Why your Business should Invest in SEO

Search Engines are the Online Vehicle for Finding Products and Services

Put simply, SEO stands for “Search Engine Optimization”. Since the mid 1990’s, Internet based search engines have existed to connect consumers with the information, products, or services that they seek. Most people in the US today are intimately familiar with at least one search engine service. While there are many different services available, Google, Yahoo, and MSN/Live are currently the major players in the US search market. Google is in a dominant position, with an estimated 58% of all US based Internet searches originating from their service . The chart below summarizes 99% of the search market. The hundreds of other search engines you may find account for less than 1% of the US search volume when combined.

US Search Engine Market Share - Jan 2008

People are Turning to the Internet in Record Numbers

Now that we know the main vehicle that people are using to search the Internet, let’s get a perspective on how much search volume is occurring.

Total search queries for the single month of January exceeded the 10 Billion mark in the US alone! To put that in perspective, there are an estimated 6.6 Billion people in the entire world. An estimated 69% of the US population uses the internet, with the average user performing over 40 searches a month.

People are increasingly turning to the Internet as the source for their information and that includes finding products and services to spend their money on.

If your Site is not Appearing in the First Page of Results, you are Missing an Opportunity to Gain New Customers

Your business likely provides more than one product or service. If you search for some of the obvious phrases related to your business, how does your site rank in the results? Studies have shown that internet users typically do not search past the first three pages of results. In fact, if they find a relevant listing on the first page, many users will not look any further than that unless they are doing extensive research.

The Quality of your Website Makes a Statement About your Business

At the beginning of this document I mentioned that SEO “put simply” stands for search engine optimization. While the letters do stand for “search engine optimization”, an SEO campaign actually involves a lot more than just optimizing your website’s pages for search engines. A good campaign takes a close look at the overall quality of your website, and tracks and analyzes visits to your site to determine patterns of usage. Bringing more search traffic to your site is NOT the ultimate goal. I will work to ensure that the traffic you receive is RELEVANT to your business, AND that your web site is CAPITALIZING on this new traffic. Winning the search traffic is only part of the battle. When someone clicks on your site in the search results, it is then up to your site to create a good impression that will convert this visitor into a customer. An SEO campaign with SEO Conductor means that you will have an advocate for your website, looking carefully at all aspects and how they influence the overall goal of adding value to your business.

An SEO Campaign will Help you Make the Most of your Web Presence

Since you already have a website for your business, you must realize the value of having an internet presence. However, just putting up a site is not enough. Don’t make the mistake of believing that you can make a one-time effort of designing a site, and then expect the site to flourish unattended. Just as a gardener tends to his plants regularly for them to be healthy, your website also needs this kind of regular attention.

Some Reasons why Regular Attention to your Site is Important:

Regular updates to your site’s content show the consumer that you are involved and passionate about your business.
The design elements that worked years ago may appear out-dated today. Websites will communicate many things subconsciously to the visitor. Does your site appear modern or does it look as dated as the décor of your grandmother’s house? If your site appears out-dated, the user may make assumptions about your business qualities as well.
Search Engines pay attention to how often your site’s content changes. Frequently updated sites are valued above old static sites. This is one of the factors that will help your pages to rank well for search terms.
Search Engines place a very high value on how many inbound links they find to your site. Inbound links are links from a page on another website to a page on your website. When someone links to you it is usually because they value your content. In the SEO world you will hear a lot about link building strategies, because the more inbound links your site has, the more of a competitive edge you have in terms of ranking well for search terms. The best link building strategy is to ensure that you have content on your site that is worth linking to, and people will natural link to it. This requires creative thinking and continued involvement.

SEO Compares Favorably to Other Forms of Marketing

A good marketing campaign uses multiple sources of advertising. I’m not encouraging you to drop all of your other ad campaigns in favor of SEO. There is wisdom in diversifying your investments. But let’s take a look at some of the reasons that I believe SEO is a very wise use of your marketing dollars.

SEO - A Smart Investment

SEO results in extremely targeted leads. Once I optimize your site, you will be ranking for search terms that are highly relevant to your business. The consumers that see your results listing are searching for the very thing that you offer and are already predisposed to make a purchase. The best you can hope for with most other advertising methods is to pick a forum for the ad that hopefully represents the demographic of your typical consumer. Those ads will still be reaching many consumers who are uninterested.
Unlike some other forms of marketing, when the campaign budget ends the benefits do not. Think about it. Most print, radio, or tv ads are only working for you as long as you are continuing to put money into them. Paid Search Advertising (Also known as PPC or Pay Per Click) definitely has it’s place and can complement SEO well, but will only bring you a benefit as long as you are continuously pouring the ad dollars into it each month. As soon as you stop paying, the value ends.

An SEO campaign is a long term investment in your website. Even after the campaign ends, you will have a more productive site that attracts a much higher volume of visitors then it did before. The beauty of natural search traffic is that you do not have to pay every time someone clicks the result. As long as your site continues to rank well after the SEO campaign ends, the new leads you receive from this search traffic every day will cost you nothing. Any work that was put into creating and optimizing content for the site will remain beneficial as the content will still be there for your visitors to enjoy.