Search engine optimization (SEO) is a crucial aspect of modern web design, and yet one that many people have not heard of. The majority of us find websites through the use of search engines. We input a query, keyword, or search term, and the search engine checks its database of indexed web pages for any pages that are relevant to the query.
Browsing the internet without the assistance of a search engine would clearly make things a lot more difficult for everyone. Website owners would have to generate traffic by advertising the actual web address. Meanwhile, internet users would have to track down specific web addresses in order to even find out what a website is or does. Without SEO, search engine results would be chaos!
The following are the key reasons why SEO is an essential investment for any contemporary startup.
Return on Investment
For many startups, money is tight. When a business is just starting out it is particularly vulnerable to the damage wrought by poor decision making. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to be hesitant about making any spending decision, especially one relating to digital marketing, a minefield at the best of times. With SEO, though, you stand a good chance of recouping those losses. You might not recoup it all as cash, but the increased exposure and traffic is still of tremendous value.
Get Your Brand Out There
Initially, your SEO campaign probably isn’t going to be catapulting you to the top of the search results list. After all, if it was easy for any business to buy the top spot, even temporarily, there would be a constant jostling for pole position amongst the biggest competitors. Smaller, independent, and newer arrivals to the market would find themselves unable to make the same financial commitments.
SEO is a long term investment. Over time, you will organically generate more interest and exposure for your brand, this will further enhance your SEO efforts.
Remain Competitive
Whether you invest in SEO or not, you can be sure that your competitors will be. This means that by neglecting SEO you are handing them an easy advantage on a platter! The majority of web traffic is driven by search engines, and sure, putting your web address on the side of your company vehicle will get you some extra traffic from your local area. This is fine for small independent contractors who will only be serving their local area, but it is no good for a business that is looking to expand its reach further.
If your website offers specialized knowledge and information, you will have less competition in search results, making SEO an even wiser investment. For example, if you search for ‘Chrysler job application’, you won’t be competing with many big corporations. Compare this to a search for ‘best headphones’ and you will be competing with a number of well established websites for top billing in the results.
SEO is something that is worth investing in as soon as you first secure an online presence. You want to get things rolling as soon as possible in order to reap the benefits at the earliest opportunity.
