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

While it was estimated that brands and agencies in the United States spent $79.27 billion on SEO services in 2020, 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 web pages depending on their relevance, quality, and how many 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 improve your website rankings, look at these SEO tips for beginners.

If you lack the time to learn SEO independently, SEO agencies can be invaluable partners. With their expertise, they implement strategies to optimize your page visibility, increase search traffic, and attract the targeted audience you need.

SEO Benefits: Is SEO Worth It?

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

1. Find Your Audience

Many people search the Internet for specific keywords. This means they are genuinely interested in your product or service and are more likely to buy it.

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 pay-per-click ads and other paid marketing. This is because most users respect organic search results more than 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 companies 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 introducing SEO strategies across your website. You must keep up with the changing trends and produce relevant content, but the initial framework will already exist.

3. Happier Customers

Your SEO strategy should include keywords and be about your ranking in the search engines. However, you must also focus 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 bounce higher.

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 build customer trust. Websites that rank highly on Google and other search engines suggest high trust and reliability.

Consider 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 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 you need to keep updating and producing new content to stay relevant.

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