The words “SEO” are mentioned very frequently in modern marketing and website management. We know the big companies are using SEO to rank high on search engines, but is SEO important for small business?
The short answer is an astounding “YES!” – SEO is very important and useful for businesses large AND small. In fact, this very article is a part of our SEO campaign for our small business, and has attracted you to view our website!
Let’s take a deeper dive into the reasons that your small business should focus on SEO, and the benefits SEO can have for your small business.
SEO increases your organic reach & revenue
Did you know that the first-ranked listing on Google Search achieves an astonishing 28.5% click-through rate – and yet the 10th-ranked listing sees only 2.5% of people clicking through to view the content of the listing.
This is why companies spend so much time and money on SEO. The more clicks your website receives, the more opportunity you have to convert your visitors into paying customers.
But just because the big companies are hogging all the top spots for broad keywords doesn’t mean SEO isn’t valuable for your small business – there is plenty of room for small businesses to target location-specific searches, or niche aspects of their business offering.
So is SEO important for small business in this case? Yes, it absolutely is. It can be the difference between being clicked on by prospective customers, or never being seen at all.
Searchers are looking for local information
A whopping 46% of web searches are seeking local information. Local SEO should be a priority for small businesses, as having a search ranking for locally based keywords will help connect you with clients and prospects most likely to engage with your small business.
An example in point: you’re on holiday and up late at your hotel – you feel like a pizza but don’t know where to go. What’s the first thing you do? You pull out your phone and search for:
The location is very important to you in this case as you want something nearby. Once you’ve found your pizza place (often the first or second ranked listing on search), what’s the next thing you do? You call them up and order from them!
This is just one example, but you can see how using SEO to rank highly in search can help out your business, and achieve more conversions. Is SEO important for small business in this case? It absolutely is!
SEO makes your website easier for customers to use
A massive contributor to SEO rankings is user experience. There are various metrics that the big search engines use to determine whether users are likely to have a good experience whilst using your website – it’s important for search engines to be referring their searchers to high-quality websites so that people will continue to use their search engines!
One main user-experience based metric is page speed optimisation. A website that quickly shows the users what they came to see is ideal – if your website is taking too long to load, users will prematurely navigate away from your page and seek an alternative, and end up leaving your website feeling frustrated. Making sure your page is fast is beneficial for your users directly, and has great SEO benefits.
Clarity of information on your webpage is also a key contributor to SEO. Information that is clear and not obstructed is easier for users to access, and so search engines prefer to share aesthetically pleasing results with their users. They are not as likely to rank your page if it has text obscured by images, excessive popups, and other cluttery features that make it more difficult for your users to get the information they’re searching for.
So is SEO important for small business? Yes! Aspects of SEO can help you retain your website’s visitors and improve their impression of your business.
Why is SEO important for small business?
Here are the key takeaway points from my research, highlighting why SEO is important for small businesses:
- Increased organic reach and revenue
- Connect with people seeking local information and businesses
- Better user experience leads to better ranking
The SEO landscape is continually changing, and we need to stay adaptive and up to date with the latest advice and recommendations across a variety of search engines. What is your opinion on this topic? Is SEO important for small business? Why or why not? We’d love to hear your thoughts!
If you’d like to see how SEO can work for your business, please take a look at our SEO service page and get in touch.