching for your product or service find it exactly when they are looking for it and BUY.
Let’s get cracking.
Join me over the next few weeks as I show you how to kickstart your SEO journey.
