We no longer do business the way we used to do a few decades before. The Internet brought the most groundbreaking change in the way we approached businesses. Thanks to the web the world of products and services are literally at the mercy of consumers search and commands. Businesses no longer can drive any tangible result by passing on its the shoulder with lofty words. The old time formula of beating one’s own drum is no more effective. The old promotions and ads have been replaced by contents that inform the audience and add value to their life.
It is this value creation through contents that make Google and other search engines rank the web pages one before the other. The entire strategy that contributes to the search engine results of a web page is called Search Engine Optimisation or SEO. A search page rank against a relevant keyword can give a business unprecedented mileage and the huge volume of traffic that further can be targeted for business conversion. In this respect, higher page rank on search results can help a business gain audience and business conversion that no other channels can achieve.
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SEO Foundations for Small Business Owners
All big and medium businesses and an increasing volume of small and local businesses are now taking positive steps to boost their web presence and search results to make a considerable gain in traffic as well as business conversion. But when it comes to small businesses, they often lack web presence or a consistent strategy to achieve search engine results. For many of these businesses who still do not know the potential of driving search engine results for their businesses, here we are going to explain and the reasons to invest in SEO.
1. Search engines make the web
A vast majority of searches and website visits principally occurs following a search in the search engine page. Naturally, without these search ranks, the web is nothing. One asks any question or put in the search box any query and the engine comes in an instant with most relevant results against every search term. It is the quickest and most reliable way to search any result. This unmatched ability to deliver relevant results made them the building block and ultimate foundation of the web. While millions of people worldwide search for all sorts of problems, queries, and answers across all topics and niches, how can a business abstain from it?
While hundreds of millions of people searching for their necessary products, services, people, contents, queries, answers and explanations on any imaginable topic, businesses target the popular search queries and search terms to make their websites and web pages feature in the search results. So, it is an utter waste of the opportunity if you do not target search engine rank in spite of having a website.
2. SEO helps you win competition
Your business may not win the competition when it comes to high budget media ads or may still fall short of your competitors when it comes to outdoor campaign, but with a small budget and lot of focused effort to make your web page rank higher on search rank, you can gain competitive advantage and end up doing better business. Various reports and surveys still indicate that a vast majority of small businesses are still unaware of the SEO advantage in beating the competition.
Nevertheless, this unawareness doesn't come without presenting a huge opportunity for businesses who take advantage of SEO to gain visibility for their brand and drive sales. While the majority of businesses in your niche is just trying to figure it out, it provides the opportunity to grab the attention of the audience on search ranks that still lack fierce competition across several niches.
3. Build credibility of a business
You have a beautiful website with easy to use interface, great features and quality contents on your business niche. That's great but not just enough to give your business any credibility unless your website or web page web every for search ranks by Google. A recent report by Mintel says that 70 percent of customers trust a company to buy or subscribe anything from them only after conducting a thorough research and we all know the search engine ranks is where they search upon when enquiring about a company or business offerings. So, can there be a better way to develop credibility and become trustworthy than by featuring into search results?
4. Local is equally global with SEO
When search ranks feature a local business alongside a global brand, the local on the virtue of its SEO effort steps into the global platform and thus enjoys exposure well beyond any geographic boundary. Moreover, with the global consumers focus on local specialities, any small and local business can now enjoy more engagement and popularity across locations. Thus, the SEO effort targeted to search ranks can help a business gain global attention and business opportunities beyond the boundaries. This also creates a level playing field for all businesses across the sizes and financial strengths.
5. Creating sustainable brand image and growth
The biggest advantage of SEO is the scope to create trust marks around a business brand. With quality contents, you can not only hit search ranks and build traffic but over time, can actually prove you to be an expert in that niche. Similarly, with high pitched reviews and ratings a business can gain trust marks that influence more customers and build a trustworthy brand image. The best part is, once you have built your brand image and achieved traffic as well as customer reach, it does not wane too quickly unless you take any drastic measure all of a sudden. Once you gained a good domain authority and began to hit search ranks, it will continue and allow you to reap benefits for years ahead.
The bottom line
The importance of SEO for search results is multifaceted. It gives a business a solid identity and the web every other benefit including sales and ROI just follows from there. Nevertheless, it needs consistent effort over months to gain a foothold. Such an effort is worth the troll since it can turn a brick and mortar store into a digital brand followed by millions.
