In today's digital world, the Internet is the fastest and most efficient way to get the information that you want. The Internet is an encyclopedia of unlimited information. According to estimates, more than 8.5 billion searches are made on Google daily. Google is the most popular search engine, and consumers frequently rely on Google to get relevant information in response to their search queries.
Whether you are searching for the nearest vet or looking for the latest mobile phones, Google has an answer for everything. Almost all businesses have a digital presence now. The digital world of the Internet provides an excellent opportunity for businesses to connect with customers, and for customers to find their desired products or services quickly.
All businesses want to attract potential clients in the digital world or in real time. When customers type in a search query, the search engine displays multiple results relevant to that query. According to research, 75% of customers only view the results displayed on the first page of the search engine.
Hence, your business website should rank at the top of search results if you want to attract potential customers. Websites that do not rank in the top searches miss out on potential customers, valuable traffic, and leads.
You need a robust search engine optimization (SEO) strategy to improve your business' ranking. It directs valuable traffic to your business in response to users' search queries. Without an effective SEO strategy, your website's ranking will drop, and will become less visible and accessible to online users.
First, to understand the importance of an SEO strategy for your website's ranking, let us learn what constitutes an effective SEO strategy.
An Introduction to SEO
- SEO is an essential digital marketing tool that improves the ranking of web pages in organic search results. SEO comprises a set of practices aimed at improving the quality and quantity of traffic directed from search engines to a website or web page. Unlike paid marketing strategies, SEO drives organic and unpaid traffic to relevant websites.
To direct relevant traffic, SEO considers those keywords and phrases commonly used by the target audience when searching for a product or service.
What Are The Goals of SEO?
- SEO improves the ranking of a website by increasing its visibility on search engine result pages, and making it more accessible to consumers. Visibility and rankings are directly related, and they both serve the same purpose: making it easier for your prospects to find you.
Research shows that only a quarter of internet users go past the first page of the SERPs. Furthermore, research indicates that the website which occupies the first spot on the SERP receives 32% of the total clicks from users, and if your Google ranking improves by just one spot, the click-through rate (CTR) can increase by 30.8%.
- Therefore, by improving the visibility of your website, you are directing more targeted traffic toward your site. To gain maximum online traffic, it is essential for your website to rank on the first page of the search engine.
What is An SEO Strategy?
- SEO strategy is a series of actions intended to improve a website's search engine ranking in order to capture and drive targeted traffic toward the website. It can also be defined as optimizing a website's content to increase the likelihood of its appearance in search results, and maximize the opportunity to gain organic traffic from search engines.
SEO strategy helps you stay on track and keeps you in the right direction while creating content. By following an effective SEO strategy, you create content that matches users' search intent and maximizes their search experience.
- To formulate an effective SEO strategy, all foundational pillars of SEO, i.e., technical SEO, on-page and off-page SEO, content strategy, user experience, and link building, must be considered.
An effective SEO strategy ensures that your website gets a higher ranking in search engine results. With an SEO strategy, the rankings will stay high, which directly impacts the site's visibility, traffic, and sales.
- Therefore, the importance of an effective SEO strategy for maintaining and improving the ranking of your website cannot be overstated. Below are some ways SEO strategy helps your website stay on top and increase sales.
1) SEO Strategy Helps Customers Find Your Website
- For every search query a user makes on the Internet, search engines find relevant information that matches the search intent. SEO improves the visibility of your website and helps customers find your business in response to their queries.
Statistics show that 62% of consumers rely on the Internet to learn about any business or product. They prefer using the Internet to find relevant and reliable information rather than using other means. Hence, the opportunity it provides for companies to connect with customers and improve their sales is immense.
- A user will only click on your website when it is ranked on the first page of the search results. SEO ensures that your website gets a higher ranking and is presented to users during their online research process. SEO ranks your website for keywords related to your business's products or services.
SEO strategy improves your online presence and helps your website stand out, making it more accessible to customers.
2) It Presents Your Website As A Credible and Authentic Source of Information
- Customers are more likely to buy your product if they find your business genuine and authentic. Over the years, the customer journey for online companies has undergone some changes. Each user who visits your website will only be inclined to buy your product after a period of time. Nowadays, users spend considerable time researching the product and industry before purchasing it, and the internet offers unlimited access to information.
