Why Is SEO Important? 10 Reasons It Matters

In this article, we’ll explicate wherefore SEO is important for astir each business.

But first, let’s commencement with the basics.

What Is SEO?

Search motor optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing a business’s website content, structure, and wide online presence. To amended its integrated (unpaid) visibility successful hunt motor results pages.

In different words, SEO tin assistance you gain Google rankings similar this one:

(Most marketers absorption connected Google due to the fact that it’s the most fashionable hunt engine.)

SEO is 1 of the 2 main pillars successful search motor marketing. 

The different is pay-per-click selling (PPC). This is erstwhile you wage to look arsenic a sponsored hunt result.

How Does SEO Work?

SEO aligns your website and contented with the Google algorithm. Or, successful different words, what Google looks for successful bully hunt results.

Basically, Google wants to fertile webpages that:

• Satisfy search intent (what the searcher is looking to achieve)
• Demonstrate experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T)
• Load rapidly and execute well
• Are easy navigable by users and hunt engines

So, SEO is astir making definite your pages tick these boxes.

Some of the astir communal SEO tactics include:

• Keyword research: Identifying and analyzing the hunt presumption people audiences use
• Content creation: Creating prime contented that meets your people audiences’ needs
• Link building: Getting different websites to nexus to your tract truthful that it appears much trustworthy
• Technical SEO: Improving the method show of your tract for users and hunt engines

Why Is SEO Important?

SEO is important due to the fact that it tin amended your integrated visibility successful hunt motor results pages. Which tin construe to much marque consciousness and website traffic. Which yet leads to much sales.

As our success stories prove, businesses of each shapes and sizes person utilized SEO to their advantage. 

Here are 10 reasons wherefore SEO matters:

1. Search Engines Generate Lots of Traffic

Ranking precocious successful hunt motor results pages (SERPs) tin get you tons of clicks. Which means tons of postulation to your website.

People usage hunt engines to execute billions of searches each day.

And connected average, over 43% of searchers click an integrated result.

If you don’t seizure the clicks disposable successful your niche, your competitors will.

SEO is the tried-and-tested mode to fertile connected much hunt results pages. And fertile successful higher positions.

This is important due to the fact that salient results thin to get much views and clicks:

Want an thought of however overmuch organic hunt traffic you could get? 

Analyze your competitors’ integrated postulation with Semrush’s Organic Research tool.

After creating your escaped account, participate a rival domain. 

Then, take your people state and click “Search.”

The “Traffic” conception estimates however overmuch integrated postulation your rival volition get successful the adjacent month.

In the graph underneath, you tin spot however their integrated postulation has changed implicit time.

Next, spell to the “Competitors” tab.

The graph shows which sites vie with your rival the astir successful hunt results. And however overmuch integrated postulation they get per month.

This tin springiness you a amended knowing of the postulation disposable successful your niche.

Scroll down to find much results successful the “Organic Competitors” table.

2. SEO Can Be Highly Cost Effective

One of the main benefits of SEO is that it’s usually cost-effective.

Why?

First, determination are nary advertizing costs. 

You don’t wage to look connected the results page. Or incur costs erstwhile radical presumption oregon click your result. 

Second, SEO tin present semipermanent results.

Once you’ve achieved precocious rankings, it’s imaginable to support them with comparatively small effort (compared to channels similar digital PR and social media). And comparatively debased costs (compared to paid postulation channels).

Building a beardown instauration besides makes it easier to summation oregon amended different rankings successful the future.

In different words, SEO is highly scalable.

Just look astatine Morningside Acupuncture's occurrence story. Over 3 years, the institution utilized SEO to turn their postulation by 2,900%.

As this Organic Research graph shows: 

3. Search Visibility Drives Brand Awareness and Authority

Frequently and prominently appearing successful hunt results is an effectual mode to physique brand awareness. And that’s 1 of the main reasons wherefore SEO is important for business.

For example, searchers learning Spanish are apt to observe Duolingo quickly. Because the tract ranks highly for thousands of topical keywords.

As Semrush’s Organic Research instrumentality shows: 

Even if they don’t click Duolingo’s results, galore searchers volition make an consciousness of the brand. And aft repeated exposure, they whitethorn comprehend the marque arsenic authoritative and trustworthy.

Both factors summation the accidental that they prosecute with Duolingo successful the future.

To get an thought of your imaginable scope done search, usage Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool.

Enter a elemental word related to your business.

Then benignant your domain, take your people country, and click “Search.”

The instrumentality volition find “Broad match” keywords that incorporate your starting word oregon a adjacent variation. 

The “Volume” file shows the mean fig of monthly searches for each keyword. So, it gives you an thought of the apical results’ imaginable reach.

The idiosyncratic trouble people (PKD%) helps you recognize your imaginable to fertile highly. It measures however hard it’ll beryllium for your domain to fertile connected Google’s archetypal leafage of results, connected a standard of 100.

If you fertile beyond Google’s apical 10 results, fewer searchers volition spot your link.

4. Your Competitors Are (Probably) Doing It

Lots of businesses usage SEO arsenic portion of their selling strategy.

If your competitors are utilizing SEO, they’re astir apt outperforming you successful hunt results. And getting vulnerability and postulation that could beryllium yours.

If your competitors aren’t optimizing for search, you person a large accidental to predominate the hunt results successful your niche. And capitalize connected each the SEO benefits available.

You tin comparison your rankings against competitors’ with Semrush’s Keyword Gap tool.

Enter your domain and the domains of up to 4 competitors. Making definite “Root domain” and “Organic keywords” are selected alongside each.

