The rapidly changing digital world is altering all domains around us including the way we buy and sell. According to the 2018 B2B Buyers Survey Report, more and more B2B buyers are starting to turn to social media and online review sites to research a purchase decision. According to the survey, “65% of buyers rely more on peer recommendations and review sites.” The B2C sector is no different. Statista reports that global ecommerce is expected to reach $4.5 trillion by 2021.
In short, the internet plays a major role in the lives of modern consumers when it comes to their shopping experiences. So the digital marketplace needs to be given due attention and investing in SEO or Search Engine Optimization is of utmost importance — especially for new businesses and their websites.
Here are a few reasons why SEO is important for new websites to help take their brand to the next level.
- SEO is the fundamental source of traffic
The main objective of SEO is to express your true value to the search engines. Once your value is known, search engines will rank your pages highly for queries relevant to your content. This means SEO helps customers find you easily and there are more chances of a conversion or engagement.
- SEO leads to better UX
UX or User Experience is the road to better organic ranking and more visibility. A constructive user experience is a pivotal element to a website’s success. This can be offered by giving users the information they want in fewer clicks, easily and quickly. Quality SEO encompasses a positive user experience and helps leverage it in the brand’s favour.
- SEO helps build credibility
The aim of any experienced SEO is to establish a strong base for a website with an effective user experience. It should also be easily discoverable in search which ultimately depends on the trust and credibility of the brand. But it is important to remember that this trust cannot be built overnight. It’s a long process that takes patience and dedication. But proper SEO is the road to credibility and is worth the effort.
- SEO helps understand customers better
Modern customers like businesses to understand their issues. They look forward to nurture relationships with these businesses. Before SEO came into picture, companies undertook market research to identify consumer habits, popularity of products and services etc. But now SEO offers the next level of understanding customers. By paying attention to the importance of SEO, companies can monitor customer behaviour and trends on their website.
- SEO influences buying patterns
Since customers do their research before buying, you as a new business can reach out to them using SEO tactics. You can use SEO to relay information about good deals, pathbreaking products and services, reliability of your products etc. This will definitely impact the buying patterns and buying cycle in a positive way.
- SEO is cheaper
SEO is relatively cheaper and the money invested is bound to yield great results. The benefits are legion for a brand and its bottom line. Good SEO implementation will continue to generate returns for years to come and has to be looked at as a good investment rather than an expense.
- SEO leads to good understanding of the web setting
The web world is always changing and it can sometimes be tough to stay on top of your game all the time. But once you are involved in SEO, it automatically means you become aware of and are upto speed with the changes around you. By undertaking SEO, you are updated about your competition’s tactics which is bound to be beneficial to your brand.
- SEO can be measured
SEO may not be as easy to quantify as paid search in terms of ROI, but it is possible through proper tracking and analytics. While there is no definitive way to understand the relation between actions taken, it is possible to understand how some actions are undertaken to affect performance and growth. Since any good SEO will also aim at those improvements, connecting the dots should not be tough.
- SEO throws light on new opportunities
Quality SEO will always lead to the discovery of new opportunities that can be leveraged for the betterment of the brands. It’s a great way to truly market a brand.
The better a brand is understood through SEO, the more opportunities will come up to help it thrive.
- SEO leads to business growth outside geographical boundaries
If you undertake traditional marketing, you may have to remain confined to your immediate geographic area. But SEO gives you the opportunity to increase your reach beyond your region and helps you conduct business with people across the country. If your content is relevant to them, it will appear for prospects regardless of whether they are in your area or live miles away.
SEO is an extremely effective, new age marketing technique that is seminal especially for a new website. It helps to grow the brand’s web presence rapidly in this day and age of high competition. High quality SEO is always going to be beneficial to a brand’s website.