You can attract potential customers by offering informative and valuable content on your website, which users will find helpful during their online research process. And by optimizing your websites for search engines, you improve the visibility of your website, making it easy for users to find you.
The online customer journey comprises the following steps:
When a user is looking for some information, they will type in specific relevant keywords or phrases. If your website is SEO optimized, the user will find your website and click on it.
- If your website contains relevant and informative content in the form of blogs or FAQs, the user will get the desired information. If they like your website's information, they might subscribe to your newsletter, or share it with their friends.
- Over time, the user will visit your website several times to look for valuable content. Recurrent visits to your website indicate that the user finds your website an authentic and credible source of information.
- It is possible that the user will not take any positive action, such as buying your product, for some while. However, when they are ready to make a purchase, your brand will be their first choice because you have fostered a strong relationship with the user, and have established your brand as reliable and authentic.
Therefore, when you combine content marketing efforts with an effective SEO strategy, you can enhance the credibility and authenticity of your website.
3) SEO Strategy Gives You An Edge Over Competitors
- It is estimated that approximately 1.7 billion websites exist, and 576,000 new websites are added to the Internet daily. For every industry, thousands of businesses offer the same product or service. In addition, almost all businesses have a digital presence these days. Hence, your website should stand out from the competition if you want to attract and retain customers.
An effective SEO strategy improves your website's ranking and enhances its visibility. By doing so, your business rises above its competitors. To understand the importance of higher rankings in the search results, consider the following statistics:
- The website that appears as the first result on a search page, receives an average of 30% clicks.
- The second result gets 13.32% clicks, while the third gets 13.14%.
All businesses belonging to the same industry compete for the exact keywords. When your website increases within the search engine results, it will receive more clicks for the target keywords compared to your competitors. Therefore, with an effective SEO strategy, you will gain a more significant market share.
4) SEO Strategy Improves User Experience
- Previously, most businesses focused on adding relevant keywords and backlinks to improve their search engine rankings. However, nowadays, businesses also aim to make their website user-friendly, and to deliver a fantastic user experience whenever a customer visits their site.
Technical factors, such as mobile-friendly interface, usability, and site speed, account for enhanced user experience. Google wants to deliver the best possible results for its users, which is why its updated algorithms focus not only on the content's quality and relevancy, but also on the user experience that the website offers.
- In other words, Google ranks user-friendly websites higher than others. An effective SEO strategy considers the different aspects of user experience and continuously tries to deliver an improved user experience.
User-friendly websites not only rank higher on the search result pages but deliver more successful sales, as well.
5) SEO Strategy Enhances User Engagement Rates
- User engagement rates determine the number of potential customers interacting with your website or content. With the right SEO strategy, your website will gain quality traffic that is relevant to the content offered by your website. When the content matches the user's search intent, they will spend more time browsing your website.
Increased time on site, also known as session duration, leads to higher conversions, and increased ROI. In addition, users who enjoy browsing your website remain loyal to your brand, leading to higher retention rates.
- To improve your user engagement rates, your should offer a mobile-friendly interface and optimize your website for title and meta tags.
6) SEO Strategy Maximizes The Impact of PPC Campaigns
- SEO is an unpaid marketing strategy that optimizes the website to increase organic traffic, whereas PPC is a paid marketing strategy. Both strategies aim to help your site appear at the top of search result pages; however, the route they take is different.
When SEO is combined with PPC, your website ranks on top of the SERPs, both organically and through paid marketing. When viewers see your website organically ranking on the top, it boosts your brand's credibility. It also sends the message that Google approves of your website, and that your higher rankings are not a result of paid advertising only.
- By combining SEO with PPC, you double the likelihood of attracting targeted traffic for your website.
7) Local SEO Brings In More Targeted Traffic and Leads to Higher Conversions
Local optimizations are made for specific neighborhoods, towns, cities, and regions, and it targets the population of a particular area that lies in the vicinity of your business. Through Local SEO, your website's visibility improves for the local population. Hence, it brings highly relevant traffic to your website, and the users are ready to make a sale.
- Most local searches, such as 'Chinese restaurants near me', are conducted on mobile phones. By optimizing your website for mobile, you can receive highly targeted web traffic, which leads to improved conversion rates.
We have listed some of the essential ways an effective SEO strategy improves the ranking of a website, enhances user engagement, and leads to higher conversions, resulting in increased revenue. Implementing an effective SEO strategy is a surefire way to achieve your business goals.