Every small business needs a razor-sharp digital marketing strategy to compete. These strategies are composed of various marketing methods, all designed to produce a specific outcome. Outcomes range from higher click-through rates to increases in membership sign-ups.

Digital products like social media, web design, blogging, and video are just a few examples of top-performing marketing methods. However, there’s one very important method tying these methods together—SEO.

SEO is short for “search engine optimization.” You’ll find it hidden (and not so hidden) in virtually every form of digital marketing, from image alt tags to technical SEO.

Learn why SEO is important for business in this complete guide.

SEO Grows Brand Awareness

Brand awareness campaigns are crucial for growing interest in your company. SEO makes it easier for new brands and small businesses to get noticed online without breaking the bank.

SEO is one of the most affordable digital marketing methods, as PPC plans let you pay as you go, making the most of your marketing budget. PPC stands for pay-per-click, so small business owners only pay when the ad is seen, clicked, and converted. A conversion occurs when a click leads to a sale on your website.

Even better, PPC ads on Google (and other search engines) appear above typical organic search results, receiving even more traffic and engagement. This positioning makes a world of difference for brand awareness. Internet users depend on search engines to find general services.

You can also measure your brand awareness success more easily through PPC analytics. The most notable example, Google Ads, allows advertisers to manage their campaigns through analytics. Users can pick strategic keywords, publishing schedules, and ad content with analytics data.

PPC analytics reveals the best windows of opportunity and search phrases for your brand awareness campaigns. Interpreting this data improves conversion rates for subsequent campaigns. It’s also easier to spot and correct poor-performing campaigns, which saves resources.

SEO Guides Readers (and Search Engines!)

If you were to divide SEO into a pie, you could divide it into the following parts:

• Technical
• Creative
• Psychological

There is a bit of a science to SEO, especially when it comes to technical SEO; this type of SEO is included with a website’s code and metadata. It also refers to the descriptions that appear with search results.

Generating and placing keywords (and text content) strategically help search engine spiders crawl web pages effectively. This leads to faster indexing and more favorable search rankings.

However, good technical SEO must be matched with good content practices.

Search engines put content algorithms in place to weed out spam and low-quality web pages from search results. One example of this is Google’s Panda update. Pages with thin content and keyword stuffing are either filtered out or penalized altogether; this is where the creative part of SEO comes in.

If you want to please search engines, you can’t forget about the point of SEO, grabbing real users’ attention. Approach SEO content like you would with any other piece of writing. Just include keywords naturally, and the search spiders will know what to do!

Good keyword research also leverages psychology. Search phrases provide powerful insights into consumer behavior. Marketers use this data to find keywords with the best ranking opportunities.

A good keyword should have the following qualities:

• A decent monthly search volume (over 100 at a minimum)
• Relevant to the search niche
• Low to medium competition

You don’t have to worry about exact wording either. Today’s search engines are sophisticated enough to recognize user intent. What’s important is that your keywords (and content) read naturally online.

Why SEO Is Important for Web Design?

SEO has a lot of working parts, and we’ve only just grazed the surface. As your business grows, so do your SEO obligations. That’s where we step in. Our SEO experts handle everything from keyword research to website deployment to ensure complete search optimization.

Integrating SEO keywords into metadata is just one aspect of technical SEO.

Professional web developers also ensure your website is up to speed—literally. Quick-loading web pages, seamless shopping cart experiences, and easy mobile navigation improves UX, which improves SEO. Slow-loading websites have higher bounce rates which negatively impacts search rankings.

Web design itself falls under the SEO umbrella because creative elements affect the user experience. For example, websites with the wrong color scheme can evoke the wrong emotion, not the kind that inspires someone to buy. Websites that are too busy with script font can frustrate users, forcing them to abandon their sessions.

Mobile responsiveness is another crucial factor. Internet users expect websites to be mobile-ready. This expectation shortens expected load times to just a few seconds. Users also expect immediacy, necessitating the need for “click to call” buttons in Google ads.

Why Is SEO Important for Social Media Strategies

Mobile readiness also speaks to the importance of the SEO relationship with social media. Social media is a form of off-page SEO because it’s performed off-site.

One of the most recognizable examples of this relationship is Pinterest. Pinterest users can purchase products directly on the platform, similar to Google shopping. Success with Pinterest depends on quality (and original) content, consistent posting, and good keyword practices.

Pinterest is a content discovery platform. Users depend on Pinterest’s search tool to find everything from wedding inspiration to Halloween mask tutorials. Thus, it’s important to consider SEO when writing social media captions and image data.

Good Facebook marketing also integrates SEO.

Similar to Google Ads, Facebook’s own ad platform lets users create (and track) search-friendly ads. Instead, advertisers target general interest data. A local craft supply would target users interested in floral, paper, or clay crafts, for example.

The last point also speaks to the importance of SEO as a critical local marketing tool. Google, in particular, is the go-to “phone book” for many residents and small business owners. You need to establish a strong local online search presence if you want to make inroads in your community.

Leverage SEO in Your Digital Marketing Strategy Today

Now you have a better understanding of why SEO is important for business. Ensure you’re making the most out of it in your current strategy. Leverage it for your own brand awareness, online positioning, web design, and social media marketing.

These benefits are just the start. Contact us today to learn more about our approach to SEO and how our services can improve your rankings.