What Are The Benefits of Search Engine Optimization (Infographic)

Before we can define SEO, it is important to know that all major search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo have organic 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 users. Payment isn’t involved, as it is with paid search ads. If you’re like most people, you only click on the first couple of links searching for the best results. So it’s essential for a website to make it to the top in order to be successful and get traffic. But how does a website make it to the coveted top spot? Well, the answer is SEO.

What is SEO?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and it is basically a collection of tactics that help websites gain traffic from “organic” or un-paid search results on search engines based on a specific keyword search.  These tactics help you push your way to the top of the search engine results, where your potential customers are.  SEO requires an understanding of how people use search engines as well as how search engines determine the rankings on results pages.

SEO isn’t a one-trick pony that you “add to your website” once and can be done with. Its tactics include quality content creation, keyword research/management, frequent website updating, social media integration, frequent blogging, link building, local search optimization, and mobile search optimization.  The most important of these tactics is creating quality content which is about the theme, text on the page, and titles and descriptions that are given. This is so effective because search engines strive to make sure that their top results are the highest quality in what they have to offer visitors. Google in particular has been putting a huge focus on websites that provide a “high-quality user experience”. Most important for this is the presence of large amounts of high-quality content that is frequently updated and well-written. Besides this is a well-designed website with provides users with a great experience.  This focus on quality for Google is aimed to target the best websites more easily rather than just the websites that understand how to use manipulation to get to the top.

What Is The Benefit of Search Engine Optimization

The benefits of search engine optimization are numerous. It’s a great method to receive traffic, increase revenue and have your website be seen by millions of people. With SEO, you are able to create a strong online foundation upon which you can develop a recognizable brand. The more you learn about SEO, the better off your business will be.

Whether your goal is simply to become more visible on search engines or to turn search engine traffic into revenue, SEO can be your best tool for achieving success online.

A good SEO strategy will lead to good rankings and traffic to your website, which means more leads for your business. More importantly, it will increase brand awareness, online authority and trust among your customers.

Does your business need SEO?

The answer is YES! People don’t use phonebooks anymore, they Google search. Google now processes over 40,000 search queries every second on average which translates to over 3.5 billion searches per day and 1.2 trillion searches per year worldwide. These billions of people are going to click on the first couple of results that appear in the results list. Data shows that the website ranked number 1 on Google gets 56% of the clicks. Even further, 75% of users never even view the second page of results.  For you, this means that you are missing out on countless visitors every day that you are not using SEO because people are having a hard time finding you and will instead find your competitors. Furthermore, the competition among websites for the top positions in search results is fierce! This makes SEO even more necessary. SEO can make your brand stronger, better, and well-recognized. The eventual goal should be that, when people search for business critical and relevant keywords and phrases, they should find you at the top of search results. Then, psychology takes over and prospects will believe that you’re the best.

Do I need an SEO Company?

That depends. Do you have the resources in your business to dedicate a set of people to ensure that your website, blog, social, local listings etc. are up to par, optimized, and continuously improved? Do you have skilled people who keep up with the latest algorithm changes Google has launched and do they have the resources and knowledge to quickly react and adapt? If not, then consider a company that offers SEO as a service because they can carry out detailed market research and competitive analysis, find lucrative keywords, and help you to build content to pull in the qualified traffic that’ll help make you money.

If you need a reliable and experienced SEO partner, we’d love to help. Fill out the form and let us know what you need.

BIO: Cassi is a research guru and content crafter for the Marketing Zen Group. As a Psychology Major, she thrives on creating unique and insightful content about marketing, trends, finance, and fashion. In her spare time, she has a passion for music, reading, and psychology. You can connect with her on Twitter @kungfucassi.