Getting your business seen online is vital to its success. But, with thousands of other businesses all competing for visibility online, how does yours stand out from the crowd?
Over the past decade, the digital marketplace has grown exponentially. Whereas the sales process once began as soon as a customer answers the phone call, now that process starts as soon as a person comes online. More than 85% of consumers check online search engines to find the product/ service they’re looking for, it’s safe to say that consumer buying habits have changed forever, and so has the marketplace.
Just having a website is no longer enough, with more leads than ever being generated online, your business needs to act smarter and faster to pick up. This is where Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) comes in.
What is SEO?
SEO stands for “Search Engine Optimisation.” It is the process of getting traffic from the free, organic, editorial or natural search results on search engines.
All major search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo have primary search results, where web pages and other content such as videos or local listings are shown and ranked based on what the search engine considers most relevant to the users. Payment isn’t involved, as it is with paid search ads.
How does SEO get customers to your Business website?
1. SEO Leads to More Clients
Many small businesses, like consultants, can struggle to get clients. Improving your SEO allows your business to get found online, which increases traffic to your website and to your store, and helps you to get more clients.
2. SEO Facilitates Word of Mouth Marketing
SEO is an important part of referral marketing because people who hear about your company will want to look it up, but they won’t always remember the name. However, if they remember that it was a tailoring service in Colombo, they can type that into Google and find your business if you’ve done your SEO.
3. SEO Shows You Care About Your Business
SEO is a basic way to get your website found online and is extremely important for businesses without a storefront. Optimising your SEO shows that you care about your business and makes it easier for people to see that.
4. SEO Strengthen Your Business Reputation
Getting to the first page can give you a sense of accomplishment, but it does more than that. As a potential customer, you feel that you can trust companies that rank high in Google searches. If a customer can’t find a business on the first page of Google, we usually think there is something wrong with the business. SEO boosts your ranking in search engines, putting you at the top of the page and at the forefront of the minds of your target audience.
5. SEO Makes Other Businesses Take Notice
Customers aren’t the only ones who notice when you rank on the first page in Google searches. Competitors and other businesses do too. One of the basic marketing concepts for small businesses is being in someone’s mind or first in their Google search when they’re looking for a business like yours.
It’s easy to get referrals from customers who already know about your business. But there’s something better than that – Referrals from other businesses who have customers of their own! The bigger the referrer, the bigger the buzz about your business!
6. SEO Rewards Hard Work
You put a lot of work into your small business, especially in producing content. Get that content out there and amplify your marketing efforts through SEO! The better your SEO, the more traffic to your website and the more data you have to show for your hard work. It’s rewarding to see how your optimisation efforts are working.
