With Google and other search engines changing how search results obtain information from websites, many companies are looking into improving their website SEO. You may have heard that SEO can bring more views to your site or assist with sales. However, do you know what exactly it is and the benefits of SEO for your business?
This article looks at the various aspects of SEO, the parties involved, and how the marketing aspect works. You’ll learn which factors impact your SEO ranking and the numerous myths surrounding the process. By the time you finish reading, you’ll understand the key benefits that SEO optimization can give your business.
What is SEO?
SEO refers to Search Engine Optimization. The official term was coined in 1997 when website owners were looking for ways to appear on the first page of search results. The concept remains the same to this day, although new factors change how it works.
In a nutshell, SEO assists in driving online content to the top of search engine results. Most readers don’t look further than the first page, especially if there are enough sources to satisfy their queries. Consequently, SEO optimization is fiercely competitive as similar businesses vie for that coveted first-page spot.
So, how does it work and what are the benefits of SEO for your business? You need to understand that search engines cater to their number one customer: the users. SEO’s primary focus is to improve the reader’s experience, preventing them from looking through thousands of results for their desired solution. Therefore, a search engine adjusts how it finds content to satisfy the users.
Is SEO Still Relevant in 2020?
If you’re wondering if SEO is still relevant today, the answer is a resounding yes: SEO has never been as significant as it is right now. The criteria for reaching the front of search engine results pages (SERPs) has become harder since Google has changed how it finds quality content. That’s why it’s vital to understand the benefits of SEO for your business.
We predict that SEO will advance even further in the future. Once businesses begin to hack how current SEO models work, search engines will inevitably update the system in a perpetual game of cat-and-mouse. That’s why keeping up to date with current SEO trends is vital.
SEO also remains relevant with newer technology. Last year, Google indicated that it would index sites on mobile devices before desktop browsers. It won’t be long before SEO moves to other techs such as voice search results.
How does SEO Marketing Work?
To understand how it works so you can take advantage of the benefits of SEO for your business, you need to grasp how search engines function. A search engine scans sites to identify the content provided; this is known as crawling. Once it creates the relevant ‘index’ of your website articles, it’s listed on SERPs when users search for a particular keyword or phrase combination.
Search engines consider particular factors when crawling pages – more on that later. What’s vital to grasp is that SEO marketing utilizes these factors when creating content and developing sites. The best way to advertise your products or blog is to ensure that it becomes a featured snippet on SERPs.
SEO doesn’t only relate to your websites’ articles. You need to optimize your entire site to ensure enhanced search results. If you highlight which industries your website caters to, you’re effectively signaling for search engines to crawl through your posts for the relevant content.
Factors Impacting SEO
You can use two methods in your SEO approach. The first is the Black Hat method, where you create content purely for ranking on SERPs and earning a quick buck. This tactic only serves a short-term purpose, as search engines and readers will quickly learn what you’re doing. Google may even remove your article from results if it suspects you’re abusing the system.
The second is the White Hat method. This tactic looks at creating long-term content, where the readers’ repeated visits are more valuable to you than emptying their wallets. It looks at not only receiving new visitors but also considers ways of retaining them.
No matter which method you use, here is a list of factors that impact the benefits of SEO for your business:
- Quality of content
- The questions that you’re answering
- Type of article
- Inclusion of media, such as images and videos
- Meta titles and descriptions
- Heading structure
- Organic keywords
- Internal links
- External links to high-scoring domain authorities
- Backlinks from trusted sites
- Social signals from media channels
Parties Involved In The SEO Process
SEO can benefit your business even more if another party is on board. Creating and optimizing your content shouldn’t be done in isolation. If everyone understands their role and the value they bring, it streamlines the process with fewer complications.
Here’s a quick look at the major parties involved in the SEO process and the benefits of SEO for your business.
Company/Product/Website Owner
The owner is the one that directs the team. They’ll dictate which industries are the primary targets and what content they want. The owner will also hold team members accountable for their tasks because it’s their products that will inform the overall direction of SEO.
SEO Specialist
This specialist is responsible for ensuring that the website and content meet SEO requirements. They also check search engine results for content and ensure that they make the necessary changes to improve rankings. They guide the rest of the team, making sure to keep up to date with all the latest SEO developments.
Content Creators
Content creators are the team members who produce content for the website according to the specialist’s guidelines. Their main goal is to focus on the SEO factors mentioned above and introduce them naturally throughout the website’s content. It doesn’t only mean writing articles; it could also include making videos or curating social media promotions.
Editors And Proofreaders
The editing team ensures that the content is grammatically correct, easy on the eyes, and of sufficient quality. They must know the SEO rules and remove factors that could negatively affect search results. Teamwork between the editor and writer is crucial to ensure mistakes don’t occur.
Marketing Team
Marketers promote content to targeted audiences. SERP ratings improve naturally when more viewers click on your articles. If they can reel in readers via social media, they may be able to draw more views.
Business Partners
In some situations, business partners are involved in the SEO process. You’ll find these instances arise where you’re writing product reviews or linking for niche edits. The partners may have a specific strategy that will impact on your SEO.
SEO Myths
Before analyzing the benefits of SEO for your business, we need to look at what SEO isn’t. People who don’t grasp the fundamentals of SEO are liable to create these ‘myths,’ and you can make an educated guess that people who repeat them have a lack of SEO experience and knowledge.
