You may wonder why you as a small business owner should be concerned with search engine optimisation.
Well, the answer is two-fold:
1. You want to provide visitors to your website with a brilliant user experience that will mean they are able and more likely to return and spread the word to others about you.
And…
2. You want to give search engines such as Google and Bing critical information that will place your website on the first place of Google
Here are the top reasons to invest in SEO as a small business.
1. Optimal user experience
SEO is ultimately all about providing the user with the fastest, friendliest and overall best experience possible. Search engines like Google have one top aim; to provide the user with what they are looking for. If they can do this, then both sides are happy and a happy visitor will naturally become a returning profitable customer. Optimising your site with SEO makes sure Google knows how to link you with your target customer.
2. Optimal reach
People unconsciously trust Google results. Consider this, if Google places John’s Donuts in the top spot of a search, then naturally we think it must have earned that spot, so it must be pretty good. The visitor then tells all their friends on social media that they’re going for coffee and a doughnut at John’s and invites them with the link to click. Before you know it, a bunch of teens have turned up to Johns doughnuts. Why? In a nutshell, because they searched for the best place to eat in your location, the search engine matched everything and it all pointed to John’s Donuts.
3. Optimal insight into your audience
If your website is properly optimised, it will naturally increase your credibility, usability and search engine visibility which will all increase the amount of traffic to your website. Once you’ve got a higher number of visitors, Google Analytics can track and use valuable information about your visitors to help you. They can find out what browser they use, what technology, their location, what key words they have searched for etc. All this information will help you recognise your target market if you haven’t already locked them in and shape any future advertising and marketing strategies. The better you know your customers, the better service and products you can provide and the better the returns.
Content will always be king. But if we use it in addition to other marketing tools, SEO can provide traffic, visibility, credibility and allow you to gain valuable insight into customer behaviour. It is possible for your small business to make it onto the first page of Google or Bing!
