Google is a search engine that sees billions of searches every day.<\/p>\n
Many of those search queries represent potential buyers. And if your brand is represented well in the search results, it\u2019s a huge business opportunity.<\/p>\n
In this article, we\u2019ll go over the importance of SEO and what benefits you can expect.<\/p>\n
But let\u2019s start with the basics.<\/p>\n
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of optimizing a website’s content, structure, and overall online presence to improve its visibility and ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs).<\/p>\n
It involves techniques like keyword research, on-page optimization, link building, and\u00a0technical SEO<\/a>\u00a0(more on those later) to make the website appealing to both search engines and users.<\/p>\n Businesses engage in SEO to get found and capture demand. Which can increase website traffic, drive conversions, and increase sales.<\/p>\n Note: There are numerous search engines, but we\u2019ll be focusing on Google throughout this article.<\/p>\n SEO is important for businesses because it helps you attain visibility for search queries organically. This helps you earn rankings rather than having to pay for them with\u00a0pay-per-click (PPC) ads<\/a>.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s an example of a SERP with both paid and organic results:<\/p>\n Ranking well in search results for queries related to your content, products, or services can increase your website traffic. This can translate into revenue if you convert prospects into customers. And often at a lower cost than if you were using paid Google search ads.<\/p>\n But SEO\u2019s importance to a business can vary.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re launching a new product, SEO might not work fast enough to have a meaningful effect. And paid advertising or PR campaigns may be a better fit.<\/p>\n The same may apply for events like conferences or limited-time courses, where email marketing may be a better fit due to the short-term nature of the product or service.<\/p>\n And many B2B service businesses can achieve faster results by connecting through LinkedIn or conducting one-on-one sales than with SEO (though SEO can still be worthwhile over the long term).<\/p>\n But the practices that go into SEO are beneficial for any business. To help you gain visibility and put you in front of more potential customers.<\/p>\n Building SEO programs involves essential components, like keyword research, content creation, website development and design, and link building.<\/p>\n But before we get into those details, it’s a good idea to briefly cover how Google search works.<\/p>\n The basics are simple to understand: Google wants to deliver relevant results to searchers.<\/p>\n And it does that by crawling websites, indexing pages, and then serving the best results to searchers.<\/p>\n Google offers their own guide<\/a>\u00a0to how search works that includes five factors:<\/p>\n You\u2019ll be able to touch on each of these by focusing on all the core elements of SEO: keyword research and planning, content development and on-page SEO, off-page SEO, technical SEO, and local SEO.<\/p>\n Keyword research is the process of researching, identifying, and prioritizing search terms with the goal of creating content that ranks for those search terms.<\/p>\n For example, a business that creates artificial intelligence software for content creators would benefit from appearing for search queries related to \u201cAI content.\u201d<\/p>\n Keyword research is how the business identifies potential keywords and evaluates their search volume (the estimated number of searches per month) and other search metrics like Keyword Difficulty (a score that estimates how difficult it would be to rank in the top 10 results for that keyword).<\/p>\n Keyword Magic Tool<\/a>\u00a0is an easy way to get started.<\/p>\n For an artificial intelligence software, we could simply start with the seed phrase \u201cai content.\u201d<\/p>\n The tool then gives us a list of related keywords.<\/p>\n To find more specific keywords that are relevant to your niche, consider using the suggested groups and subgroups in the column to the left.<\/p>\n Choosing a relevant term from those suggested groupings can help you find good keyword options that are more specific and likely easier to rank for.<\/p>\n Think of keyword research as the first part of content planning. It\u2019s the process of identifying topics that will then go into production.<\/p>\n SEO content development is the process of creating and optimizing content that answers search queries to help it rank for target keywords.<\/p>\n It can mean creating new content. Or it could be optimizing existing content. Sometimes, even just optimizing smaller\u00a0on-page SEO<\/a>\u00a0components like title tags, internal links, and content structure.<\/p>\n To have the best chances of ranking for a target keyword, you want to provide the best possible content in a structure that aligns with Google\u2019s ranking factors.<\/p>\n While it\u2019s difficult to determine exactly what \u201cthe best possible content\u201d means, our\u00a0SEO Writing Assistant<\/a>\u00a0can be useful.<\/p>\n To begin, click \u201c+ Analyze new text<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n Then, upload your draft and enter at least two target keywords.<\/p>\n And click, \u201cGet recommendations<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n Then, SEO Writing Assistant will score your content based on SEO, tone of voice, originality, and readability.