The greatest myth is that a high keyword density will spring you to the top of the results. While organic keywords are essential, it won’t help you achieve success by itself. After Google launched the BERT algorithm last year, search engines have become more discerning in the content that they place on SERPs. Keyword stuffing is an outdated method that will harm your ranking.
The second myth is that SEO is easy, and you’ll see fast results. In truth, SEO specialists will tell you that it takes at least six months to see proper results. It takes time to establish your site as an authority before you can reap the benefits of SEO for your business, for which you’ll need a continuous stream of successful content.
Finally, some believe that focusing on keywords with high search volumes is a quick win. While this tactic may temporarily aid you, you’ll struggle in the long-run when. There are many online contestants that jockey for the same keywords, so you should start focusing on long-form keyphrases with less competition to build up your ranking gradually.
Top 10 Benefits of SEO For Your Business
Now that you understand what an SEO is let’s look at how it can benefit your business. SEO may take some time to produce results, but there’s no doubt that it’s rewarding. If you have a competent team who knows their roles, there’s no reason you can’t achieve first page results.
Here are the top 10 key benefits of SEO for your business:
- Better Website Experience
- Increased Traffic
- Organic Search Ranking
- Beating The Competition
- Improved Conversion Rates
- Lower Advertising Costs
- Brand Authority
- Mobile User Experience
- Quality Content
- Building Relationships
Better Website Experience
The benefits of SEO for your business doesn’t merely relate to content and search results. Users will spend less time on sites that load slowly or lag as they scroll. They also turn away from websites that have confusing layouts where navigation is a nightmare.
A Clean interface loads quicker and reduces bounce rates, thereby ensuring that readers return, making your website more viable in the long run. While images are essential, you should keep the file size low so that it doesn’t cause the site to lag. With the help of SEO, you’ll provide an excellent user experience through a deftly crafted website.
Increased Traffic
The effect of giving a better user experience is that you’ll see an increase in views and customers. Your site benefits from increased traffic by satisfying user intentions on search engines. For this reason, many businesses claim that one of the benefits of SEO for your business is that it’s an invaluable marketing tool.
With all the increased traffic you’re seeing, you can now look at other marketing tactics, such as marketing banners and internal links to your services. You should remember that you need to continue creating content to retain your visitors.
Organic Search Ranking
There is an SEO life cycle that many people don’t know about. Using this approach can aid your desire to reach the coveted first-page ranking. When users see your post, they click on it and read the contents. Search engines evaluate how long readers spend on these pages, which they deem quality content.
We all know that as more readers access your article, the higher up the ranking it goes. But when combined with the length of time spent reading your articles, this feature ensures that not just popular but also quality content remains at the top of the search results.
Beating The Competition
If you’re only starting with researching the benefits of SEO for your business now, it may be hard for you to beat the competition in your SERP ranking. Some businesses have been in this game for years now, giving them an unassailable lead. Or so you thought.
The good news is that search engines don’t consider how long websites have been delivering posts. That’s the beauty of SEO. Google also loves fresh and relevant content. If your content has an excellent SEO score, you can topple results that have been there for months or even years.
Improved Conversion Rates
Conversion rates have different meanings for various businesses, depending on what actions they’d like the users to take. For some, it merely relates to website views. Other companies are looking for users to subscribe or buy a product.
Since one of the benefits of SEO for your business is increased traffic, you’ll have more significant opportunities to maximize your conversion rates. You might even receive more clicks on your affiliate links. It boils down to how you use your content and your site’s primary purpose.
Lower Advertising Costs
Have you ever spent a lot of funding on adverts and promos to discover that no one is interested? Paid marketing campaigns seldom show a return on investment unless you have a fantastic marketing team. Fortunately, SEO won’t cost you much, and you might even get away with paying nothing if you’re sharp enough.
However, the best SEO tools do come at a cost. If you compare it to the cost of advertising, though, it’s a minor trade-off. These benefits of SEO for your business means that the tool pays for itself with the amount of traffic appearing on your site.
Brand Authority
To grasp how significant front page search results are, you need to learn how readers think. If your posts appear near the top of the first results, the chances are that users will trust your information more than second or third-page results. Your brand instantly becomes an authority in the industry if it’s seen near the top of the list.
Brand awareness and user trust are essential when it comes to domain authority. Several factors determine a website’s domain score, one of which is consistently achieving high search results and meeting readers’ needs. Maintaining the reader’s trust is a responsibility you shouldn’t take lightly.
Mobile User Experience
Most users search for results on mobile phones these days. Whether they’re out at the store or watching television in bed, mobile device searches are supplanting desktop browsers at lightning speed. One of the benefits of SEO for your business is that it not only optimizes your website but also provides a better user experience for mobile devices.
Quality Content
Anyone can write posts. The difference between an average writer and an excellent one is the quality of the content. It doesn’t only refer to avoiding spelling mistakes; it looks at how you’re addressing the user’s queries and how long the reader stays on your site reading content.
The problem is that some websites simply churn information that you can find on other sites. Thankfully, search engines know how to find fresh, unique content and have begun omitting duplicate results. If you use the benefits of SEO for your business correctly, you’ll soon find your quality content appearing in the top results.
Building Relationships
Improved business relationships are a side-product of better brand awareness and increased traffic, indirectly resulting from benefits of SEO for your business. Your partners know they can trust your articles and reviews if your industry’s most familiar names surround your posts.
Final Thoughts
Developing SEO for your site can be a massive task. We firmly believe that it’s worth the return, though. Once you understand benefits of SEO for your business, it will become easier to implement.
