Today, just about everything is online in one form or another. For most people, if you have a problem, the solution resides somewhere on the internet. And in most cases, they are right. This makes the internet a prime location for businesses to post up and be visible. Considering most actions online start with a search, it makes sense that businesses would want to be the first result a user comes across when the user is searching for the products or services that business offers.

Of course, every business wants to be in that position. Getting there is much easier said than done. This is the premise of search engine optimization, or more readily known as SEO. Simply put, SEO is a process that improves the search visibility of a website for specific search terms that a user may be using. A properly optimized site will rise to the top, catch the user’s eye, and hold them on the site giving them a reason to stick around or pick up the phone and make a call.

For most businesses, especially local businesses, SEO will help the business grow. If everything is working in unison, the SEO campaign, the website, and the sales team waiting for the phone to ring, SEO could transform a business.

It really all boils down to traffic. Every searcher is a node of traffic, and every website owner wants that traffic on their site. Getting the traffic to the site is the tough part, but it can be broken down. The idea is to target specific search terms and keywords. Once you rank for those terms, focus on more search terms and keywords. The more you rank for, the more traffic your site will have. This will also elevate your site for terms you may not be targeting. You may even start to rank for terms you are not aware of. Traffic is the end goal when it comes to searches and SEO.

A large benefit to a solid SEO campaign is that you can drop your paid campaigns. When it comes to search engines, you typically see ads at the top of the results. Most people are susceptible to ad blindness, as in they ignore ads without even thinking about it, and if your site is at the top of the organic listings, the results that are not ads, the user will likely click on your result. Of course, continuing to pay for ads will allow you to be in both the ad space and the organic listings. It is a matter of whether there is value in the paid ads.

When it comes to the organic listings, there can be only one number one. If you find yourself in that position, you know that you have the opportunity to outperform your competition. Some sneaky business owners may opt to find a way to obtain multiple rankings on page 1 and really start to force the competition out.

The other components of the chain are just as important, though. All the number one rankings in the world are meaningless if your site can’t convince someone to pick up the phone and call, fill out a contact form, or make a purchase. Beyond that, if you have a sales team, it is going to be on them to close the deal. SEO is important, but it will only take your business so far.

SEO can play a vital role in the marketing strategy of any business. It can also be the difference between you and your competitors and whose business will grow faster.

For more information, please don’t hesitate to contact Mallery Online Marketing.