As a business owner, three letters you’ve almost certainly heard before are, “SEO.” What’s the big deal? Why is it so important? Well, the bottom line is that Search Engine Optimization drives organic traffic to your website and ultimately more customers to your business.

Companies with strong SEO practices have more effective, user-friendly websites resulting in higher rankings, putting them higher on a search engine’s results page. In fact, 84% of marketing professionals say they outsource all or part of their SEO implementation to specialists.

SEO takes a lot of time and expertise to manage, but in today’s market, successful businesses can’t afford to ignore it.

Keeping Up with the Competition

The goal of any business is to fill the needs and wants of their customers. That’s a given. But what is it that places you in a better position to satisfy those needs and wants than your competition? SEO ensures a stronger online presence, meaning that your customers see your website ahead of those of your competitors. Maintaining good SEO practices will also improve your rankings. By making your website easy to navigate and full of fresh, relevant content, you can increase your customers’ satisfaction with site interaction, leading to more purchases. Here are some stats that show just how important it is to give your business an edge.

• Brands and agencies in the USA invested $72.02 billion for SEO services in 2018 alone.
• 82% of marketers report the effectiveness of SEO is on the rise, with 42% stating it’s increasing significantly.
• 61% of marketers say improving SEO and growing organic presence is a top inbound marketing priority.
• The majority of businesses spend $5,000+ per month on SEO
• The first result alone for any given search gets an average of 20.5% of the clicks on the page, dropping to 13.32% for the second result and 13.14% for the third.

Location, Location, Location

With so many users constantly asking Google for information, it is so important to make sure that your business is easy to find both online and in person. Strong Local SEO strategies drive more customers to your business. Below are a few stats that put the necessity of SEO in perspective.

• 46% of all Google searches are looking for local information.
• 53% of Google users are searching for directions to a local store.
• 97% of people learn more about a local company online than anywhere else.
• 72% of consumers that did a local search visited a store within 5 miles.
• 78% of location-based mobile searches result in an offline purchase.
• Google “near me” searches increased by 500% from 2015 to 2017.
• 28% of local searches become purchases.
• Search result information will send 70% of consumers to a physical store.

Mobile Friendly

Now more than ever, search queries are coming from mobile devices. The number of mobile searches has been greater than desktop searches since 2015! Staying relevant on a mobile platform is a critical part of practicing good SEO. The content of your website should be the same across both desktop and mobile platforms to help your SEO ranking. Also, Google makes it a point to look at the speed of your mobile pages. The faster your mobile site, the better your ranking will be. The statistics below relate the value of SEO that caters to mobile devices.

• 9 out of 10 mobile searches result in the consumer taking action, with over half leading to purchase.
• 88% of searches for local businesses on a mobile device either call or visit the business within 24 hours.
• 61% of mobile searchers are more likely to contact a local business if they have a mobile-friendly site .
• By 2021, mobile devices will influence more than $1.4 trillion in local sales.
• 72% of computer or tablet users and 67% of smartphone users want ads that are customized to their city or zip code.
• Using location-based coupons on mobile can lead to a 9916% increase in incremental mobile revenue.

Step Up Your Content Game

Content has a lot to do with keeping your website highly visible. Search Engines specifically target sites that post regularly with relevant content for higher placement on their results pages. High-quality content and link building are the two most important signals used by Google to rank your website for search, according to Andrey Lipattsev, search quality senior strategist at Google. Because your ranking is so important, your website’s content directly impacts the success of your business.

• 72% of marketers say the single most effective SEO tactic is creating relevant content.
• B2B (business-to-business) marketers receive 67% more leads if they have a blog.
• Marketers who prioritize blogging are 13 times more likely to experience positive ROI.
• Business websites with blogs have 97% more inbound links, which ultimately helps SEO performance.
• For 57% of marketing professionals, on-page content development is effective for SEO.
• Adding a blog to your site will increase your chances of ranking on search engines by 434%.
• Refreshing old blog posts with new content and images can boost organic traffic by as much as 111%.
• 1 in 10 blog posts is compounding, meaning organic search increases their traffic over time.

Who to Trust?

The team at Red Shark Digital is continuously finding innovative ways to drive traffic for our clients using SEO in Raleigh, NC, as we connect their brands with more customers. Our optimization techniques increase visibility and improve the user experience of your website leading to higher rankings and overall sales. Let our professional and experienced team get you started today!

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