Strategically, Internet Marketing is important for every business and in the ever-changing digital landscape, SEO is a fundamental aspect. Unfortunately, SEO is often misunderstood by business owners as something vague and intangible. When distributing your marketing budget and considering an SEO firm, questions may come up.
Why is organic SEO more effective than AdWords and other paid strategies?
How can I effectively measure the return on my investment and how do I make sure I am working with a good SEO firm?
Why SEO?
As an internet marketing strategy, SEO places your product or service directly in front of target markets who are actively searching for it. As such, when done effectively, SEO undoubtedly offers the greatest return on investment for any marketing strategy. From a business to consumer standpoint it is indispensable. The vast majority of customers now begin their buying decisions with an online search, which means being top of the Google rankings is critical. Furthermore, whilst SEO tactics are almost completely responsive to Google, it is with good reason. Google accounts for 94% of organic traffic searches as opposed to the 5% shared by other majority search engines, Bing and Yahoo.
Organic vs paid search
The difference between organic and paid search is simple. Paid searches use Google AdWords to climb to the top of the search results immediately, whilst organic searches use SEO tactics to reach the top of the Google rankings over time. However, Click Through Rates have proven consistently over time so, despite Google AdWords giving you a spot at the top of Google pages, organic results consistently receive the vast majority of traffic. A sample study taken by GroupM UK and Nielsen found that 94% of traffic went to organic results, whilst only 6% went to paid search results. The general consensus is that organic searches are trusted as their spot is believed to be valued and not bought. This means in the long run that not only will you receive more traffic from organic SEO but the public perception of your brand will be better.
Measuring ROI
Despite the misconception that SEO can be vague in practice and results, it actually offers tangible metrics to gauge the return on your marketing investment. Google Analytics offers a broad range of statistics that can assist you in measuring your progress. The most basic metric you can use to gauge the benefit of SEO is the rise in non-branded organic traffic. This means traffic brought in directly by Google searches. Likewise, an increase in inbound links will show you when another site is linking to yours and, therefore, when the new content you are creating is improving the popularity of your site. Additionally, SEO lets you see exactly where your traffic is coming from. This allows you to segment your demographics, which can be invaluable when trying to target consumers. Other types of traditional marketing just don’t offer the same specificity.
Ultimately, though other forms of internet marketing such as AdWords can be effective in targeting markets such as seasonal products and limited capacity products, SEO brings you a far greater return on your investment in the medium to long-term. As a young and unregulated industry, standards of SEO firms can be inconsistent. However, hiring a quality SEO firm is simply a matter of working with someone who has testimonials and who is communicative and transparent. The benefits of solid SEO practices are holistic, and when combined with effective content creation and social media strategies, can position your brand as an authority. Contact us today to see how SEO can better your business.
Bambrick has helped over 500 local and interstate businesses get better ROI from their marketing strategies. To speak to one of our Brisbane SEO, PPC or Social Media strategists about your digital marketing goals, get in touch today. We can be reached on (07) 3216 1151, or by completing our online contact form.