Do small businesses benefit from SEO? There are skeptics but you should not be one of them.
First of all, what is SEO? It’s an acronym you may see mentioned across many entrepreneurial platforms and a buzzword in the business community. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. What this means is how your website is ranking when search engines like Google and Yahoo search your area and niche. It is important to know the key search phrases for your specialty, such as “hair salons near me,” “best blowout,” and other phrases, and knowing which are ideal to rank for. The more optimized your content, backlinks, and key phrases are on your website, the more likely you are to show up on page 1 of Google and bring in more business.
And yes, small and niche businesses can benefit from SEO. It can play a critical role in your overall income and business growth.
Always be aware of your SEO activity and how to improve your business especially when doing your budget and marketing strategy. It is worth investing in SEO to help you increase your online searchability. SEO increases your searchability and help new customers find your business online.
If you are less familiar with the technicalities of SEO, there’s On-Page SEO and Off-Page SEO. However, SEO for eCommerce is a bit complicated but can bring in many benefits if done right. This is why strategizing and outsourcing can be vital.
We have seen businesses – especially small businesses – grow because of organic traffic and reap the benefit of what SEO can do you your business. So, how can a small business benefit from SEO?
1) Traffic – In the digital world, getting traffic to your website is fundamental to marketing. If there is no traffic from Google, your website is dead. Your website may be stunning, but if no one is visiting it then it is not converting. If there is no conversion, there are no sales. Getting traffic from organic channels can bring an increase in sales.
2) Look for new customers – If you are actively marketing, you are looking for new customers, right? SEO can help. It is not only for improving your ranking but for bringing new customers to your site. The higher you rank, the more searchable your site will become. The more site traffic leads, the more chances to convert these leads to new customers.
3) Increase conversion rate – People visit your website because they are looking for products or similar services that you offer. If they really like your products and services, they are more likely to convert to sales and not just window shopping.
4) Brand awareness – If you are in the top 10 results in the Google search pages chances are more people will then be aware of your brand. And the possibility of them clicking and checking out your website and content is high. Some consumers may be in the research phase of their buyer’s journey, but with increased brand awareness they may come back to your site and your business soon.
5) Long-lasting SEO results – Yes, you need to maintain your SEO and not let your competitors outrank you. There is no guarantee, but if you are able to maintain this, your website will be searchable for a decent amount of time.
