What is the importance of SEO for small businesses?
To help small businesses understand the importance of SEO, we asked small business owners and SEO experts this question for their best insights. From capturing mobile searchers to boosting sales, there are several reasons why SEO is an important tool for small businesses looking to improve online visibility and increase conversions.
Here are 12 reasons why SEO is important for small businesses:
- Capture Mobile Searchers
- Build Expert, Authority, and Trust Online
- Boost Your Rankings and Gain More Traffic
- Gain Better Conversion Rates
- Acquire Low-cost, High-intent Traffic
- Provides Long-term ROI
- Brand Visibility
- Leads To Long-term Equity
- Drives Scalability
- Build Credibility With the Power of Reviews
- Create the Ultimate Website Experience
- Boost Sales
Capture Mobile Searchers
SEO is especially important for small businesses, particularly brick and mortar small businesses, because consumers often make decisions on the go. Mobile traffic accounts for at least half of all web traffic, and having a mobile-friendly UX is one component of SEO. Potential customers often make decisions about which businesses to visit when they’re already out. Typically, these leads do not want to spend too much time sifting through SERPs on a smartphone. Inhabiting the top spot on a targeted phrase can mean luring in more spur-of-the-moment visitors in addition to planned-in-advance visitors.
Michael Alexis, TeamBuilding
Build Expertise, Authority, and Trust Online
By using appropriate SEO strategies, you can optimize your digital footprint and build your brand expertise, authority, and trust. Many of our clients get the opportunity to share valuable small business insights on various online platforms. By doing so, they can increase their recognized authority on relevant subjects that are then published online. As our clients continue to expand their expertise, authority, and trust online, they can increase their overall domain rating for better search engine rankings. This ultimately improves the likelihood that online users will search, find, and click on our clients’ website before any other website on the search engine results page (SERP).
Rronniba Pemberton, Markitors
Boost Your Rankings and Gain More Traffic
SEO for small businesses is important because it helps boost your rankings in search results and gain more traffic, which could ultimately grow your business. SEO does not have to be expensive or difficult. It may seem daunting and cumbersome, but once you realize that it just takes some time and planning, it won’t seem so overwhelming.
Creating an SEO strategy for your small business should include several tactics like creating content that answers questions people are searching for on Google and other search engines, having a mobile-friendly website, and ensuring the backend of your website is functioning properly, just to name a few. It doesn’t have to be expensive if you have staff that can help maintain your site, but if you don’t, then you may need to hire outside help.
Sara Shah, Journ
Gain Better Conversion Rates
SEO-optimized websites load faster and are easy for users to read and surf. Mobile and tablet-friendly navigation is also paramount to capture and hold the attention of your users, converting your audience into loyal customers, subscribers, and returning visitors.
Stewart McGrenary, Freedom Mobiles
Acquire Low-Cost, High-Intent Traffic
SEO is important for small businesses because it is one of the most effective ways to increase website traffic and leads. By optimizing your website for search engines, you can make your business more visible to potential customers who are searching for your products or services online without having to pay for advertising.
Matthew Ramirez, Paraphrase
Provides Long-Term ROI
Small businesses need to invest in SEO because it’s a marketing channel with an incredible long-term ROI, if done right. By optimizing your website for search engines, you’ll make it easier for customers to find your business online. And the more people who visit your website, the more leads you’ll generate and the more sales you’ll make.
Claire Westbrook, LSAT Prep Hero
Brand Visibility
Blogging as a brand is an effective way to increase your domain rating for SEO. This allows companies to publish creative content and demonstrates how consumers can use their product or service in more ways than one. It also positions the business to answer questions from customers. Not only does it create more opportunity for your brand to rank in search results, but it also increases traffic to your website, which is the main objective of SEO. Focus on keywords that your target audience might be looking for in a search engine, and be sure to use those words as often as possible in your blog. For businesses looking to be seen in digital marketing, a blog is a must to reach the most consumers.
Dino Ha, Kaja Cosmetics
Leads To Long-Term Equity
Search engine optimization (SEO) has become an effective marketing strategy in the last 10 years as the virtual world continues to evolve. Not only is it more cost-effective than traditional advertising methods, but leads to long-term equity as the company expands. Businesses have created blogs that are SEO-driven, which allows marketing teams to track KPIs. They can effectively monitor traffic into conversions as well as organic visibility. SEO methods are constantly changing, but it continues to dominate the digital footprint of businesses.
Corey Ashton Walters, Here
Drives Scalability
SEO today drives scalability for a small business. Ranking highly for your relevant keywords on search engines determines whether or not potential customers see your business. Any businesses looking to scale up need to have an SEO strategy. It is the fastest and cheapest way to expand your marketing reach and can be used in tandem with PPC advertising to boost your Google rating on SERPs. Without SEO, you can grow your business through email lists, social media, and word of mouth, but no other strategy compares to organic SEO marketing.
James Shalhoub, Finn
Build Credibility With the Power of Reviews
Small businesses don’t benefit from the same credibility as every retail location opened by corporate giants –– they must build a name for themselves from scratch. SEO can help build small business credibility on a shoestring budget. By using Google My Business listings to your advantage and asking your customers to leave you Google Reviews, you can slowly boost your business to a better rating than even the biggest competitors in your area. Use your size to your advantage and offer a unique customer experience, gain a competitive edge, and with enough great feedback you’ll slowly rise up your local Google ranks.
John Li, Fig Loans
Create the Ultimate Website Experience
SEO will help boost your organic traffic, and since most measures aren’t related to website size, you can design a website experience for your small business that can compete with larger brands if you follow SEO best practices. Beyond the extra traffic drawing more chances to convert users into customers, your SEO efforts will also make your website better. Google and other search engines design their algorithms around creating the best user experience possible, so your SEO efforts like great-quality content creation, page performance improvements, search engine listings, and tying your websites to relevant keywords will help match the right users to your products and create the best experience for them possible.
Cliff Auerswald, All Reverse Mortgage
Boost Sales
It’s of vital importance for small businesses because it helps their websites rank higher on search engines. This can help raise brand awareness. It can also help generate sales. Increasing conversion rates is key for any business, so focusing on SEO is a great idea. It always pays off.
Shaun Price, MitoQ
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