Think you don’t need SEO for your small business? Think again, mama!

There are a lot of reasons that your small online business needs SEO for long-term growth. We are going to outline three of of the big ones in this post.

What is SEO?

But first, let’s do a quick refresh on what SEO actually is for those that are new here. SEO stands for search engine optimization and it is the art of optimizing your content and website for better search engine rankings, meaning more visibility for your product offerings and brand.

Put simply, a user has a question or need. Your website satisfies that user question or need. SEO bridges the gap between the two; helping your content be more easily found which in turn satisfies the user’s need. Everyone wins. Yay!

But enough boring definitions, onto the good stuff. Picture it, the internet, 2021…(if you know that reference, you are officially my people)!

1. Your Social Media Platform Isn’t Yours…

even if you think it is…

Earlier this year, Instagram and Facebook went down for a record breaking amount of time – almost 24-hours, and the internet about lost its mind.

And during all of this, I bet your inbox was flooded with a TON of emails all saying “and this is exactly why you need an email list. So you can communicate with your customers and potential clients if social goes down.”

And yeah, that’s great and all for the people who you ALREADY HAVE ON YOUR LIST. But here’s the thing. What happens if the primary way to build your email list goes away? Then what are you going to do?

Enter SEO…

via GIPHY

Having 10,000 followers is amazing, but what if your account gets deleted? Or hacked?

Or what if you simply don’t want to have to rely on just one platform – ahem, someone else’s platform – to drive all of your leads?

Exactly.

2. 50% Of All Web Traffic Begins With Organic

I’m going to type that again to let it really sink in.

At least 50% of ALL web traffic begins with an organic search. Not ads or emails or social media, but organic. Meaning someone types something into Google and boom, a search results shows up and that user clicks over to a website and the rest is history.

That’s a ton of traffic. A ton of eyeballs, some of whom are definitely, 100% your next client or customer. But how do you get in front of these people and more importantly, get them to click over to your site?

The answer is SEO. If you’re new to the world of SEO and content marketing, check out my post that covers my top 3 SEO tips for blogs!

3. Spending Money on Ads Is So 2006

I am the first to admit that paying for ads can have its place in your overall marketing strategy, but it shouldn’t be one of the only ways you’re generating new leads, building your email list and getting your offer in front of the right people.

If it is, it’s time to rethink your strategy. A holistic online marketing strategy includes SEO because it’s one of the only digital marketing channels that will provide long-term growth and ROI for your business. Aside from email, there isn’t another marketing channel that can provide the same value as SEO, period.

So what are you waiting for?

There’s no time like the present to start integrating SEO into your marketing efforts. Not sure where to get started? Here are 3 quick + easy ways to help you make SEO a priority.

1. Start mapping a keyword to each piece of new content you create. Not sure how? I wrote a blog post all about keyword research for beginners.
2. Create new content on the regular. Once a month is a great place to start.
3. Make sure your content has the right on-page optimization to help Google understand what your content is about and to help it rank. No idea what I’m talking about? Watch this 3-minute Loom video for a quick tutorial!

That’s a wrap! Convinced that you DO in fact need SEO for long-term growth? Yay! Still have questions? I love questions! Find me on IG and let’s chat!

xx

Nina