5 Reasons You Should Prioritise Ranking in Google over Creating Reels To Sell More

When it comes to selling your products, services or programs, it’s easy to get disappointed when you aren’t hitting your sales goals.

More often than not, the underlying issue is easier to fix than you think. It generally comes back to the amount of website traffic you’re getting.

On average, to make two sales, you need at least 100 people to visit your website.

Given that statistic, it’s important to focus your marketing efforts on channels that bring you qualified traffic in the droves. Unfortunately Instagram Reels aren’t the answer.

In our blog How to choose where to focus your marketing efforts in 2023 and beyond when your to-do list won't stop growing we show you how to check how much website traffic you’re currently getting from your Instagram posts. It’s a lot less than you think. 

That’s why you need to make it a priority to shift your marketing focus to other areas if you want to hit your sales (and revenue goals). Invest in marketing channels that bring you the most qualified traffic and for the least investment.

IMPORTANCE OF SEO

Our recommendation is to start with Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). SEO is all the actions steps you take on and off your website to rank first in Google and score qualified organic traffic (and sales) to your website, consistently and sustainably. Let us take you through five reasons you should prioritise ranking in Google right now over creating Instagram Reels.

Before we dive in, let us share with you a statistic that SEO exports Ahrefs released earlier this year: SEO drives 1000%+ more traffic than organic social media and it’s also free to implement. If that statistic doesn’t shift your focus, then we aren’t sure what will.

SUSTAINABLE LONG TERM VISIBILITY

Google is one of the world’s most popular search engines — offering an unmatched opportunity for long term visibility of your website. Your content that ranks in Google can retain its position and visibility in search engines for years, making it a very sustainable way to reach an audience and grow your traffic, sales and revenue.

When you take action steps to rank in Google, the result compounds over time, meaning the traffic to your website will continue to grow, with very little maintenance required. Instagram Reels have a limited lifespan and get pushed down the users’ feed quickly, expiring within 24 hours, if not sooner.

LOW MAINTENANCE AND HIGHER ROI

Implementing Search Engine Optimisation sees the bulk of the work required to rank in Google completed up front, with minimal ongoing maintenance. You could commit as little as an hour a week to maintain your ranking (and you don’t even need to do that). It’s only when you want to go after higher volume keywords that you need to commit a little bit more time to SEO. The result, more and more traffic (and sales).

In comparison, the time and effort it takes to maintain an Instagram feed is much greater. With new features being released to the platform constantly — Reels to User Generated Content and carousels, content on the platform is becoming more and more difficult and time consuming to create, not to mention the engagement required to please the algorithm. The result, very few clicks to your website, let alone sales from this high maintenance platform.

TARGET AUDIENCE AND SEARCH INTENT

One of the biggest advantages of Google Search is that users are actively seeking out information, products and services based on their specific search intent. Focusing on ranking in Google will mean you have the opportunity to reach a highly targeted audience that is genuinely interested in what you have to offer given they are using specific keywords to make a search to find you.

Users making a search on Google are also more likely to take action like making a purchase or booking, leading to a higher conversion rate using this marketing channel. Comparatively, on Instagram, users are there to be social, which means their intent to take action, like making a purchase, will be lower.

BROADER AND MORE EXTENSIVE REACH

The reach of Google Search is broader and more extensive than that of Instagram Reels. As the most popular search engine, Google processes billions of search queries every day and is the primary way information, products, services and solutions are accessible to users worldwide, unlike Instagram which is limited to its user base.

Google’s indexing and ranking algorithms are designed to help users find the most relevant content, product, and services for their query. If your content matches the criteria, it has a high chance of being discovered by a broader audience.

In comparison, Instagram’s discoverability relies heavily on hashtags and engagement metrics, making it more challenging to reach new audiences organically. The average number of users that see your post is as low as two percent, with most of them being your most engaged audience e.g., family and friends. On average, less than one percent are new people or non-followers of your profile. This makes it very difficult for your dream buyers to see or find you on this platform.

Finally the Click-Through Rate (CTR) on Google Search is far superior than Instagram. Given the user is actively making a search, they are much more likely to visit your website, increasing the traffic and therefore sales brought from this platform. On Instagram, less than one percent of people that see your post click through to your profile, let alone to your website. Based on this statistic, it will take much longer to see results from the platform.

BETTER ANALYTICS AND INSIGHTS

Google has a comprehensive suite of analytics tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console that provide in-depth insights into user behaviour and website performance. These tools allow you to monitor key metrics like traffic and sales sources, user demographics and popular search queries that lead visitors to your content. 

Understanding this data is essential for making data-driven decisions to better optimise your marketing and content strategy and improve your website’s overall performance. In contrast, Instagram analytics, whilst useful, are most focused on engagement metrics, making it less insightful when trying to drive more traffic, sales and revenue to your business.

It’s time to remove yourself from the social media hamster wheel burning you out and shift your focus to a marketing channel that brings you traffic and sales consistently and sustainably.

Not sure how much traffic you need to hit your sales and revenue goals for 2024 and beyond? Download our free Website Traffic and Sales Revenue Calculator and Planner and find out the exact figure today. Send us a DM on Instagram if you need help with the calculations.

P.S. Looking for a little extra support to hold your hand while you do your Search Engine Optimisation. The doors to SEO Made Easy are open. Find our all about our hugely popular SEO course and exclusive bonuses here.