"Is it still worthwhile to pay for SEO?"
This is a concern commonly asked by a lot of small and local businesses. Most people know about search engine optimization and the advantages it may provide. They are, however, questioning if SEO is still effective in light of all the new trends and digital advertising options.
What Is SEO (Search Engine Optimization)?
Making modifications to a web page to appear high on Google is known as SEO. The goal is to optimize your web presence so that when a customer browses for a term related to your company, they access your site and may contact you from there.
For instance, if you are a roofer in Washington and participate in a roofing SEO strategy, you will appear when a consumer puts in "best house roofer in my region."
As a result, you will be perceived as an expert, and potential clients will be more willing to contact you.
As previously said, SEO works by trying to rank your website first on Google. You must become the most valuable and dominant website for the search engine you're attempting to rate for. This is why you need a search engine marketing company to meet all of Google's requirements.
How Can SEO Help Your Company?
"Placing you first in Google," refers to two different ways Google can do this.
Search Engine Results
The top ten search results that appear beneath the top three paid ad listings are called "organic" results. They are called organic because they appear in one of these locations without you having to pay for them.
When searching Google, most people pass the sponsored ad results and go right to the organic search results; thus, appearing on one of the first pages in this section can gain traffic and visibility.
Maps by Google
If you have a specific presence and execute local SEO on your website, you have a strong chance of appearing in Google Maps. For local users, Google Maps is your organization's Google Business Profile. For example, this is essential when someone searches "painter near me," "painter in Washington," and so on.
Because there are only three results displayed here, you'll get a lot of traffic and attention. If you can enable your GBP account to show in this section, you can potentially get a lot of clicks.
Unlocking the Power of SEO for Your Small Business Growth
SEO can be quite advantageous to your company. Whatever type of business you have, the more people who come to your site, the more likely you will convert and sell. One of the goals of SEO is to have as much organic traffic to your website as possible. The more visitors you can bring in with this digital marketing strategy, the more money you can possibly make money.
Calculating the Unique Content
As an example, consider a roofing company in Washington. Assume you can rank first for the phrase "Washington roofer." Let's just say this term gets searched 160 times each month on Google. Multiply this by 12 months and you get 1,920 searches in a year.
Keep in mind, that Google's first organic result receives approximately 33% of all visitors from any given search term. Suppose your webpage has a low conversion rate of 2% and a new roof costs around $20,000. You're able to close one transaction out of seven leads which is 14%.
Let's analyze the return on investment (ROI) to see how valuable SEO is and whether it's worth it for these specific keywords.
Here's how we calculated it:
- The Value of SEO For This Phrase
- Organic Searches Per Year
- Percentage of Click Throughs to Your Website
- Percentage That Becomes A Lead
- Your Closing Rate
- Amount Per New Roof
- The worth of SEO for this phrase is $35,481!
Would You Consider SEO to be Worthwhile in this Case?
Not to mention all of the other search terms you may target and appear. Suppose you wanted to target ten keywords that were related. You make the calculations. By looking at the stats, you can immediately discover that SEO is worthwhile for your company.
Benefits of SEO
Now that we've established the importance of SEO for your company let's look at the specific benefits.
Cost-Effective
SEO can be a very cost-effective strategy and can yield a massive ROI.
On Autopilot Generating Leads
When SEO gets started, it gets started! Your website is accessible 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Visitors will locate your website and become qualified leads without you having to do something once your SEO is up and running.
Long-term
A long-term SEO plan is necessary. When your SEO is properly set up, you'll have an automatic lead creation machine that will deliver you business for years.
SEO's Negative Effects
Every internet marketing platform has its own set of drawbacks.
It is Slow
Setting up SEO can take quite some time. If your website is brand new, you won't see any noticeable returns for at least 6 to 12 months. If you're a company that can't afford to engage in SEO for a few months without seeing an instant return, you might want to wait unless your cash flow improves to the level where you can. An alternative for quicker results can be Paid Search Ads.
Algorithm Updates
The Google algorithm is updated hundreds of times a year. If Google alters its algorithm to no longer respect specific ranking indicators you were concentrating on, you may lose a significant number of rankings. In the long run, hiring an SEO agency that concentrates on white hat SEO tactics is critical.