<\/p>\n The tool will also give you suggestions based on each category to optimize your content.<\/p>\n Get Writing Recommendations<\/p>\n with the SEO Writing Assistant<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Off-page SEO<\/a>\u00a0refers to actions taken off of your website to improve website rankings and organic traffic.<\/p>\n Largely, this means link building and backlink management.<\/p>\n Backlinks are links on other websites that direct to your website. Google\u2019s algorithm considers backlinks in its\u00a0ranking factors<\/a>, so your backlink profile matters.<\/p>\n Building high-quality backlinks can be done in many ways: guest blogging, digital public relations, creating quality content that collects natural backlinks, and more.<\/p>\n A great way to monitor your backlink profile is with our\u00a0Backlink Analytics<\/a>\u00a0tool.<\/p>\n Just enter your domain and click \u201cAnalyze<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n You\u2019ll then see an overview of your backlink profile. With information about how many domains refer to you, and your Authority Score (a metric that evaluates a domain\u2019s overall quality and SEO performance).<\/p>\n If you set up a Backlink Audit project, you can see your Toxicity Score (a measure of how healthy your backlink profile is \u2014 of importance as your backlink profile grows).<\/p>\n Click the \u201cBacklinks<\/strong>\u201d tab to see a list of your backlinks and information about each.<\/p>\n To see any backlinks you used to have but no longer do, select the \u201cLost<\/strong>\u201d tab.<\/p>\n You might want to reach out to these domains to reclaim those backlinks.<\/p>\n Technical SEO<\/a>\u00a0is a broad category relating to the technical infrastructure of your website and its relation to SEO.<\/p>\n Stated simply, there are factors other than content, keywords, and backlinks that lead to better rankings and more traffic. Like page speed, website user experience, and mobile-friendliness.<\/p>\n Common technical SEO tasks include:<\/p>\n Technical SEO ensures that your website can be crawled and indexed, is usable across devices, and is organized logically.<\/p>\n All of this promotes not only better SEO results, but also better website performance and more conversions.<\/p>\n Local SEO<\/a>\u00a0is about optimizing your website and related properties to increase local visibility and traffic.<\/p>\n While it doesn\u2019t apply to all businesses, it\u2019s extremely important for those that have a local focus or a physical location.<\/p>\n Local SEO includes several factors, including optimizing your\u00a0Google Business Profile<\/a>, adding local business schema, researching and targeting local keywords, NAP (name, address, and phone number) citations, and more.<\/p>\n The importance of search engine optimization for local businesses is unique. Your directory listings are important to your ability to be discovered, but monitoring them and making sure they\u2019re accurate and effective also helps drive motivated customers to your business.<\/p>\n Listing Management<\/a>\u00a0tool offers insights on local presence, including the total number of listings, listings to fix, average ratings, and total reviews.<\/p>\n Succeeding at local SEO includes website optimization, customer service, and review management. Which makes it a complex but crucial activity for local businesses.<\/p>\n Increase Your Visibility<\/p>\n with the Listing Management Tool<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Why is SEO important? Here are the 10 main benefits illustrating the importance of SEO:<\/p>\n Organic search is often one of the highest sources of traffic for companies. And sometimes,\u00a0SEO traffic<\/a>\u00a0is the primary source.<\/p>\n This chart from Google Analytics shows a website heavily invested in organic search traffic:<\/p>\n The sheer number of search queries relevant to your business every day is likely much higher than the number of clicks you can generate through channels like social media.<\/p>\n And it would take a substantial investment to reach that number of clicks through paid ads.<\/p>\n Focusing on organic search gives you the potential to attract even more traffic over time if you’re able to increase your rankings. Because (as our\u00a0State of Search report<\/a>\u00a0shows) there’s a clear correlation between high rankings and high click-through rates.<\/p>\n SEO is usually a more cost-effective way to drive traffic compared to channels like paid social.<\/p>\n Paid acquisition requires extensive spending for creative, design, copywriting, landing pages, and experimentation. Plus, the amount you have to pay to run the ads themselves.<\/p>\n With SEO, you have to spend on your website and on content production. But you don\u2019t have to buy an ad placement.<\/p>\n And when you start to see results from SEO, they can continue coming in. Even if you stop or reduce spending.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not true for ads. This chart from\u00a0Domain Overview<\/a>\u00a0shows just how volatile traffic from paid can be:<\/p>\n Companies that invest in SEO tend to maintain or grow their results over time, even with reduced effort. But paid channels require continued ad spend to remain competitive.<\/p>\n There\u2019s clearly a connection between PPC and SEO.<\/p>\n This could be because you simply occupy more real estate on SERPs.<\/p>\n For example, Monday.com bids on the keyword \u201cCRM for small business.\u201d<\/p>\n They also rank organically for the same keyword.<\/p>\n Occupying that much SERP real estate, they increase their chances of getting clicks to their site.