The importance of SEO in digital marketing
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One thing remains constant in this ever-changing digital marketing landscape: the importance of SEO or search engine optimisation. A recent report published by PR Newswire stated that the global SEO industry is projected to reach USD$122.11 billion in 2028 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.6% during the analysis period. This figure indicates how powerful and popular SEO is in the online marketing field.
SEO plays an integral role in the success of any digital marketing campaign, as it's the key to getting maximum visibility and improving standings in search engine results pages (SERPs). According to a recent report, around 9 billion searches are conducted on Google daily. The first page of search results gets the majority of organic traffic, as 75% of users don't go beyond the first page. This statistic highlights how important SEO is for your business to ensure that your website ranks in the SERP; otherwise, you're missing out on a vast potential audience. This is where SEO can be your best asset in achieving this goal.
SEO best practices
Other marketers often interchangeably use the terms SEO and marketing strategy, leading to confusion. SEO is a tool, while marketing strategy is all about setting, planning, and implementing. In other words, these two are closely interrelated but different in many ways. You can find further resources on the difference between SEO and marketing strategy online.
So, what are the best practices for SEO? Here are a few tips to help you get on the right track:
- Research and analyse keywords: Before optimising your website for keywords, it's best to research and evaluate the most relevant ones for your business. This aspect is crucial as you want to target keywords that'll bring potential customers to your site and boost search engine rankings. You can use short-tail and long-tail keywords and localised phrases to target a specific audience. Such keywords should also have a high search volume and low competition. This is because keywords with high competition could take a lot of effort and time to see positive outcomes, as numerous other websites are already targeting them.
- Create unique and high-quality content: Content is still king in SEO but only when it's high quality. That means creating relevant, informative, and engaging content that readers will find helpful and be more likely to share with others. In addition, be sure to optimise your content with the right keywords and include them in the title tag, meta description, header tag, and content's body. It's also worth noting that incorporating too many keywords in your content isn't advisable. Why? Because search engines use algorithms to detect keyword stuffing and penalise your website for it. Therefore, ensure to utilise keywords naturally and strategically.
- Optimise page loading speed: Did you know that 53% of online users expect a webpage to load in less than three seconds? About 19% of them will abandon a website if it takes more than three seconds to load. That's why page loading speed is a major ranking factor. In fact, Google has officially stated that "Page Speed" affects your rankings. Compressing website images, reducing redirects and browser caching, and minifying HTML files are a few effective methods to optimise loading speed and boost your site's user experience.
- Build quality backlinks: Sometimes called 'inbound links' or 'external links', backlinks are the connections from other websites to yours. These links signal to search engines that your website is reliable and trustworthy. Just remember to avoid spammy links, as they can hurt the credibility of your website and its rankings. Instead, focus on building quality backlinks from relevant, credible, and authoritative websites.
- Utilise image alt tags and rich snippets: Image alt tags are HTML attributes used to describe the image's content and provide additional information about it. This component is vital for SEO as search engines can't decipher the images but can read alt tags. Conversely, rich snippets are brief descriptions that usually appear underneath the title tag on SERPs. These include ratings, reviews, prices, availability, and more. They help make your website stand out from the crowd and can increase click-through rates (CTR).
- Index your website: Indexing is crucial in SEO as it determines how quickly and easily your webpage appears on SERPs. Generally, search engine bots can identify a site's content without indexing. However, indexing helps bots crawl and categorise your content faster and more accurately. That said, your website is more likely to be featured on SERPs and in related searches. You can perform this step manually by submitting a sitemap or using an online tool such as Google Search Console.
- Monitor and measure results: SEO is a dynamic field, and what works today may not work tomorrow. This is why you must constantly monitor and measure your website's performance to determine how effective your SEO tactics are. Google Analytics is one of the best tools for this as it allows you to track and measure users' behaviour on your website, including page views, bounce rate, and more. You can use this data to tweak your SEO strategy and make necessary improvements.
These are a few SEO strategies you can implement in your online marketing techniques. Remember, this task is an ongoing process and requires constant monitoring and tweaking to get the most out of it. So, take your time to understand the basics of SEO and what works best for you.
You can also hire a professional SEO agency to guide you through the process and help you create an effective strategy. There's nothing better than having an expert on your side when it comes to SEO.
The importance of SEO in digital marketing
Now that you've learned about the best SEO practices, it's time to discuss why this tool is essential for your digital marketing campaigns.
To further illustrate the importance of SEO, you should take a look at some of its advantages:
1. Increases visibility and organic traffic
Your website serves as the online face of your business. It's where you showcase your products or services, post updates, and share news. Essentially, it allows you to create a meaningful connection with your target audience. But as the online world becomes increasingly competitive and saturated, it's getting more challenging to stand out and get noticed. In fact, one in five businesses reports that they struggle to achieve their online marketing goals because of low traffic.
SEO can be a powerful tool for driving organic traffic to your website. Search engine algorithms focus on content's relevance, usefulness, and authority when deciding where it should rank in the search results. Optimising your website for the right keywords and providing high-quality content can increase your website's visibility. In other words, the better you optimise your site for search engines, the more likely it will appear when prospects conduct a relevant search query.
2. Strengthen credibility and trustworthiness
As mentioned, Google's algorithm considers a website's credibility when determining where it should rank in the search results. It looks for specific signals such as authority, relevance, and trustworthiness.
A website that follows the best SEO practices will likely outrank those that don't. For example, backlinking to high-authority sites and incorporating relevant keywords can help establish yourself as a reliable source of information. That said, you gain more credibility, foster trust, and win over more customers in the long run.
3. Boost brand awareness
Did you know that around 268 million US citizens shop online? This figure is forecasted to reach 285 million by 2025. It's evident that more and more people rely on the internet to find products and services, and this number will only increase shortly. That said, establishing a solid online presence is crucial to stay competitive and in front of your target market.
Implementing SEO methods can help you improve your online presence and get more brand exposure. As your website appears more frequently in search results, people will likely recognise and become familiar with your brand. SEO isn't just about ranking higher but also about creating a solid impression in the mind of your prospects and building a deeper connection with them.
4. Generate leads
Generating leads is one of the ultimate goals of any digital marketing campaign. It involves turning potential customers into paying patrons. However, this task can be challenging as you compete against other businesses for the same target audience. That means you must find a way to stand out from the competition. This is where SEO can be your asset.
Since SEO improves your website's visibility, more people are likely to find and engage with it. This helps capture leads from interested customers searching for your products or services. Once you have those leads, you can use them for nurturing campaigns to convert them into paying customers. This, in turn, can indirectly contribute to higher profits and better return on investment (ROI).
5. Better PPC performance
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is one of the most popular and effective marketing tactics. It allows you to target a specific audience and control your budget, it's generally more cost-effective than other online marketing strategies.
However, getting the desired results with your PPC campaign isn't always easy. You must ensure that your ads appear at the right place and time for a successful PPC campaign. After all, if no one sees your ads, you won't be able to generate leads. That's where SEO can make a big difference.
When your website has a higher rank in the results, your ads are more likely to get noticed by potential customers. This will increase the CTR, improving your PPC performance and ultimately boosting your revenues. In other words, SEO can complement your PPC efforts, providing better outcomes.
Conclusion
The importance of SEO in digital marketing can't be overstated. It offers immense benefits which can help you reach your business goals and maximise ROI. Remember to be patient and consistent with your SEO efforts; you'll get the desired results in no time.
