What is SEO anyway?

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search engine results. Or, in layman’s terms, getting highly ranked by Google so you can be found easily by people looking for your products or services.

SEO for SMEs

As an SME, you’re in the process of building your business. You need a regular stream of new clients or customers who want to pay good money for your products or services. Seeking business in the traditional way through advertising and sales can be expensive and time-consuming. You fight for attention, talking to everyone – including people who have no interest in what you are selling! SEO helps you filter out the masses and only talk to the people you need to.

5 reasons why SEO is important for SMEs

1. People who find you through an organic search are actively looking for your products or services

SEO is important because people who find your website organically though searching specific terms are looking for what you are selling. They want what you have, so you no longer have to worry about the hard sell. Unlike other forms of marketing such as advertising, your page will only be seen by people who are looking to buy. Or people who are interested in learning more about your products and services.

This is especially important for SMEs who are starting out. You need new clients and customers to keep your business growing, and SEO is one of the best ways to get access to them. In fact, you’ll find you no longer spend so much time seeking out new clients or customers, they will come to you.

2. Most people will not look past the first page on Google

As we all know from searching for things on Google ourselves, if it’s not on the first page, we probably won’t see it! People like things to be instant and easy, and most people won’t look past the first results page of a Google search. Getting your website to within the top 3 search results for your chosen keywords can drastically increase your web traffic and ultimately drive up sales.

SEO is the best way of doing this. You could go down the route of paid ads, but getting there organically will give you better long-term results – and is more cost effective.

3. Local SEO is hot right now

As an SME, you simply can’t match the large marketing budgets of national or international companies. But you can develop your local SEO. People are using mobile devices more than ever before to search for things whilst on the move. Ensuring people nearby can find you easily has been proven to increase traffic.

Investing time in building your local SEO is a great way to get local clients or customers. People like to work with other local businesses even when it’s online. Focusing your SEO on local search terms will help you become the “go to” brand for your area.

4. SEO is cost effective

With good SEO you can be sure that a steady stream of qualified leads or customers ready to buy will be visiting your site every day. That’s why SEO has a high ROI compared to other marketing techniques. Once you are ranked highly for your chosen key words, you will begin to see an increase in traffic and, ultimately, sales.

Traditional advertising is extremely expensive and it’s difficult to track for results. However, your Google ranking is easy to identify. The number of clicks to your website is also easily measured, proving that SEO is working for your business.

5. Your competitors are focusing on SEO

If your main competitors are ranked by Google, they will be getting your business. It’s as simple as that. People use the internet to search for anything and everything now. If you are not there for people to see, they will go elsewhere.

Most businesses have realised the power of Google, and are doing what they can to build their SEO. If you’re the only business in your industry not doing it, you will be left behind. Having an amazing product or service is great; word of mouth is great. But these things can only get you so far. Ensuring that you have a strong SEO strategy in place is key to the success of your business in the modern world.

For more information on how we can help with SEO for your SME please take a look at our full brochure or send an email to hello@dpmarketingcommunications.com