What is SEO?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation. It is the process of improving the quality and quantity of traffic to a website. SEO works to target organic traffic rather than direct or paid traffic. Common SEO practices include focusing on relevant content, keywords, backlinks, site health and meta descriptions. This will help to make your website more visible on the SERP (search engine results page). Higher visibility translates to more website traffic and more opportunities to convert potential customers.
SEO isn’t just about search engines… It is about understanding people and what they are searching for. Knowing which words they use, which answers they search for and the type of content which engages them most is key to connecting with them. Once the audience intent has been decided, content must then be delivered in a way which search engine crawlers can easily navigate.
Why is SEO Important?
Visibility and Rankings
The main benefit of investing in SEO is increasing the visibility of your website by making it rank higher on the SERP. The more effective your SEO efforts, the higher your website will rank. Surprisingly, 85% of users never click past the first page of results, so it is beneficial to try and rank on page 1 for your targeted keywords. Considering that 33% of clicks go to the highest-ranking page, it is clear to see how working on your SEO can drive significantly more traffic to your website.
Authority
Internet users trust search engines, therefore achieving a high position in the SERP shows that your site is a credible source. Authority and SEO go hand-in-hand; the more trustworthy, high quality and relevant your website is, the higher it will rank in the SERP. Equally, when a website ranks higher on the SERP, users deem it to be more authoritative, credible and reliable. Therefore, the more overall authority that your site has, the more prospects come to your website through organic rankings.
Improves User Experience
Good SEO practices will work to improve the user experience of a website. Search engine algorithms are placing increasing importance on usability because they don’t want to recommend poorly designed sites that are difficult to use. Ensuring that your site is responsively designed to create a seamless experience for both mobile and desktop users will help to increase rankings. Similarly, increasing your page load speed will boost your position on the SERP by reducing your bounce rate and encouraging visitors to stay for longer on your website.
Customers know what they want, and if they can’t find it, they will become frustrated and leave the website. The same goes for search engine crawlers; if they cannot easily crawl and index your webpage it will receive a low ranking on the SERP.
Return On Investment
Whilst SEO doesn’t boast the same easy-to-calculate ROI as paid search, there are several metrics that you can track to demonstrate the efficacity of an SEO campaign. Tracking SERP positions, organic traffic and click-through rate are very useful to measure success. These metrics would all indicate that the SEO efforts have led to increased visibility. Equally, effective SEO will lead to a reduction in bounce rate and an increase in conversion rates which can be tracked and compared to previous periods.
Business Growth
In conclusion, SEO is a fundamental part of any digital marketing strategy. It will help you to achieve your business goals whilst giving you an edge over your competitors by driving more clicks to your website instead of theirs. Paired with a seamless user experience and engaging content, you will see a significant increase in conversion rate. This means more revenue, more loyal customers and more progression for your business.
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Investing in SEO may not feel like a marketing priority, but if you want to ensure you are ranking high on the search results page, the investment is sure to be worthwhile. If you would like to discuss your SEO requirements, please get in touch. XIST2 are an Oxford based marketing agency offering technical SEO services. We would be really happy to discuss what may work for you and your business. Email at info@xist2.com or call us on 01993 835 117.
