Search engine optimization is a HUGE factor in successfully getting quality targeted traffic to your website.
Here’s why
One article I read this morning stated that the average is 70% of all searches result in clicks on organically ranked links rather than paid ads.
Basically, that means that nearly three-quarters of all searchers will intentionally avoid the paid ads and look for websites, articles or videos that ranked on the first page for their search.
While that was only one article I’ve read studies that show the numbers of organic clicks being as low as 67% and as high as 82%, so the article was right in line with the studies.
What does this mean? (And what agencies that do primarily paid advertising won’t tell you.)
It means that while amazing paid advertising campaigns are important, especially while you’re establishing your organic rankings, they are not a good long term solution for quality targeted traffic and a high ROI (return on investment).
Two things happen when you capture organic search traffic.
First and most obvious, you are grabbing that 67% to 82% of the traffic that is actually looking for what is RANKED on the first page rather than the ads that are displayed.
Second and probably even more important, when people are polled as to why they choose the organically listed sites over the advertisements, they have an interesting answer.
Most of them will tell you that the ones that are organically listed must be the best options because they are good enough to be ranked. They don’t HAVE to pay for their placement.
Whether that is accurate or not is irrelevant, it is their perception that matters.
So how does that translate?
This is incredible news for those who are organically ranked on the first page.
This means that the consumer believes that whatever is ranked on the first page is the BEST.
And who doesn’t want to purchase, use or be associated with THE BEST?
So those people approach the sites or links on the first page of the search results with their mindset pre-framed that they are choosing the best.
Basically, they are coming to your site with the idea in their head that you have the best to offer and that is what they want.
This has a couple of significant consequences.
On the front end it increases your traffic, but on the back end, these people are much easier to convert from searchers to users or buyers.
Since they have come to your site already believing you are the best, your website layout, copy, and function are not required to be quite as clean as the sites that are paying for ads because the potential client already believes you’re better.
The bonus comes when your site IS pristinely laid out and has high performing copy and function.
All of the sudden you have a well-oiled client/customer getting machine.
HOWEVER…
Consider the flip side of that.
Say you have a website that functions OK, and the format is OK but a little dated or disjointed, your copy gets the point across but doesn’t really sell the customer well.
Throw in on top of that poor search engine rankings, basically anything after page one but especially page three or beyond.
Then let’s say that you are NOT doing any paid ads that go to some sort of sales or capture page.
What do you have?
Essentially you have a recipe for online marketing failure.
While that sounds harsh, it’s the truth, and if you don’t know the truth, you don’t know what to fix. However, if you know the truth, you can fix it.
Here’s the key…
When I first really got started into the world of marketing, one of my mentors told me that if there are 10 major factors to successful marketing, you never have to master them all.
He said that in any given campaign you can get 2 or 3 of the most important factors spot on and make money.
His point was that the other factors don’t have to be perfect.
Yes, they still need to have quality put into them and the closer they are to spot on, the better the entire campaign will perform. But they do not need to be perfect.
I didn’t fully believe him at the time, but I have put this theory to the test and he is completely correct.
So when you consider that you only need about 25% to 33% of the factors totally spot on, it’s best to choose the most important.
Obviously one of those is search engine rankings.
If you can have traffic looking for what you have to offer coming to your website with the established belief that you are the best, the chances that they will buy are much greater than any other way.
Their mind is already set.
Heck… I’ve done it.
I’ve looked for something and then clicked over to their page only to be a little confused about where exactly to go and yet persisted simply because it made sense that I should use their product or service.
I have purchased under some of the most convoluted situations of forms that don’t work, navigation that doesn’t make sense and tracking across a couple of different sites to finally reach where I wanted to be.
All because I initially thought they were probably the best to go with.
When we stop and pay attention to what we’re actually thinking when we go through this we can even catch ourselves making excuses for the company and their lack of a functional website.
I was blown away on a particular search when I realized I had just thought “they must not be too worried about their website because they are so busy and if they are that busy, they obviously deserve to be.”
Before I knew it, I had sold and resold myself on the idea that they were the best before I ever even got to my desired final destination.
While this may not happen all of the time, I promise you it happens the vast majority of the time and most people just don’t even realize they’ve done it to themselves.
So the question is, where do you want your business to fall in all of this?
Placing ads in mad competition only to gain 20% to 30% of the traffic?
Or would you rather be organically ranked in the search results and gain the lion share of the traffic that is ALREADY predisposed to taking advantage of what you have to offer?
I realize that I’m asking a rather No-Brainer type of question, but many company owners and marketers won’t even consider this a serious opportunity… despite the fact that the numbers don’t lie.
So here’s the reality…
Not all businesses or marketing situations are a great fit for technical search engine optimization, but many are.
If they aren’t, it is usually simply a matter of developing a marketing strategy to support the time it takes to establish quality organic rankings.
So what we do… we do an analysis of your company’s current traffic situation and rankings and let you know where you are and what the possibilities are.
You tell us what your goals are and we develop a plan with you to get from here to there.
There is no risk and no obligation to finding out where you are and what your potential is, so contact us today by filling out the discovery form and we will be happy to take an in depth look.
Just click the button to be taken to the Discovery Form.
Fill everything out to the best of your ability (don’t over think it, but be honest), and we will do our magic.
Within a couple of days, you will receive a video that details our findings.
Whether you work with us or not, you will have valuable information to help your company succeed and grow.
