Why SEO should be one of your top marketing channels

Over the years, many of my new clients often ask the same question, why do I need to focus so much on Search Engine Optimization? They may already have success with their online traffic through social, direct, referral, and paid channels. So why invest into a channel that should technically be free organic traffic? It’s pretty loaded question, so let’s first think about the customer journey through your typical marketing funnel.

When a user is on social media, such as Facebook, Instagram or Twitter - they are being served up very targeted media. You may pique their interest and drive a click to a piece of content or product. However, this is someone who wasn’t actively searching for this product. We’re not talking about retargeting here, just audience or behavioral targeting. Because of this, we typically see lower click through and conversion rates coming from awareness campaigns. Now lets shift over to the mindset of a user who’s actively searching for an answer to their problem.

Based on the language your prospect is using within Google, we can make several assumptions. They may be educating themselves in the category, comparing brands or products, or committed to making a purchase. Therefore, you could assume the intent of the prospect seeking a solution to their need, is much higher than someone who’s just being targeted through various algorithms.

If you’re running Ecommerce store or looking to generate retailer leads, then organic search should always be a top priority in your marketing strategy. Brands that dominate search, are simply going to edge (if not crush) the competition.

So how do you build a solid SEO strategy that impacts your bottom line? Well there are many factors, but the most important will always be quality content. Supporting that content, should be a well planned keyword strategy, quality backlinks, a super fast page load, and a mobile friendly or responsive website (and if you’re already on AMP, kudos to you). The more targeted keywords you rank for, means more organic traffic, and the more traffic you drive, the more sales conversions you will likely receive.

Since you’re not the only brand trying to build your search presence, it’s important to continue to monitor and optimize your content. Increasing the amount of keywords you’re ranking for is a daily grind. The positioning of those keywords is equally as important. 60% of all clicks go to the top 3 organic results, so increasing your keyword positioning becomes a game of inches. Depending on how competitive your market is, it may mean months or years until you can reach the top 3 for certain keywords. It’s important to note that not all keywords are created equal. Some keywords will drive significantly more traffic and conversions than others. This is why paid search can be so expensive. If you’re bidding on extremely competitive keywords, expect to pay a high cost-per-click and cost-per-acquisition.

Your website may already be SEO-friendly, but remember that’s only the beginning of the journey. One day you’re ranking #1 for ‘acme widgets’, and the next day you’ve slipped to #4. So how do you counter those losing positions? Through regular maintenance of your search meta, existing content, and regular posting of new content. Search meta is the title, description, and URL you see in search engine results pages (SERPS). I have seen so many brands brush this off as an afterthought. However, this is THE most important piece of content to drive a click through to your website. Therefore, it should be continually optimized to increase your CTR’s (click-through-rate) and conversions. Every piece of content becomes a new entry point for your brand, so building a strong content journey should be a crucial aspect of your SEO maintenance strategy.

Here at Electric Enjin we offer various SEO maintenance programs. If you’re interested to learn more about how that all works, visit: https://electricenjin.com/seo