If you’ve ever searched for your business on Google or Bing and discovered that it was hard to find, you accidentally uncovered that your website’s SEO could use some work.
Over half of all website traffic comes from organic searches (i.e., someone typing for a “boutique near me” or “best coffee shops in Austin” looking for a business like yours). (Source)
Are you missing out on something if you aren’t prioritizing your website’s search potential? And if so, what exactly are you missing?
SEO (search engine optimization) is a marketing discipline focused on helping your customers find you through Google and other search engines. But is SEO still worth it for small businesses in 2024 and beyond? The answer is yes, but let’s talk about why.
What is SEO?
As we touched on, SEO stands for search engine optimization.
Search engines like Google use algorithms and bots to scan the entirety of the published internet for content. Their main value lies in their search results.
Let me explain.
If someone chooses to use Google, they have expectations.
They expect to type in a quick few words and instantly be given a relevant and direct answer to their query. To provide a good service to their customers, their entire business model is anchored around getting ever better at displaying the results their customers are after.
So how do they decide what should show up?
There are billions of websites and (likely…I haven’t counted) trillions of pages, making that a tall order.
To make it easier, they use proprietary automated markers to quickly determine which websites are best to show for each search query. SEO is the art of using those markers to your advantage.
Benefits of SEO for Small Businesses
Whether your business is brick-and-mortar or e-commerce, SEO offers something for everyone. Let’s talk about the benefits of SEO for small businesses.
One of the most obvious and direct benefits of SEO — additional website traffic.
This traffic is the start of a funnel that can cascade into a host of other benefits, including:
Brand Strength, Visibility, and Credibility
Think about the last thing you searched for online. It could be anything — “Can my dog eat blueberries?” “Coffee shop near me” or “Best things to do in New York.”
How far did you scroll until you were satisfied with the answer?
If we’re honest with ourselves, most of us don’t go very far. We rarely look beyond the first few results. (Source)
In doing so, we give those results an automatic air of trust. We rarely question what they say because, in the back of our minds, we know that Google (and other search engines) work hard behind the scenes. They make us feel like they’ve already done a lot of the vetting and due diligence we would otherwise consider doing ourselves.
That’s a lot of power.
What if your website was among the first few results? That rank is like a seal of approval from Google, which gives you and your brand an air of authority. Credibility. Both are invaluable for lead conversion.
Long-Term Marketing Strategy
SEO is a true long-term marketing strategy.
If you put out ads, in contrast, sure — you can get your website to rank higher — but the second you stop putting money into them, your visibility, reach, and results disappear.
SEO, in contrast, is something that builds and builds on itself over time. The longer you diligently keep at it, the more content, backlinks, keywords, referrals, etc. you’ll start to see. You’ll slowly build a traffic and lead generation machine that works (but more on that next).
More Leads
Every person who lands on a strategically designed website is a potential lead.
Integrating your SEO strategy with your lead generation tools (i.e., using additional tools like retargeting and email marketing) is an effective way to both generate leads and convert them into customers.
Better ROI
SEO has incredible ROI potential compared to other marketing initiatives.
The ROI of SEO is tricky to exact because it’s usually the first piece of a sales journey/funnel, not the whole thing (in many cases), but experts estimate anywhere from a 275% to a 1,220% ROI from SEO. (Source)
That puts SEO well above the average of most initiatives.
More Foot Traffic
If you run a small local business, you may wonder if SEO matters for you — or any brick-and-mortar business, for that matter.
On mobile devices (and desktop devices too, but more notably on mobile devices), searches for businesses “near me” have skyrocketed over the last few years. And over 50% of all “near me” searches will result in an in-store visit. (Source)
Could you imagine a 10–20% or more growth in foot traffic thanks to exposure like that?
Your customers are looking for businesses like yours every day. SEO is how you help them find you instead of a competitor.
Is SEO Worth it for Small Businesses?
We’ve now established that SEO works for small businesses, but is it worth it?
Absolutely.
Not only is SEO a standalone lead generation tool, but it also makes your other marketing initiatives more effective. Pair SEO with your strategies for:
- PPC
- Social media
- Lead gen
- In-person initiatives
- Etc.
For best results. You can:
- Repurpose content (like blog posts and website content on YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, email, etc.)
- Reinforce your brand with a unified message across channels
- Build an effective funnel that intermixes channels to determine whether a lead is cold or getting warmer
- And so much more.
Conventional SEO vs. Local SEO
Let’s talk about the difference between traditional and local SEO. Both play an important role in the overall effectiveness of your strategy.
Local SEO is the art of optimizing your website for local search results. Note: “local” doesn’t have to mean your local community. It can mean your community, city, county, state, or country.
It helps your website show up to those most relevant to your business — the most likely customers. If you operate a brick-and-mortar business in Austin, Texas, for example, you’ll want your content to show up most often for people in Austin. Or if you run an e-commerce store that can only ship nationally or within your state, it’s the same story.
Unlike conventional SEO, which uses broad keywords to target a wide audience online, local SEO uses location-specific keywords and metadata tags tied to certain geographic areas. You can create a lead-generation machine that lasts by expertly weaving the two strategies together.
How Long Does SEO Take?
SEO is a long-term strategy. This fact alone is one of the reasons small businesses avoid it. But the time will pass anyway, so why wait?
Depending on how well you focus on it, you can expect to start seeing results anywhere from 6 to 12 months from when you start.
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