If you’re a marketer or business owner today, you’ve probably been told that you should use SEO (Search Engine Optimization) more than once or twice. This is because today, it has become an essential part of any successful marketing strategy. But if you’re not familiar with this strategy, you might not be sure if it’s worth your time or money. And that’s why on this page, we’ll discuss what SEO is in marketing, what role it plays in marketing, and five key benefits it can provide to your business.
SEO in Marketing
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, and it is the process of improving a website by helping users rank in search results when searching for specific words and phrases. If you’re not sure why this matters, just think about how you normally access the information you need in the course of your daily life.
For example, imagine if you needed to replace your TV and you weren’t sure which model to buy, what would you do? Or where would you look if you’re on vacation and need to find a restaurant for dinner? Additionally, if you want to learn a new language, how will you research your options for it? If you’re like most people, you’ll reach for your smartphone or sit at your computer and type a simple phrase into Google. You’ll find something like “best TV,” “restaurants near me,” or “how to learn Spanish” by typing it into a search engine. Then, you’ll scroll through the results and click on the one that best suits your needs.
These results are based on the keywords you entered to provide Google with the most useful information for you. But in many cases, the sites you see ranking on the first page don’t get there by accident. They use SEO to help explain to Google what their content is about. They also conducted extensive research to determine how users like you phrase your searches for specific topics so that they can customize their page accordingly. And if you want your target audience to easily reach your site, that’s what you’ll need to do.
Benefits of SEO to Your Business
SEO can help you improve your ranking through search engine results. It has the potential to have a huge impact on your company’s most important goals, such as increasing your leads and sales. But if you’re not convinced, search your site. The five biggest benefits of optimizing for are discussed below:
- SEO Targets Quality Traffic
One of the biggest advantages of SEO is that it is an inbound marketing strategy. Unlike traditional outbound advertising channels, which involve easy access to consumers, whether they want to hear from you or not. Inbound methods make it easier for your audience to find you when they want information. These traditional methods, such as cold calling, spam email, and interruptive advertising, are done with the advertiser’s goals in mind. And many users find them downright annoying.
On the other hand, inbound marketing is considered more customer-centric. Instead of interrupting consumers while they are watching TV or listening to the radio, it involves creating helpful resources and making useful information more easily accessible. Then, when users are willing to spend some time researching your industry or learning more about your options for a specific type of product, they can find you on their own. Not only is it more convenient for consumers, but it also provides more qualified leads for your business. In HubSpot’s recent State of Inbound report, 59% of marketers said that inbound practices provided the highest quality leads for their sales teams.
After all, who do you think could be more receptive to your marketing efforts? Someone who sees your ad on a billboard on their travels or someone who pops up on a list of tips you publish when searching for help online?
The answer to the above questions is clear that when you focus on attracting users who are actively looking for information related to your industry, products and services, you will be more effective in reaching your target audience. Plus, it gives you the opportunity to reach your audience while they’re already considering making a purchase or contracting a service. Increasing the likelihood that your marketing messages will turn into sales and leads.
- No Need to Pay for ads in SEO
Google’s organic ranking is based entirely on what its algorithms determine the best results for any given query. This means that once you’ve created a page that search engines will guide their users to deems worth directing, it can continue to attract traffic to your site for months (or even years) after you publish it. Of course, the process of researching and writing high quality content requires investment. That investment will either be in the form of time, if you choose to build it yourself, or money, if you choose to hire a digital marketing agency to build it for you. But once you’ve made that initial investment, there’s no continuing cost to attract traffic to your content.
Depending on the nature of the topic, you need to update the complete information page in a few months. If your competitors have decided to target the same keyword, you may need to add and improve it. But when it comes down to it, your valuable place in search results is free. This is a major difference from PPC ads, which include costs every time a user clicks on and goes to a page. To give you an idea of how big a profit this is, just consider that the average cost per click (CPC) across all industries is roughly $2.32. With SEO, you have the option to avoid paying this amount and without The ability to generate traffic to your site at an ongoing cost.
- SEO Gets More Clicks than PPC
Although PPC ads appear above organic rankings, 71.33% of searches result in mostly clicks on an organic result on the first page. It’s hard to say why this is so, although the most logical conclusion is that users rely on Google’s algorithms. They know what places advertisers are paying for, and they instead choose to visit the pages that search engines have deemed the best. Of course, this is just conjecture, but regardless of the logic behind it, the fact remains that the majority of clicks for any given search go to an organic result.
