How do you boost your startup or small business? It sounds like a challenging task, but it’s easier than one may think. The answer lies in SEO, which stands for search engine optimisation. You’ve probably already heard of this term if you are in the business world. But how do you leverage it?
This post will review SEO and reasons to invest in affordable SEO for small businesses, especially if you are an entrepreneur who seeks long-term and measurable results.
Why you need SEO for your small business
You had a great idea, made an investment, and now work part or full-time in your new venture. Things are good, but they could be better. You wish you had a wider audience and reach – That would mean more conversions and profit.
Your products and services are already top-tier quality, your logistics team is on point, and you maintain the books yourself to avoid extra spending. But there is something off: Traffic to your website isn’t nearly as much as it could be. You’ve even invested in paid ads. What’s wrong?
The answer is straightforward: There is no organic traffic to your business website. Organic means it’s natural, unlike paid ads. When someone makes a query, Google shows the best results first. People naturally click on those top results, which leads to more sales and revenue. That is what Search Engine Optimisation does.
So you want to appear on the first page of Google. We know it sounds challenging and impossible as if only the elite or people with money can afford to rank that high. This article will provide you the guidance necessary to get started on your SEO program initiatives.
5 SEO Benefits for Small Businesses
The benefits of Search Engine Optimisation are endless, but here are the most relevant ones for any small business or startup.
1) It sets you apart from the competition
Unless you are a genius and provide an exceptional one of a kind product or service, other companies offer the same services and products you do. Imagine you manufacture and deliver notebooks. What makes you different from Amazon? What makes you better?
Small businesses often don’t stand a chance against giants like Amazon, but things change when it comes to other startups. The difference between you and your neighbour next door is how much you invest in marketing and SEO services.
Any business should invest part of its budget into marketing. We live in the era of social media and information overload, and existing is not enough anymore. You need to catch (and retain!) your target audience’s attention. On-Page SEO focuses on copywriting, strong calls-to-action, and other features that persuade buyers.
2) It saves you money
Investing in good and affordable SEO for small businesses saves you money in the long run. Here is why: When you create a PPC campaign, you pay each time someone clicks on the link, whether they go through the purchase or not. Each click can cost you up to $2-$3, adding up and becoming a waste of money if no one actually buys your product.
Search Engine Optimisation also focuses on creating good landing pages and attractive promotions your potential customers can’t ignore. That is something you don’t get with paid ads and other social media strategies.
SEO is often a one-time investment that produces results in the long term. Paid ads stop providing benefits when you stop paying for them, but your Google rank doesn’t easily decrease once you make it to the first page.
3) It gives you credibility
Have you ever searched for something, clicked on a random link, and then closed the tab because it looked sketchy? It’s happened to the best of us.
The Internet is flooded with options and potential. Customers want the best and don’t settle for not-so-popular businesses. Since it’s not easy to separate legitimate companies from unreliable ones, your target audience needs reassurance that you are reliable.
One great Search Engine Optimization campaign positions your eCommerce or website in the top results of Google. Online users trust Google’s algorithm, and thus they accept your site is to be trusted.
4) Grants and incentives
You may benefit from financial help as an entrepreneur with a small business. Companies and capital run the world, and governments know this. Other private companies might also invest in you, if you promise something in return, often a share of the revenue. These incentives for digital marketing and SEO services might be what you need to take your idea to the next level. They can relieve a huge weight off your shoulders, leaving all the hard marketing work to experts and the financial worries to investors.
Australia is no exception. Our government provides different solutions and opportunities for entrepreneurs, such as the Digital Solutions promoted by the Australian Small Business Advisory Services program or the Small Business Digital Adaptation Program.
Each opportunity is different. Some offer you money and resources, while others help you with guidance and mentoring to follow essential steps to succeed in your business. You will need to assess the individual program eligibility by reviewing the guidelines provided.
5) Measurable results
You may like science and data or not, but there’s something you can’t deny: Everyone loves tangible and measurable results. They help you navigate your project and make better decisions.
Imagine you use sentence A to acquire new customers, and the success rate is around 52%. You decide to give sentence B a try and discover the success rate drops to 35%. You want to get out of that situation as soon as possible! Lastly, you implement sentence C, and data suggests a 57% success and conversion rate. That’s the one you need!
SEO campaigns and professional marketers report data back to you. Once you learn to make data-driven decisions, your business will never stop growing. Search engine optimisation allows you to experiment and stick to the best option.
Using affordable SEO services to grow your business
Search Engine Optimisation is complicated. Over 200 factors influence Google’s algorithm’s decisions. And what’s more: They change all the time. Keywords and link building are two that remain top-tier, but who knows what the future will bring.
SEO experts spend a lot of time keeping updated with algorithm changes, new releases, factors to consider. It’s what they do for a living, and they’re experienced at it. It is impossible to focus on all these factors when you need to concentrate on running your business. Affordable SEO for small businesses should be a must have ingredient if you wish to succeed in this digital era.
