Why is SEO Important for Small Businesses?

As a small business owner, you often feel like a jack of all trades. You are responsible for overseeing your finances, managing your staff, and marketing your company to grow your business. Many small business owners feel overwhelmed at the realm of responsibilities they manage, and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) may not be on their radar as a priority. However, a well-managed SEO campaign can have long-lasting results by growing revenue and positively impacting your business’s visibility online. So, let’s dive into some of the most important reasons why SEO is beneficial for small businesses:

SEO Increases Brand Recognition

SEO is designed to make your website easily accessible to search engines while appealing to the users who are utilizing those search engines. The traffic that flows to your site from search engines is called organic traffic. By attracting organic traffic to your site, your company’s brand recognition is elevated. This is especially important for any new business working to gain visibility in front of a new customer base. SEO helps you gain visibility in front of those customers who have already determined a need for the product or service you offer but have not yet heard of your brand. 

Search Engines Generate the Most (Well-Qualified) Customers

As a business owner efficiency is key, especially on your profit & loss sheet. Think about TV advertising for a moment. TV advertising requires a large spend to reach a big audience. However, only a small segment of that audience would qualify as your potential customer. SEO is different in that it directly connects you to qualified customers without the excessive spend to reach your target audience.

In addition, organic traffic typically contributes the largest share of visitors to a company’s website. This is why it is so essential to ensure your site is optimized appropriately. Failing to do so prevents you from receiving your share of qualified visitors, along with the revenue that is associated with those visits.

SEO Evens the Playing Field

As a small business, you could be competing with another business down the block, or a global corporation. Let’s say you own a coffee shop for example. How do you compete with the international coffee chains of the world with green-haired mermaids on their cups? SEO offers that opportunity. If someone is searching online for a coffee shop nearby, having an optimized website allows your business to display within the very same search results where larger businesses are getting listed. SEO levels the playing field by giving your business online visibility to well-qualified customers, allowing you to steal market share from larger competitors. 

SEO is Relatively Inexpensive

In terms of ROI, SEO is one of the best long-term investments you can make for your growing business. Unlike other forms of digital marketing, truly good SEO can make an impact that lasts several years. If you are a new business owner, constructing a strong SEO foundation for your website is critical to building your company’s digital presence in the marketplace. You can start by creating an organized site structure, designing the site to provide a good user experience, and writing optimized title tags and meta descriptions for your web pages. But it doesn’t end there. SEO is constantly evolving. And just like Google’s algorithms, best practices are updated regularly. So as your budget allows, you will need to hire a specialist who can commit the time necessary to grow your brand.

In today’s world, businesses can no longer afford to ignore their digital presence. With a little bit of guidance, SEO empowers you to set your business apart from the competition and highlight your unique selling points in a competitive market. If you have questions about your digital marketing, we’re here to help. Leverage Marketing is built on 17 years of digital marketing experience. Contact us to learn more about our vast array of services and discover how we can tailor a strategy to meet your needs.