Why Is SEO Important? 10 Reasons It Matters
In this article, we’ll explain why SEO is important for almost every business.
But first, let’s start with the basics.
What Is SEO?
Search engine optimization (SEO) is optimizing a business’s website content, structure, and overall online presence. To improve its organic (unpaid) visibility in search engine results pages.
How Does SEO Work?
SEO aligns your website and content with the Google algorithm. Or what Google looks for in good search results.
Basically, Google wants to rank webpages that:
So, SEO is about making sure your pages tick these boxes.
Some of the most common SEO tactics include:
Why Is SEO Important?
SEO is important because it can improve your organic visibility in search engine results pages. Which can translate to more brand awareness and website traffic. Which ultimately leads to more sales.
As our success stories prove, businesses of all shapes, and sizes have used SEO to their advantage.?
Here are 10 reasons why SEO matters:
1. Search Engines Generate Lots of Traffic
Ranking high in search engine results pages (SERPs) can get you lots of clicks. Which means lots of traffic to your website.
People use search engines to perform billions of searches every day.
And on average, over 43% of searchers click an organic result.
If you don’t capture the clicks available in your niche, your competitors will.
SEO is the tried-and-tested way to rank on more search results pages. And rank in higher positions.
This is important because prominent results tend to get more views and clicks:
2. SEO Can Be Highly Cost Effective
One of the main benefits of SEO is that it’s usually cost-effective.
Why?
First, there are no advertising costs.?
You don’t pay to appear on the results page. Or incur costs when people view or click your result.?
Second, SEO can deliver long-term results.
Once you’ve achieved high rankings, it’s possible to maintain them with relatively little effort (compared to channels like digital PR and social media). And relatively low costs (compared to paid traffic channels).
Building a strong foundation also makes it easier to gain or improve other rankings in the future.
SEO is highly scalable.
Just look at Morningside Acupuncture's success story. Over three years, the company used SEO to grow their traffic by 2,900%.
3. Search Visibility Drives Brand Awareness and Authority
Frequently and prominently appearing in search results is an effective way to build brand awareness. And that’s one of the main reasons why SEO is important for business.
For example, searchers learning Spanish are likely to discover Duolingo quickly. Because the site ranks highly for thousands of topical keywords.
4. Your Competitors Are (Probably) Doing It
Lots of businesses use SEO as part of their marketing strategy.
If your competitors are using SEO, they’re probably outperforming you in search results. And getting exposure and traffic that could be yours.
If your competitors aren’t optimizing for search, you have a great opportunity to dominate the search results in your niche. And capitalize on all the SEO benefits available.
You can compare your rankings against competitors’ with Semrush’s Keyword Gap tool.
Enter your domain and the domains of up to four competitors. Making sure “Root domain” and “Organic keywords” are selected alongside each.
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5. SEO Success Supports Other Marketing Efforts
SEO success can improve the results of your other marketing efforts. Because many people refer to search engines after discovering a marketing campaign elsewhere.
Let’s say someone sees your billboard. And they go to Google to learn more about it.
If you don’t rank prominently when the user searches, you may lose your opportunity to keep them engaged.?
It can be particularly beneficial to use SEO alongside PPC.
Here’s why:
PPC ads usually appear at the top of the SERP, meaning they get more exposure.
But, the top 10 organic results are more likely to get clicks.
So if you have both kinds of results, you get the best of both worlds.
6. You Can Reach Prospects Throughout the Buying Journey
It’s common for people to use search engines throughout their buying journey.
Which means you can use SEO to reach and engage prospects at every stage.
This is helpful because it allows you to get prospects into your marketing funnel earlier. And build trust with them over time.
People use different types of keywords at each stage of the buying journey:
7. Optimization Efforts Can Improve the User Experience
Many important SEO tactics are good for your website’s user experience (UX). And that can help your conversion rate—i.e., make users more likely to do what you want.
Essentially, Google wants to rank pages that leave its users happy. So you must create user-friendly content in order to succeed.
For example, these Core Web Vitals affect your performance in Google:
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Measures how much the page layout moves around unexpectedly as it loads
Interaction to Next Paint (INP): The longest time it takes for the page to display visual confirmation of a successful interaction (e.g., for a menu to open)
Optimizing this metrics can help you rank higher. And improve the experience for users on your website.?
So, users are more likely to convert. Whether they discovered your site through Google.
8. Keyword Research Makes You Aware of Market Trends
Keyword research for SEO allows you to monitor your target audiences’ search activity.?
This means that you can identify trending—or declining—topics in your niche. And use the insights to guide your product strategy, marketing campaigns, and more.
9. SEO Results Are Quantifiable
SEO results are quantifiable—i.e., you can measure your organic rankings, traffic, and conversions.
This means you can gauge your performance. And determine whether any adjustments are necessary.
It also means you can prove the importance of SEO for your business.
The best way to monitor your Google rankings is with Semrush’s Position Tracking tool.
The “Overview” report has a visibility graph that makes it easy to track your overall performance. You can also add your competitors’ domains to see how they compare.
10. It Helps You Protect Your Brand
SEO is important for online reputation management (ORM). Because it helps, you control the results that come up when people search for your brand.
Start Building Your SEO Strategy
The only way to discover the true importance of SEO is to try it for yourself.
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You are right SEO is important because knowing that SEO is important helps to prioritize efforts to improve search rankings, attract more organic traffic, and stay competitive. It also guides strategic decisions to enhance online visibility and business growth. some point i would like to add further in its importance: - SEO is important because search engines aren't perfect. - ?It enhances search engine crawling and page discovery. - It facilitates user information access. Success in SEO is achieved by?consistently ranking high in search engine results, driving organic traffic, and increasing website visibility and user engagement.