- SEO helps PR
Although SEO and PR may seem like completely different marketing strategies, you can use them to maximize the results you see from each. The biggest connection between the two is in link building. Earning links from reputed websites is a core component of any SEO strategy. This means that the biggest part of an SEO professional’s job is identifying opportunities for placement or coverage on industry blogs, news publications and other relevant sites.
Given that PR strategy revolves around getting major publications and influencers to talk about your company, this presents a huge opportunity. When you use link building research to find new ways to get your brand in front of consumers, you’ll be more effective at delivering content to potential customers and customers.
- Get Ahead of the Competition
Today, SEO is widely considered a mainstay of any marketing strategy. In fact, it is said that 61% of marketers make improving their SEO and improving their online presence a top priority. This means that your competitors have already taken steps to establish a higher ranking in search results. And with an SEO strategy of your own, you can stay ahead and ideally stay competitive within your industry.
Difference between SEO & SEM
As you learn more about increasing your company’s visibility in search, you may see another term for this process, known as SEM. And while some marketers use it interchangeably with SEO, it’s important to understand the difference between the two in order to use the two properly.
SEM stands for “Search Engine Marketing,” and refers to anything you do to earn placements in search engine results pages. This means that it is an umbrella term that includes both SEO and PPC. Although SEO is a form of SEM, it is not the only strategy involved in SEM. Keeping this gap in mind as you learn more about search visibility, it will be much easier to find resources that focus on paid strategy. And determine if those are the resources you want to spend your time studying.
Job of an SEO Specialist
While some basic SEO tasks can be done in-house with the help of some online resources, the best way to maximize your results is to hire an SEO expert. But more importantly, what do these professionals offer that you can’t do yourself? And what exactly do they do that makes them a worthwhile investment to hire? Their primary goal is, of course, to increase the visibility of their customers in search results for queries related to their industry, products and services. But to accomplish this goal, an SEO specialist has to take some important steps:
- Site Assessment
The first step in the SEO process is a thorough evaluation. They will evaluate all the factors affecting its ranking, including whether a site has ever been optimized before, as well as where it stands in the results pages for the company’s most important target keywords. They will also look at any major issues affecting the user experience, such as page load times, navigation setup, and site structure.
Lastly, most SEO professionals will also take the client’s competitors into account during their site evaluation. They’ll identify other sites targeting similar keywords and similar audiences, then evaluate what they’re doing well. All this information will help them determine what changes need to be made. Then, they can prioritize these changes based on which will have the most impact.
- Ongoing Optimization & Testing
After their assessment, an SEO will work on the priorities set by them. They’ll do keyword research, optimize pages for the keywords they’ve chosen, and fix any usability issues. This initial adaptation process alone often takes a few months, but it is important to recognize that it does not stop there. This happens because SEO is the result that comes after making a long-term strategy. For example, take a look at the following graph of Kinsta’s year over year traffic.
While they saw some modest gains in 2015 and 2016, their traffic really started in 2017. And those results were completely based on the SEO strategy they ran. So when you hire an SEO specialist, they will regularly identify new opportunities to improve your site. They’ll optimize your on-page factors, look for ways to earn new links for your site, and continually test the changes they’re making. An experienced SEO professional will also make it a priority to keep up with industry changes so that they can ensure that your site stays ahead of algorithm updates and that other marketers are up to date with the strategies that are in effect.
- Reporting and Analysis
Lastly, an SEO specialist will regularly monitor and analyze their results. From a client’s perspective, it helps to make sure you know what kind of results you’re getting for your investment. But beyond that, regularly checking in on key metrics like traffic and conversions helps them understand what’s working and what’s not. So that they can continuously improve their strategy.
Regarding SEO 3 Myths Pervading
There is a wealth of information available online about SEO. Unfortunately, not all of that information is completely accurate. So as you learn more about this important marketing strategy. There are some common myths that you should be aware of so that you can stay away from any SEO professional who perpetuates them.
Myth 1: Keyword Optimization is a Part of SEO
The idea that keywords are the most important part of SEO is not an outright lie but it is certainly out of date. Since the rollout of Hummingbird in 2013, Google has increasingly prioritized user intent over the exact keywords it uses. This means that today you do not have to pay much attention to specific words and phrases.