<\/p>\n And the increased\u00a0brand visibility<\/a>\u00a0from being seen twice on the same page may also have a positive impact. Due to the\u00a0mere-exposure effect<\/a>, a phenomenon where people develop a preference for things because they\u2019re familiar.<\/p>\n Appearing in search results frequently creates the perception that your brand is a trusted and credible source of information.<\/p>\n Think of it this way:<\/p>\n The SERPs are like a highway. And the pages that rank are effectively billboards.<\/p>\n The more searches you appear for, the more brand awareness you\u2019ll begin to build. This brand awareness leads to a higher probability of someone choosing to do business with you over lesser known competitors.<\/p>\n Google also values experience and expertise. These are large components of\u00a0E-E-A-T<\/a>, search quality rater guidelines that stand for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.<\/p>\n You can connect with prospective customers multiple times throughout their journeys as their searches evolve over time.<\/p>\n Imagine a CMO figuring out next year\u2019s marketing strategy. They begin researching account-based marketing (ABM) by searching \u201cwhat is ABM?\u201d and \u201cABM examples.\u201d<\/p>\n Later on, they start comparing solutions with keywords like \u201cbest ABM platforms\u201d and \u201c[brand] reviews.\u201d<\/p>\n You can find these types of keywords that relevant audiences are searching for by doing keyword research. Or by seeing which keywords your competitors are targeting using\u00a0Keyword Gap<\/a>.<\/p>\n Open the tool and enter your domain and up to four competitors\u2019 domains. And click \u201cCompare<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n In the \u201cOverview\u201d report, scroll down to the table. And select \u201cMissing<\/strong>\u201d to see keywords your competitors rank for but you don\u2019t.<\/p>\n You can also filter by search intent, keyword difficulty, monthly search volume, and more to find good keyword opportunities at every stage.<\/p>\n By appearing in those searches, you can help move the customers making the searches toward your solution.<\/p>\n Compare Your Keywords with Competitors\u2019<\/p>\n with the Keyword Gap Tool<\/p>\n<\/div>\n SEO is one of the few truly scalably customer acquisition channels.<\/p>\n Think of SEO as a continuous cycle where your action (creating content) drives an output (rankings, traffic, and customer acquisition).<\/p>\n And the revenue from these efforts can be reinvested back into creating more content that generates more rankings, traffic, and customers.<\/p>\n This concept is known as a\u00a0growth loop<\/a>.<\/p>\n Scalable channels tend to generate incremental output that you can invest back into the channel.<\/p>\n For example, if you can invest $100 in paid ads and make $150, you can put the initial $100 back into the channel as well as the incremental $50. Which starts to compound.<\/p>\n SEO is the same way with one exceptional benefit: When you stop investing, the returns tend to continue (at least for a certain amount of time before algorithm changes or competition factor in).<\/p>\n SEO best practices (such as great website UX, high-quality content, and aligning with search intent) will help improve your general marketing performance.<\/p>\n If you just made a website with a great user experience and tons of helpful content, that would be beneficial even if you don\u2019t get organic traffic from search results.<\/p>\n And great content can improve conversions and lead to more sales, no matter where the traffic comes from.<\/p>\n This blog post, for example, may very well rank in search for a keyword like \u201cGoogle Analytics HIPAA.\u201d But it also makes for a great advertising campaign:<\/p>\n Optimizing for search means you’ll stay on top of trends and consumer behavior changes.<\/p>\n Because keyword research shows you rising and declining trends if you do it right.<\/p>\n For example, the keto diet seems to have peaked a few years ago based on data from Google Trends. And it\u2019s experienced a steady decline since 2019 (with a few spikes around the new year).<\/p>\n Or consider a rising trend nearly nonexistent a few years ago: generative AI.<\/p>\n Take a look at how that term has taken off recently:<\/p>\n The bottom line?<\/p>\n SEOs are on the front lines of consumer trends.<\/p>\n SEO results<\/a>\u00a0are easy to measure. So, you can gauge how you\u2019re performing and whether you need to make adjustments.<\/p>\n Using Google Analytics or an\u00a0alternative website analytics platform<\/a>, you can track organic traffic in relation to other channels. And you can attribute conversions to SEO and even to specific pages or blog posts.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the Importance of SEO for a Business?<\/h2>\n
The Main Elements of SEO<\/h2>\n
\n
Keyword Research and Planning<\/h3>\n
Content Development and On-Page SEO<\/h3>\n
Off-Page SEO<\/h3>\n
Technical SEO<\/h3>\n
\n
Local SEO<\/h3>\n
Why SEO Is Important: 10 Benefits<\/h2>\n
1. Organic Search Is a Good Source of Website Traffic<\/h3>\n
2. SEO Is Cost-Effective<\/h3>\n
3. SEO Complements Paid Marketing Efforts<\/h3>\n
4. SEO Builds Trust, Credibility, and Brand Recognition<\/h3>\n
5. SEO Connects You with Customers Throughout the Buyer\u2019s Journey<\/h3>\n
6. SEO Is a Scalable Growth Channel<\/h3>\n
7. SEO Best Practices Help Your Overall Marketing Performance<\/h3>\n
8. SEO Reflects Consumer Behavior Changes<\/h3>\n
9. SEO Results Are Quantifiable<\/h3>\n