To be blunt: Your website’s SEO position is everything.
It is the most important thing driving new business and new acquisitions, and rising above other businesses that pop up when searchers Google your services. If you're not sure how much time or money you should invest in your SEO positioning, allow us to make the business case for you.
Here is why SEO is so important.
Websites are Too Expensive to Waste
You've invested significant time and money in your website. Why set it up to fail? If you're not taking your SEO seriously, that's exactly what you're doing.
You probably took weeks to discuss the color scheme and the font for your home page. So why would you ignore the crucial part of your website that will really drive its success?
Too many businesses think they're Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams. If you build it, they will not come, unless you make your SEO position a priority from the second your website goes live.
If you ignore your SEO, you may start to think that digital marketing doesn't work... at least not for your business.
Why is nobody sharing our stuff on Facebook? Where is the traffic? Where are the leads? Where is my return on investment?
Investing in your website's build was only part of the process. You need to also invest in SEO to unlock the opportunities to get a nice return on that investment.
Local SEO Drives Business
Most of your competition comes from local businesses; other people who have similar products or services and are located in the same geographic area as your business. But this is your turf, and you need to take ownership of it.
Nearly everyone these days searches for a business online as they begin their purchase process. And if someone Googles you and selects you, they typically visit or message you within 24 hours.
Or, they will find the competition and call them within 24 hours. The choice is yours.
"But we're not an e-commerce site. We operate a physical storefront. So we think that offline ads work better." Actually, the statistics show that 78% of mobile searches for businesses result in an offline purchase - like the ones that take place in your store.
How to Stand Above Half of the Businesses Out There, Right Now, For FREE
Here's a little SEO tip that you absolutely need to drive local traffic to your site and your location: Make sure your Google My Business information is 100% up-to-date, accurate, and consistent.
This is such a simple thing. It takes 5 minutes and it's free. Yet, 50% of the businesses surveyed admit some of their information is wrong. That's instantly surrendering a valuable piece of local web space to people who are more on top of things.
Make sure your Google My Business page has your precisely accurate:
- Business name (including any dba name)
- Physical address including ZIP code
- Offerings, products, services
- Business Hours (including any days you are closed)
- Photos
- Customer Reviews
These things are extremely important when someone in your area is searching to find a business with products and services you offer, and it's surprising how much information can be inaccurate and more importantly how much you are dinged by leaving that inaccurate information out there.
SEO Drives Leads
The ROI of your website isn't just measured in actual sales right from the website. It's actually more about the number of qualified leads a high SEO position can send into your store, through phone calls, and into your email inbox.
The kiss of death in web marketing is a beautiful website that doesn't produce sales or sales leads. You built the darn thing to make money, not cost you money.
People who find you online arrive on your doorstep or inbox more buy-ready than most. They've already done research into the features and benefits of your business versus your competitors. They're ready to buy from you, so make sure to make it really easy for them.
Much of the work the sales staff used to have to do is now handled by your marketing efforts and the information you provide to shoppers pre-sale. They learn about you from your service and product pages, by checking you out on social media, and by reading your blog.
These leads are so much more qualified and they are nearly an automatic sale when they can easily find you and get in touch with you.
So don't send these leads and their money to your competition by ignoring your SEO position.
Other People Can Own Your Space
Not only can your competition own your industry's top search position, where they show up 1# in the ranking for general search terms in your industry, they can also claim the web space for your own specific branded terms.
For example, McDonald's could buy a ton of Adwords for and optimize the keyword, "The Whopper." This represents them staking a flag on turf that belongs to Burger King. That's not a dirty tactic, it's done every day.
When someone is hungry and Googles "Whopper," McDonald's will show up before Burger King in the rankings. That searcher is like, "Mmm, maybe I'll get a Big Mac instead. There's a McDonald's right around the corner.
Using another example, let's say you're CDI College. A few years ago, if you Googled CDI College, their competition would show up higher in the rankings... for Google searches for their own brand name!
There's not much stopping savvy and aggressive businesses from buying PPC ads and optimizing your own branded terms or product names so that people looking for your business will be steered their way instead.
There's no honor among thieves. If you don't seize control of your SEO position, someone else will gladly take it for you. And your good name and amazing products will be used to fill their sales funnel instead of your own.
Let Us Show You How to Earn a Top SEO Position
Since 2008, we've helped our clients earn the top spots with solid and proven SEO tactics, instead of cheats and shortcuts.
How can we help you? Let's find out! You can start today by clicking here to contact us anytime.