If you’re like most other executives, the term “search engine optimization” means very little. Either that or it means expense! But the importance of online visibility and showing up in search engine result pages is much more than just marketing — it is critical to business strategy, a key in sharpening your competitive edge and formulating a strategy that drives the business visibility and growth necessary to dominate your industry. For that reason, here’s a quick overview of how to get your brand in front of as many customers as possible.
The Facts
- There are 100 billion searches per month on Google — that’s 33 million a day.
- Eighty-nine percent of consumers use search engines for purchase decisions, and 71 percent of business purchase decisions start with a search engine.
- Search leads have a 14.6 percent close rate, while outbound leads (such as direct mail or print advertising) have a 1.7 percent close rate.
- Eighteen percent of clicks on a search page go to the No. 1 position, 10 percent of organic clicks go to the No. 2 position, and 7 percent of organic clicks go to the No. 3 position.
Position Your Company at the Top with SEO and PTO
What is SEO? Search Engine Optimization. The process of improving the online visibility and ranking of your website in the organic search listing on search engines.
What is PTO? People Traffic Optimization (aka search intent). Effective search revolves around giving people what they want online, not just giving the search engines what they want. If people respect you online as an authority, and your content gives them valuable information about what they care about the most, your rankings will vastly improve, and they’ll turn to you when they are ready to buy.
What Matters Most — The Building Blocks
- Keywords: Choose keywords that have search volume and relatively low competition.
- Content: Write valuable content centered around your keywords.
- Technology: Build your website “correctly.”
- Links: Get links from other sites.
Things to Keep in Mind
- It doesn’t happen overnight. Optimization takes time, as it is a natural process. Find a partner with a deep client portfolio whose focus is on strategy, not on quick results and easy guarantees. If you do that, chances are you’ll find someone who can help put you ahead of your competitors, both online and off.
- Things change in this area — frequently. SEO isn’t something you can just set and forget. Google makes hundreds of changes to its algorithm each year, and if your company lacks the resources to stay on top of it, then it will prove ineffective or even damaging in the long run.
- ROI is very transparent, with proper analytics in place. Set up goals and define conversions, so they are reported in line with your business goals.
- Your competitors are deep in interactive optimization. Check for yourself who is displayed top on the search results page for your target keywords.
At the end of the day, search engine and people optimization is a continual, long-term strategy, not a project.
Still stumped on how to make SEO work for your company? Fill out our contact form, and one of our SEO experts would be happy to help!