To clarify, keywords still serve as an important part of SEO, and keyword research can help to guide your strategy. But when you do include them, be sure to do so naturally, and your content. Write in a way that prioritizes using the same exact phrase over and over on your page to address the intent behind them.
Myth 2: Optimizing a site is fast and easy
If you meet someone who promises to deliver SEO results in just a few weeks, consider this. Many of us wish this was possible, but it is not. In fact, it usually takes four to six months for an SEO strategy to start showing results. So, while the idea of quick and easy results can be tempting, don’t fall for it. Find an SEO professional who provides a clear outline of their strategy and a realistic timeline for results, and you will be more than satisfied with the results.
Myth 3: Focus on Keywords with High Search Volume
Many site owners who are new to SEO make the mistake of focusing their efforts on keywords with extremely high search volume. After all, wouldn’t it be great to rank on the first page for a keyword that gets searched thousands of times per month? True, but for most sites, this is simply not a realistic goal. Considering how difficult it is for these keywords to rank, a strategy focusing on them is unlikely to generate any significant ranking or traffic at all. Instead, it is far more effective to focus on longer, less competitive keywords. And if you think these keywords are not worth your time, just consider that long-tail keywords account for 70% of searches.
So while each one may not have the potential to bring in thousands of visitors each month, a strategy built on multiple long-tail keywords certainly does. Since these keywords are easy to rank for, within a reasonable time frame The chances of seeing positive results are very high making them a better investment of your time and budget.
Google’s Ranking Factors
Today, Google’s algorithms take hundreds of factors into account when delivering ranking results for a given query. SEMrush’s research into ranking factors reveals some of the most important factors:
This is just a general overview of the factors you will want to consider when optimizing your site. For more information, read our in-depth explanation of on-page and off-page ranking factors:
Quality Content
Another term that you often come across in the SEO industry is “quality content.” The meaning of the word is quite straightforward, but its importance really cannot be overstated. As Google strives to deliver results by focusing on providing the best possible results to its users, and at the same time great content is becoming increasingly important to the best results. While keywords still play a role in SEO, Google compares the quality of content related to particular keywords on a page. I am less worried And that means you should also be concerned with the quality of the ingredients.
Getting high ranking is no longer as easy as writing keyword optimized page titles and titles. Actually, the average length of a first page Google result is now fixed at 1,890 words. So when you look for ways to improve your site, pay attention to your site’s content. Is it able to deliver real value to your target audience? If not, even the best keyword optimization won’t help you. Instead, it’s time to focus your efforts on improving your content, giving your audience the information they want.
Tips to Increase Organic Traffic with SEO
When it comes to increasing organic traffic, ranking is not the only consideration. Here are two tips you can use to increase your traffic level without changing your ranking:
- Find Ways to Increase CTR
Generally speaking, the first few results on a page will earn the most clicks. But this is not always the case. And if you can find ways to attract more clicks even if your pages rank lower than you’d like in search results, you can outperform your competitors and increase your traffic. First, especially for pages with high CTRs. Use Google Search Console to identify. Then, determine what you’re doing well with the title tags and meta descriptions of those pages, and adjust the rest of your pages accordingly.
- Find Ways to Earn Featured Snippets
In a HubSpot study, pages appearing in featured snippets saw twice as much CTR as pages appearing in regular results. So if you’re able to earn a spot in featured snippets, you can earn regular organic rankings. I can increase my CTR without necessarily climbing. And considering that 70% of snippets come from results that aren’t in the first place, this is a great way to boost clicks. And potentially even more clicks than the top result.
Conclusion
Today, SEO has become an essential part of any marketing strategy. So, “What is SEO in Marketing?” To answer the question, the simplest explanation is that it is one of the best ways to improve your online visibility and reach consumers as they are actively searching for information. It also offers a wealth of benefits that No other digital marketing strategy can offer. For many marketers, the biggest attraction is that it enables them to earn new customers without having to pay for ad space.
For others, organic results earn even more clicks and attention than ads. In addition, the right strategy can also help you improve your brand’s PR and stand out from your competitors. And given all these obvious benefits, there’s no reason not to optimize your site. If you’re ready to go straight to the technical explanation, you can check out our resource How to do SEO for Rank and Better Conversions. But we recommend that you get a solid understanding of how search engines work before making any changes. So if you want to get started from the beginning, you can find all the information you need to establish a strong foundation in our resource on how Google Search works.
