Is SEO Worth It? Why Your Site Needs To Focus On SEO

While it was estimated that brands and agencies in the United States are spending $79.27 billion on SEO services in 2020 however the pandemic changed everything.   SEO spending grew; however, it was revised down to 5.9%.  The future is bright, with eMarketer predicting a rise in SEO spending through 2024. If you’re not spending on SEO, you will need to spend on PPC to get your site seen by your targeted audience.

On average, businesses spend $5,000 a month on their SEO. Large companies have a bigger budget for their SEO than smaller ones, but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t try to improve your organic ranking.

Keep reading our guide on ‘is SEO worth it?’ And find out why your business needs SEO.

What Is SEO?

Search engine optimization is optimizing your website so it organically ranks on search engines. Implementing effective SEO across your website can increase your traffic, boost your leads and sales, and increase your profit.

Google and similar search engines rank webpages depending on their relevance, quality, and how much people search for those keywords.

Search engines use crawlers to determine how relevant your website’s content is to search queries. They do this by picking out keywords.

Search engines identify quality on webpages by looking at their links and other websites that link to their page. Trusted websites that link to your web pages are more likely to suggest high-quality content.

Your webpages must provide high-quality, relevant content with keywords that your audience searches for almost to rank highly in search engines. The higher your ranking in the engines, the more traffic your website will receive and the more leads and sales you’ll get.

If you’re new to SEO, it can be confusing to navigate. But to help you out and to improve your website rankings, have a look at these SEO tips for beginners.

SEO Benefits: Is SEO Worth It?

All businesses, big and small, from brick-and-mortar to eCommerce, can benefit from SEO. Some general benefits of SEO apply across all businesses and industries, and there are also more specific SEO advantages for certain companies.

1. Find Your Audience

Many people are searching for specific keywords on the internet. This means they are genuinely interested in the product or service you provide and are more likely to buy your product or services.

Alternatively, the user might search for quality information or content from your blog, which will help build brand awareness and trust with prospective customers.

You’re more likely to find your audience organically through SEO than through pay-per-click ads and other paid marketing. This is because most users respect organic search results compared to paid ads.

2. Return on Investment

Another reason you need SEO and why it will benefit your business is that it offers a great investment return. Smaller businesses might have lower marketing budgets, so this benefit is particularly appealing.

Although the process of SEO can be daunting and take time, it’s worth it. You won’t have to do it again when you’ve introduced SEO strategies across your website. You will need to keep up with the changing trends and keep producing relevant content, but the initial framework will already be there.

3. Happier Customers

Your SEO strategy should include keywords and be about your ranking in the search engines. But you must also focus some SEO strategies on your user experience (UX).

UX plays a crucial role in ensuring your customer’s happiness. Websites that are easy to navigate and can be viewed across different devices are essential for your SEO. You also need to ensure that your web pages load quickly.

SEO encourages better website designs and layouts that the customers want. Happier customers also make for higher conversion rates. Websites that load slowly, are inaccessible, or provide low-quality content, are more likely to have higher bounce rates.

4. Grow Your Business

Small businesses are more likely to focus their profits locally. Local SEO can help to significantly grow your business and attract more local customers. You can use geographical keywords in your SEO to help local customers find your services.

Chances are your business has hundreds or thousands of competitors online. However, there’ll be less competition in your local area. This means that you can find local customers by using geo-target long-tail keywords. For example, suppose you’re a florist in Miami, Florida. In that case, you can rank for the long-tail keyword ‘Florist in Miami, Florida’ instead of trying to compete against the high-volume keyword ‘florist’.

Appearing in local online directories and creating an effective Google My Business page can also improve your local SEO and grow your business.

5. Build Customer Trust

Another benefit of SEO is that it helps to build trust with your customers. Websites that rank highly on Google and other search engine suggest a high level of trust and reliability.

Think about your searches; most people stay on the first page and click on the most relevant websites. Very few people go further than page 2 or 3 on a search engine, especially when they’re buying something.

Being on the first page of a search engine shows that your website is credible and your brand can be trusted. This trust can go a long way in creating returning customers and encouraging customer loyalty.

Implement Our Tips and Improve Your SEO

Many small businesses ask, ‘is SEO worth it?’ As you can see from SEO’s benefits, it is worth it. Once you’ve perfected your SEO, it can provide an impressive investment return for many years. But remember that SEO is a continuous marketing effort and that to stay relevant you need to keep updating and producing new content.

If you enjoyed reading this article, be sure to check out some of our other marketing articles too, like this one on using content for SEO.