Smaller businesses always struggle with SEO, and that’s because they think they don’t have the SEO budget to spend on digital marketing. However, you can’t escape the fact that the battleground has shifted to the online marketplace.
And everything starts with the search engine.
Here are 10 reasons why you need to budget for SEO:
You need new customers to be sustainable. Finding a new target market is the priority. SEO will help link you with new markets outside of your own neighborhood.
Your competitors are spending money for SEO. Small businesses think that SEO is expensive. But there are many methods available so you can focus your spend on content, website optimization, Google ads, etc.
SEO is an investment. You spend on office equipment or computers to support your operations. It’s the same thing with SEO. It’s not an expense considering that it’s necessary.
SEO works. SEO has been there since the 1990s, and it has undergone several evolutions. The reason why it’s so pervasive is that it works.
It highlights your website. If you have a restaurant, for instance, you spend a lot of money to make it look good. You send out flyers or probably invest in billboards, so people know your location. Think of your website as your digital storefront and SEO as the large Neon sign that points potential customers to your business. This is why at Holistic SEO Company we take a comprehensive approach to SEO.
It allows you to control the message. With any brand, messaging is important. Whether you like it or not, you will end up on the Internet (such as a bad review from a malicious customer, for instance). With SEO, you have more control over how your brand is perceived.
SEO is not limited to Google. While SEO is mostly associated with the search engine, its reach expands to social media such as YouTube and Facebook, as well as e-commerce sites like Amazon.
It helps cement your credibility. People don’t just support the brand because they like the product. They patronize your services and products because you have earned their trust. When it comes to digital marketing, it’s all about perception. People tend to believe the things they read from authority figures. SEO will do that for you.
SEO will improve customer experience. With a shrinking global market, competition becomes stiffer. To gain an edge, you need to ensure a positive customer experience. Quality SEO will help you do just that.
SEO boosts your ROI. SEO techniques will help multiply the impact of your brand without necessarily amplifying your marketing efforts. It will help improve your buying cycle by relaying to the right audience your products and services. Ultimately, SEO will drive home the point that you are the answer to their most nagging problem.
In Conclusion
The first pages of Google is very competitive, and for a good reason. About 90% of organic listings on the first page receive the customer clicks. That means if you are not in the first two pages of the search engine results page, you won’t be getting much authority and traction for your business in the next five to 10 years.