Why SEO is key as a marketing strategy

Search engine optimisation is something of a mystery to most individuals who’ve heard about it. The process is colloquially termed SEO, and some say it’s the secret recipe to business website success. Imagine if you could tap into a resource that facilitates free website traffic, every month, for the rest of time (or until the internet is switched off). Well, it’s not the stuff of legend; it’s search engine optimisation. When done correctly, SEO can enhance a website completely, and even catapult brands to pole position in their industry and on Google’s first page. Here’s why you should consider making SEO the centre of your business marketing strategy.

The world is digital

Try and count how many things you do online. For many of us this list includes socialising, researching, banking, ordering food, entertainment, etc. Google is the first place most human beings turn when needing information, or looking for products and services to spend their money on. This move into more digitalisation has made having a professional website a business ‘must-have’, instead of the optional extra ‘the big guys’ had.

SEO equals authority

Studies have concluded that, excluding the paid adverts, position 1 and 2 on a Google search results page have the best chance of being clicked on. This is so because of two things: laziness and assumption. People have become lazy and impatient, and prefer to have their problems solved in the least amount of time. For this reason, we seldom scroll lower down than the third or fourth link on Google. People also assume that, because website A is ranked higher than website B, it might be better.

It’s free traffic for life

Many digital marketers call SEO a source of free traffic, but this is not exactly true. On the contrary, SEO is quite a pricy investment at the offset. This is due to the sheer volume of hours it takes to fully optimise a website – especially online retailers that have a high number of product pages. However, there is a method to this madness. Once a website has been properly optimised for SEO (including all on-page and off-page actions), it will start generating traffic organically after a while.

Websites are now showrooms

SEO is going to make sure that your website is found on the internet, and this is a critical assurance to have these days. The COVID-19 outbreak has shown us just how dangerous public spaces can be, especially when there is a life-threatening virus going around. People will be reluctant to flock in droves to shopping centres, and online shopping is going to kick off in a way never experienced before. This means that the business website is now where customers will be seeing products and engaging with staff. The better the SEO, the more digital feet through the doors.

Get in touch with the Digital School of Marketing

Got a hidden search engine optimisation guru within you? The Digital School of Marketing is proud to offer all South Africans world-class marketing qualifications, like our SEO and Web Analytics course. Find your next career move on our digital marketing courses page, and get in touch for further info!