As a small business owner, confronted with the avalanche of new technology and sophisticated tools, you’re probably wondering what you can do to consolidate your online presence and reach more potential customers.
Especially if you launched your business years ago when people still used the yellow pages to look for the local businesses that could help them solve their needs, then you may see the advancements in online marketing with skepticism. After all, your trusted techniques, such as direct mail and outdoor advertising still get some clients through your doors. So, do you need to venture into the realm of digital marketing to grow your business?
Well, let’s look at some of the facts.
Google receives over 3.5 billion searches every day. Nearly 47% of the global population accessed the Internet in 2017, and that number is expected to grow to 54% by 2021. More and more consumers are performing online searches from their mobile devices rather than their desktop computers. Moreover, 50% of the users that performed local searches on their mobile devices visited the store within a day.
The numbers paint an accurate picture: we are living in a digital environment, and if you want your small business to survive, then you must learn how to adapt.
So, to answer your question: yes, SEO is paramount to the success of your business. Here’s how it can help you grow.
Captivate Prospects with a Flawless Experience
Here’s one thing that you must understand: SEO isn’t synonymous with Google. In fact, the purpose of search engine optimisation is to encourage businesses to optimise their web presence and provide the best user experience to their prospects. When you focus on SEO’s best practices, you create a clean and well-structured website filled with highly relevant and qualitative content.
That can only translate into more potential customers for you. It’s very simple: if your visitors are having a good time on your website, then they will engage with your content and are more likely to return for more. The more time people spend on your site, the higher your business will rank. And the higher your position in search results, the more people will find and click on your website.
Increase Website Traffic
SEO is one of the best ways to promote your business and drive organic traffic to your website. Not to mention, unlike social media marketing or pay-per-click advertising, it’s rather free. Sure, you will have to account for the time you need to invest in researching and creating quality content that your target audience will want to read. But, unlike paid advertising, where you stop generating leads the moment to stop pouring money, with a solid SEO strategy, you can generate traffic and leads for years to come.
Your Customer Reach Increases Significantly
Search engine optimisation is an excellent way to target and reach out to the prospects that are actively searching for the products or services your small business is offering. Make sure, however, that you optimise your website for local searches. After all, consumers want to find and access the products that are the closest to their location and that require the least amount of effort to get. If you’re a small bakery that sells cupcakes in Brooklyn but you target the entire New York area, then it’s very unlikely that people from Harlem will travel all the way to your neighborhood just to try your products.
Yes, SEO helps you reach people from all around the world. But, there’s no reason to promote your business to people in Canada, for example, if you don’t sell your products or services there.
Build Trust
When your site ranks at the top of search engine results, then prospects are more likely to give your small business a chance. That’s because they trust Google to provide them only with the best and most relevant solutions to their needs. As such, SEO can help you improve your credibility, build your reputation, and gain the trust of potential customers.
Conclusion
We could probably write an entire book about how SEO will help your business and why it’s an essential component of your marketing strategy. We’ve just scratched the surface of the benefits and opportunities search engine optimisation could bring. Not only that it’s a cost-effective way to advertise your brand, but it can also help you get qualified traffic to your website, manage your online reputation, build trust with your target audience, reach new markets, and compete with the big wolves.
If SEO is not part of your marketing plan yet, then now it’s time to take action. Get in touch with us at Australian Internet Advertising and let us take your small business to new heights.
