Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has become an incredibly important tool for digital marketers in recent years. When done correctly, it can help your website to rank high on search engine results pages (SERPs) and even appear on the first page of search results.
For businesses to be successful with their digital marketing efforts, SEO must be considered. But why is SEO so important and what are the crucial elements you need to consider? In this post, we’ll take a closer look at the important role of SEO in digital marketing and give you more of an understanding of how SEO works.
Why is SEO important?
While PPC, social media, and blogs are great for driving traffic to websites, almost all online traffic is driven through search engines. Think about it, how many times have you thought about something to go and google it first?
According to statistics, only 3% of all searches in the US result in clicks on paid advertisements, while organic search results receive 20x more traffic than PPC as they are seen as more credible so receive more clicks.
SEO is one of the only digital marketing strategies that, when implemented correctly by an SEO consultant, can seriously pay off over time. If you create an engaging piece of content that ranks highly for a set of keywords, traffic to your site can rack up over time, whereas advertising needs continuous funding to direct visitors to your site.
The crucial elements of SEO
SEO requirements change regularly, and it can be difficult to stay up to date with the latest changes. But if you want your website to crawl up the rankings, you must be in the know. Websites that are optimized for search engines gain more traffic over time, and this can lead to an increase in leads and sales.
If you are unsure where, to begin with, your SEO services and need expert advice, a freelance SEO consultant could help.
Without SEO, people won’t be able to find your site, and your business may as well not exist. Below are some crucial elements of your SEO strategy to consider.
Content is king and is one of the most important parts of a good SEO strategy. Creating high-quality content that has essential information for the customer is incredibly important. Search engines want to rank high-quality content at the top of results pages as they provide users with a better experience so next time you’re planning content for your website, make sure it provides essential, useful information for customers as this helps to establish your site as authoritative and build trust.
Local SEO
If your business has a local customer or client base, then you should spend time investing in local SEO. In fact, 45% of all Google searches are for local businesses. Think about every time you’ve googled a restaurant or tradesperson. The majority of the time you’ve been looking for something local to you – and that’s why local SEO is so important.
Leads from local searchers are more likely to convert, as people are searching for what you offer. The more information you have about your business available online, the more trustworthy you are to new customers.
Putting together a robust and comprehensive local SEO strategy as part of your digital marketing plan can pay dividends. But if you’re unsure where to start, it’s a great idea to contact an experienced SEO consultant who can help get you started.
Technical SEO
Technical SEO is something you want to prioritize as part of your SEO strategy. While we can’t possibly list every technical SEO element here, there are some key things you can do to boost your website’s performance and stand the best chance of ranking higher on search engine results pages.
Firstly, you want to ensure that your website is optimized for mobile. Since more people are browsing the web via their smartphones, search engines tend to prioritize websites that are mobile-friendly.
Website speed is also incredibly important. Pages that take longer to load tend to have higher bounce rates and lower time spent on page, this can negatively affect conversions and your ranking on Google. Google wants to prioritize pages that give their users useful information and offer a good user experience. If a user leaves a page after 2-3 seconds, this implies to Google they’re having a bad user experience and will negatively affect your ranking.
Off-Page SEO
Off-page optimization is another important factor in helping your page to rank highly on SERPs and is the process of off-page techniques to help improve search engine rankings. Off-page SEO is often used with link building to help your site prove its trustworthiness, relevance, and authority. Without a good off-page strategy in place, your website may continue to rank below your competitors.
The role of SEO in digital marketing is incredibly important and can’t be overlooked. Without a proper SEO strategy, a website’s visibility on search engine pages will suffer, leading to lower traffic and fewer conversions. To improve the ranking on Google, mastering the role of SEO in digital marketing is crucial.
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