5 Reasons Why Investing in SEO is Critical for Business Success

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No organization is endowed with unlimited financial resources. Therefore, when it comes to marketing and advertising budgets, companies will look to direct their money where there’s likely to be the most significant impact. In this scenario, and especially for businesses that aren’t big on e-commerce, search engine optimization (SEO) gets the short end of the stick. 

Whereas the Internet has greatly changed how the world does business, many business decision-makers don’t rank it at the same level as other channels. Yet, local SEO is critical for online and offline business success.

  1. Establishes Trust

When a search engine user submits a query, they will usually be presented with thousands or millions of results. They can’t visit each of these pages. They are unlikely to go beyond the first page of results. 

This is not just due to time constraints. The average person assumes that Google will show the most relevant, authoritative, and accurate results first. By investing in SEO and getting your website on the first page, you gain credibility and trust from prospects.

  1. The Earlier You Start, the Better

Some businesses make the mistake of putting off SEO until they attain a certain size or have a sizable e-commerce presence. Depending on your product and industry, it can take weeks, months, or years of relentless work to get your website on the first page. You need plenty of quality content that ticks all the right SEO boxes.

However, the good thing is that once you make it to the top ranks, it’s difficult for you to slip off. You still need to put in consistent work, but it will usually be much less than was needed to get you on the first page. The lesson here? The earlier you start investing in SEO, the better for your long term success.

  1. Grow Your Social Media Reach

Every business dreams of having a captive audience. You want the ability to reach your customers directly at the least cost. Usually, that meant getting customers and prospects to join your mailing list. Nowadays, growing your social media reach is just as important as building an email list. 

Facebook, the largest social network, has more than 2.7 billion monthly active users. YouTube, Instagram, Messenger, and WeChat all boast over a billion users each. There are more than a dozen other social media platforms with hundreds of millions of users and growing. Having a presence on social media is, therefore, crucial for your online visibility. 

A comprehensive SEO campaign will increase your following on social networking sites. This creates a captive audience that you can sell to over the long term.

  1. Increase Your Sales

For a business, the ultimate goal of a high search results ranking is to grow sales. The nearer to the top of the search results your website is, the greater the chances of increasing your bottom line. Unlike inorganic techniques such as pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, SEO’s organic nature creates a revenue stream that lasts. 

Whereas Google has gone to great lengths to embed PPC ads within search results pages, most users can see links that are ads and those that aren’t. The organic results are perceived as more trustworthy, resulting in rising sales over the long term.

  1. Cheaper Than Inorganic SEO

Pay-Per-Click advertising and other inorganic online marketing tactics are a great way to make a quick impact and trigger a sudden surge in traffic. However, such methods cost money and are difficult to sustain. The burst in visitor traffic drops sharply immediately after the campaign ends.

SEO, on the other hand, has a slower and gentler growth curve. Yet, you spend far much less on it. Also, the impact reverberates long after the campaign ends. Each dollar spent on SEO has a much more significant long-term impact than PPC and is, therefore, cheaper in the long run.

Don’t Fall Behind

Your business’ competitors have websites, blogs, and social media pages of their own. Having an online presence is no longer enough. Investing in SEO gives you the edge you need to stay ahead of your rivals.