SEO up for your customers!
What is Search Engine Optimisation, or SEO?
In basic terms, SEO is the process of optimising your website to increase its visibility when people search for products or services related to your business on search engines. The better your website optimisation is, the higher up your website will appear in the organic search results and the more people that see your website, the more your traffic increases, and the better your chances to provide your product or service to a greater number of people.
It’s important to note that SEO is not a “one and done” process - it must be revisited periodically to make sure content is still relevant and you are competing with other websites in the search results page rankings. Some independent SEO experts recommend 1-2 times/month while marketing industry giant, HubSpot, advises to do so on a quarterly basis.
SEO builds trust, credibility and brand awareness
Being highly visible as a trusted website by Google and other popular search engines will always work in a brand’s favour. Think along the lines of Christiano Ronaldo, the world’s most popular (and most Google searched) sportsperson in the world recommending a pair of football boots without being paid to do so - 93% of people are more likely to buy this product because they trust the promoter. Let potential customers know that you offer the best coaching program or gym facilities in your area.
SEO is cost effective
As a small business, you understand the importance of every penny. You don’t have a big budget to throw around on paid ad campaigns when already in investing rent, employee costs, insurance and everything else that comes with being a small business owner. If you’re willing to put the time into understanding and learning SEO and optimising in-house, your SEO will cost nothing but your time.
SEO improves your user website experience
Implementing SEO strategies on your website will improve the overall experience for the customer once they land on your site too, not just while searching for what they’re looking for. If a potential customer or client finds your website difficult to navigate, they'll assume they find your coaching plans the same.
While it takes time, effort and skill if you’re choosing to invest in your SEO yourself, or some minor $ spending if outsourcing, SEO will increase your organic traffic. SEO up consistently for you and your business and you will, without a doubt, win the website race.
___
Rebecca McGrath
I really like the running reference, Rebecca. What's clear from your explanation of SEO is, it's definitely a marathon and not a sprint! Solid advice to any business on getting to grips with SEO for their site regarding revisiting it regularly to make sure content is relevant. Search engines like Google reward businesses who strive for up-to-date informative and accessible content and if businesses ensure their sites are doing this with the help of a decent SEO strategy their hard work will pay off in the end through ranking.
ReplyDeleteGreat comparison and image. Good points made on why you need to invest time in SEO - would be silly not to really. I didn't know one or two times a month would have been plenty to check up on your SEO - seems very little, but I wouldn't argue with HubSpot who say even less than that is ok too. Understanding SEO and using it in tandem with Google Analytics benefits a companies in the long run - digital marketing and obviously SEO falls into this, takes time but then the company reaps its rewards.
ReplyDeleteReally great analogy with marathon running, everyone in the fitness industry can understand the training and dedication it takes to get marathon fit. The rewards are worth it in the end. The same goes for SEO, the credibility you get for appearing high in search results is long lasting and it is given so much more weight by people searching. We all know so many people scroll past the ads on a Google search to get to the number 1 on the results page. I agree with your point that investing is SEO could have a higher reward than investing in ads.
ReplyDeleteGreat read Rebecca, I really enjoy how you bring marketing topics such as SEO back to basics for small business owners in the fitness industry! Implementing SEO can be the difference between your business being at the top of the SERPS or the bottom and as you have highlighted implementing SEO is free, so it really doesn't affect the bottom line for a small business, so there is no reason why businesses shouldn't grab this knowledge and win the race!
ReplyDeleteRebecca, great point about how SEO is not a ‘’one and done’’ process. Making sure your content is up to date and relevant is essential. I thought it would’ve been more than 1-2 times a month; it doesn’t seem like too much commitment for small businesses to keep on top of their ranking. So true about spending time implementing SEO on your webpage at little to no cost will increase your organic traffic and win the race to the number one spot on the SERP.
ReplyDeletegreat post
ReplyDeletegreat tips and some excellent takeaways and food for thought.
Caitriona