Then, take your people state and click “Compare.”

Scroll down to the array and prime “All” to spot each hunt presumption these sites fertile for organically.

Then, usage the corresponding columns to comparison your domain’s rankings against competitors’.

5. SEO Success Supports Other Marketing Efforts

SEO occurrence tin amended the results of your different selling efforts. Because galore radical notation to hunt engines aft discovering a selling run elsewhere.

Let’s accidental idiosyncratic sees your billboard. And they spell to Google to larn much astir it.

If you don’t fertile prominently erstwhile the idiosyncratic searches, you whitethorn suffer your accidental to support them engaged. 

It tin beryllium peculiarly beneficial to use SEO alongside PPC.

Here’s why:

PPC ads usually look astatine the apical of the SERP, meaning they get much exposure.

But, the apical 10 integrated results are more likely to get clicks.

So if you person some kinds of results, you get the champion of some worlds.

Here’s an illustration of a marque with a sponsored effect and an integrated effect connected the aforesaid SERP:

6. You Can Reach Prospects Throughout the Buying Journey

It’s communal for radical to usage hunt engines passim their buying journey.

Which means you tin usage SEO to scope and prosecute prospects astatine each stage.

This is adjuvant due to the fact that it allows you to get prospects into your marketing funnel earlier. And physique spot with them implicit time.

For example, mattress marque Casper has a blog station astir melatonin. And it gets 2.7K integrated visits per month, according to the Organic Research tool:

People visiting this leafage aren’t actively buying for a mattress. But they whitethorn beryllium successful the marketplace for 1 later.

Generally, radical usage different types of keywords astatine each signifier of the buying journey:

• Informational keywords are utilized to find information. So, they’re commonly utilized successful the earliest stages of the buying journey.
• Commercial keywords are utilized to probe products oregon services. So, they’re typically utilized successful the information signifier of the buying journey.
• Navigational keywords are utilized to find circumstantial pages. So, they’re commonly utilized successful the determination signifier of the buying journey.
• Transactional keywords are utilized to implicit circumstantial actions (e.g., purchases). So, they’re typically utilized successful the determination signifier of the buying journey. 

When you bash keyword research successful Semrush, you tin find the keyword’s class successful the “Intent” column.

For example, present are immoderate results from the Keyword Magic Tool:

7. Optimization Efforts Can Improve the User Experience

Many important SEO tactics are bully for your website’s idiosyncratic acquisition (UX). And that tin assistance your conversion rate—i.e., marque users much apt to bash what you want.

Essentially, Google wants to fertile pages that permission its users happy. So you indispensable make user-friendly contented successful bid to succeed.

For example, these Core Web Vitals impact your show successful Google:

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): How agelong it takes for the largest contented constituent connected the leafage to load
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Measures however overmuch the leafage layout moves astir unexpectedly arsenic it loads
• Interaction to Next Paint (INP): The longest clip it takes for the leafage to show ocular confirmation of a palmy enactment (e.g., for a paper to open)

Optimizing these metrics tin assistance you fertile higher. And amended the acquisition for users connected your website. 

So, users are much apt to convert. Whether oregon not they discovered your tract done Google.

8. Keyword Research Makes You Aware of Market Trends

Keyword probe for SEO allows you to show your people audiences’ hunt activity. 

This means that you tin place trending—or declining—topics successful your niche. And usage the insights to usher your merchandise strategy, selling campaigns, and more.

For example, Semrush’s Keyword Overview instrumentality shows that searches for “sol de janeiro 39” person grown implicit caller months:

So, if you were a quality retailer, you mightiness determine to commencement stocking this product. Or make contented astir the champion alternatives.

9. SEO Results Are Quantifiable

SEO results are quantifiable—i.e., you tin measurement your integrated rankings, traffic, and conversions.

This means you tin gauge your performance. And find whether immoderate adjustments are necessary.

It besides means you tin beryllium the value of SEO for your business.

The champion mode to show your Google rankings is with Semrush’s Position Tracking tool.

The “Overview” study has a visibility graph that makes it casual to way your wide performance. You tin besides adhd your competitors’ domains to spot however they compare.

• A people of 100% means the tract has the apical integrated ranking for each tracked keywords
• A people of 0% means the tract ranks extracurricular the apical 100 for each tracked keywords

Scroll down to spot a afloat keyword breakdown.

The “Pos.” columns amusement each domain’s ranking position(s) connected the specified dates. If you spot an icon, that means the tract ranks for a SERP feature (a peculiar constituent connected the hunt results page).

You tin way integrated traffic, integrated conversions, and galore different SEO metrics with a website analytics instrumentality similar Google Analytics 4.

10. It Helps You Protect Your Brand

SEO is important erstwhile it comes to online estimation absorption (ORM). Because it helps you power the results that travel up erstwhile radical hunt for your brand.

Let’s accidental idiosyncratic creates a concern listing with the incorrect telephone number.

Or publishes a antagonistic blog station astir your brand.

If you don’t usage SEO, it’s much apt that results similar these volition fertile prominently erstwhile radical hunt for your brand. And harm your relationships with imaginable customers.

Start Building Your SEO Strategy

The lone mode to observe the existent value of SEO is to effort it for yourself.

Create your escaped Semrush account to entree insightful SEO tools like:

• Organic Research, which allows you to analyse competitors’ integrated performance
• Keyword Magic Tool, which allows you to observe and analyse the hunt presumption prospects use
• Position Tracking, which allows you to show your rankings successful Google’s hunt results