Consumers have been forced to make some changes to the way they shop for goods and services these last few years, and as a result an increasing number of people have been doing their shopping online. And why wouldn’t they? It’s certainly easy enough – they just need to type what they want into a search engine and they’ll often find what they’re looking for near the top.
It’s simple for the customers and great for those top-ranking businesses, but what about the others? What makes certain businesses rank higher than the rest? Three words: Search. Engine. Optimization.
Learn why SEO should be top of mind for your business below.
Organic Search is Often the #1 Source of Web Traffic
Organic search, or natural search, is a term used to describe unpaid search results. Instead of owners paying to get their site to the top of a search engine results page (SERP), organic search result rankings rely on factors such as relevance to the search term, which is a key consideration when it comes to SEO.
Since organic search results account for nearly 53% of online traffic, it’s important that you’re ranking well on SERPs. The higher you are, the more likely you’ll increase traffic to your website – in fact, the #1 Google search result has an average click through rate of almost 32%.
SEO is the best way to increase your organic search rankings, and it needs to be a priority for your business if you’re looking to succeed in a crowded online marketplace. If it’s not, you’re almost certainly losing out on customers and sales.
Build Trust and Credibility
Think about it for a minute – when you search for something on Google, are you more likely to trust the high-ranking websites with lots of good reviews or the low-ranking ones with few and/or poor reviews?
Is this even a question? Of course you’re going to go with the first option! In fact, around 87% of consumers pay attention to online reviews, and only 48% of them will use a business with less than a 4 star rating. Simply put, consumers tend to put more trust in the websites and businesses with high rankings and positive reviews, and your SEO efforts can help you get there.
Get an Edge Over the Competition
According to one study, around 81% of consumers like to do online research before making a purchase, so it’s important that they’re able to find your business on those SERPs. That being said, if you haven’t been incorporating SEO tactics into your website, then this research may lead them to your competition before you even had a chance to make an impression. Why would they continue looking for something if your competitor already provided them with exactly what they needed?
If your competitors are outranking you on SERPs, even for something like research-related inquiries, there’s a good chance that they’ve been making SEO a priority. So, unless you want your business to get left behind, you may want to consider doing the same.
