Old school marketing involved pushing your brand onto unsuspecting consumers in the hopes that it would convince them to buy from you.

The age of online searches has turned marketing on its head, and SEO gives you the opportunity to be in front of customers that are actively looking for your products or services.

But the new era also demands that businesses provide value in order to build the trust required to turn a potential customer into a loyal brand advocate.

Want to get high-quality leads, save money on advertising and gain a competitive edge? Then read on to discover seven key reasons your business needs SEO in 2019 and beyond.

 

1. Get high-quality, ready to buy leads

 

Good SEO will get you ‘ready to buy’ customers because 93% of people use a search engine like Google to research products or services they’re interested in buying. If someone is searching for you product or service on Google, they are already in search mode. This means the only thing left to do is for them to make an evaluation, and purchase!

But it’s not enough to simply show up in searches. You have to be on the first page of the search results because 75% of people don’t look any further than that.

That means the businesses with the best SEO content will get the most high-quality leads, which they can then convert to customers. In other words, SEO will get you new business.

Our customers say that the leads they get from their SEO efforts have a much higher conversion rate than other leads. In fact, SEO leads are 10x more likely to convert.

2. Build trust and authority

 

The reason why people don’t scroll past the first page of search results is that they assume the top ranking websites are the most trustworthy businesses.

That trust is amplified the more relevant keywords you rank for. If your business ranks at the top every time people search for something they’re interested in, chances are they’ll buy from you.

Google wants to provide its users with valuable content that answers their questions. The more value you can provide, the higher you will rank and the more business you will get.

In other words, the value you provide makes people trust you, which in turn leads them to buy from you. People will only buy from businesses they can trust to be thought-leaders.

3. Save money on advertising

 

Pay-per-click campaigns on search engines and social media platforms are still very popular and can help you generate leads. But it’s can also be a costly affair due to the competition.

SEO is a much more cost-effective way of advertising yourself. You’ll also be competing with fewer businesses because anyone can pay for ads, but not anyone can rank on the front page.

You can also use your SEO content to market yourself on social media. While each platform will charge you separately for running paid ads, you can post your content on them at no cost.

That said, SEO isn’t free — it’ll take time and resources to create high-quality content. But whereas paid ads only work as long as you keep paying, quality content lasts forever.

 

4. Get measurable results

 

Pay Per Click ads are not the only way to gain insights into your website visitors. SEO provides ample opportunity to understand your target market better.

In fact, SEO is one of the most measurable forms of marketing. That also means you can quickly and easily find out whether or not you’re making a positive ROI.

Here are some of the insights you can gain from SEO analyses:

  • Conversion rate
  • Time on page
  • Pages per visit
  • Bounce rate
  • Scroll depth
  • Search traffic

Here are three free tools you can use to see how well your SEO works:

Want more? Check out this list of 25 free SEO tools you can use to optimize your site.

5. Gain a competitive edge

 

Big businesses have huge marketing budgets that smaller businesses often can’t compete with. But the playing field is more even with SEO because there are no paid ads involved.

SEO can give small businesses a competitive edge against the corporate behemoths by optimising their website and publishing quality content that people want to read.

That said, SEO is also a competitive arena. You may rank at the top for certain keywords, but watch out for competitors who publish similar content to take the top spot from you.

Want more? Read this comprehensive guide on how to create quality SEO content.

 

6. Build a long-term strategy

 

A third of new SMEs fail in their first two years of business, and one of the major reasons is that too many business owners simply don’t understand the importance of an online presence.

Don’t be one of them.

Make it one of your top priorities to demonstrate your expertise as a business professional by creating quality SEO content that people love and share with their friends.

Use your content to build a long-term strategy for a business that will exist for years to come. You’ll be surprised how much value good content can bring to your business.

Just look at how these companies have done it:

Want more? Check out this list of companies killing it with quality content.

7. Avoid being penalized

 

Finally, you should prioritize SEO for your business to avoid being penalized by search engines like Google (just make sure you are always dealing with white-hat SEO). They constantly update their algorithms, and you can’t afford to fall behind.

Google uses different indicators, such as your social media engagements, to help them decide how high your business should rank in their search results.

SEO content not only helps you build trust with potential customers, but it’s also a piece of a larger puzzle that determines how often you’ll be found online.

Want more? Read about the SEO mistakes that will land you on Google’s naughty list.

 

Ready to SEO your site?

 

You now have seven solid reasons your business needs SEO. Not only will it get you more business, but it will also save you money and position you as a thought leader in your field.

Feel free to share your thoughts with us in the comments section below, or drop us a message for a completely free of charge SEO audit from us.