Penalty from Google
A Google penalty is maybe the scariest thing that could happen to your website. If you employ the wrong SEO firm — for example, a Blackhat SEO firm – and they rank your website using prohibited strategies, Google may penalize your site and lose all of your positions. It would help if you did as much research on the SEO firm you hire.
PPC vs. SEO
PPC and SEO are the two key advertising methods that makeup SEM. Let's talk about them briefly here so that you don't get them mixed up and grasp the differences.
Optimization for Search Engines
SEO returns the top 10 organic search results on the search engine results page (SERP) for each given keyword query.
These ten results appear beneath the first three PPC search results.
Keep in mind that SERP rankings in the Google Maps area are also influenced by SEO.
Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
The top three paid results at the top of the SERP are known as PPC results. These results are displayed above both the Google Maps and organic search results.
Paid / PPC traffic is slower than SEO traffic.
If traffic speed is a major concern for you, SEO may not be the ideal option at first. SEO requires patience. When you execute SEO on your website, you are attempting to increase its popularity. When a website or page goes live, it joins the millions of others that have done so on the same day!
So, in this scenario, is SEO worthwhile? PPC may be a better alternative at this time if the speed of the outcome is essential to you.
When opposed to PPC, SEO frequently results in higher-quality visitors.
People are wary of advertisements. Ad-blindness exists, and the ever-growing list of ad blockers demonstrates that consumers are sick of commercials. Even going to a local fast-food restaurant will result in you being misled about what you're ordering. How many times has your burger resembled the one in the drive-through window? Exactly.
Over 70% of people will cheerfully browse through advertisements to get organic results since they are more trustworthy than paid ads. This trust is transferred to your website's visitors. The visitor understands that your website earned its position rather than being compensated for it.
Organic conversions will be higher than paid conversions if you target the relevant keywords on the page and provide value once the visitor is on the website.
Is SEO worthwhile?
Yes, SEO is worthwhile if the quality of your visitors is essential to you and you want to portray a greater sense of trust.
Traditional Marketing vs SEO: Which Strategy Drives Better Results?
Traditional marketing campaigns are more expensive to set up, monitor, and maintain than SEO. Traditional marketing does not ensure that customers will come to your store to make a purchase. It is not targeted and does not always reach the intended audience. SEO is distinct. People that have already entered your marketing funnel are looking for something to do with their money. Conduct a Google search to cross their way.
As a result, SEO has a substantially greater conversion rate than traditional marketing. The close rate for SEO is 14.6%, compared to 1.7% for traditional marketing.
SEO Traffic vs Paid Traffic
Is it worthwhile to invest in SEO in 2019, 2020, 2021, and beyond?
SEO traffic is superior because you are not charged for your traffic or leads in the long run.
Though it is recommended to use PPC to gain bought traffic and leads while your SEO is working in the background at first. Any company can benefit from this combination.
Alternatives to SEO
You can utilize PPC as a digital marketing lead generating channel instead of SEO, but there are others.
Social Media Marketing (SMM)
SMM entails publishing on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and others to grow your brand and gain online exposure for your company.
Social Media Posts That Aren't Paid
These are natural postings that you produce on various social networking platforms.
People will begin to notice and remember your brand if you do this frequently, and it will remain top-of-mind whenever they think about your product or service.
Social Media Ads
Social media ads are where you may pay to get your posts seen by a certain demographic. It allows you to select which customer profiles will see your ad and target them appropriately.
Content Marketing
Consistently producing valuable material for the end-user is known as content marketing. This can include regular YouTube videos, blog articles, social media posts, and other forms of content.
To establish authority and trust in your brand, the goal is to deliver as much value as possible to your target audience. The ultimate goal is to establish trust and authority over time so that when your target consumer is searching for a product or service, they will choose you.
Marketing Techniques
Although this is the polar opposite of online marketing, many firms still use this method of promotion. Billboards, television commercials, radio ads, and other forms of traditional advertising are examples.
For small and local business owners, this is soon becoming an old and obsolete marketing channel since digital marketing has shown to be far cheaper and more successful in this day and age.
Is SEO Still Worth Your Money?
Yes, SEO pays off. If the average cost is $1,500 per month, so you can earn $10,000 per month, anybody would choose that bargain. SEO will pay off handsomely for your business. Don’t hesitate to contact us today for a free consultation if you seek SEO services or want a second opinion.
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