10 Ways an SEO Agency Can Support Your Business Growth
Do you run a small business? Are you wondering how to make yourself stand out in the capital’s vibrant yet competitive market? Are you looking to boost your online visibility, get more traffic to your website and grow your sales?
If your answer is yes to any or all of these, it’s time to consider hiring an SEO agency. Search engine optimisation (SEO) is about making your website more ‘friendly’ to search algorithms so you appear high in search results. With the likes of Google serving as vital hubs for web traffic, winning in search is a tried and tested strategy for driving business growth online.
By working with an experienced SEO agency, you get the benefits of professional expertise that can unlock potential in your business and set you on a footing for sustainable growth for years to come. Here are 10 top reasons to consider hiring an SEO specialist.
Increase Website Traffic
The general business argument for SEO is straightforward. Search engines remain the single biggest source of web traffic out there, with Google alone accounting for 66% of web traffic referrals. If you want more people visiting your site, search marketing is the obvious first port of call.
But how much traffic you get from search depends fundamentally on where you rank in search results (SERPs). The first page accounts for anything between 71% and 92% of search-generated traffic. And that is heavily weighted to the very top results, with the #1 ranking position getting 10 times the traffic of #10.
To put it simply, if you want to increase traffic to your website from search engines, you have to hit those top-ranking positions. That doesn’t happen by chance. SEO is essential for making your web pages search algorithm-friendly – easy to index and scoring highly against a long list of ranking criteria. It’s not easy, and given how competitive the landscape is, you need professional SEO expertise to get results.
Raise Your Online Visibility
SEO is often described as making web pages more ‘visible’ to search engine algorithms, so when someone runs a particular search term, your site is the one that stands out as the most relevant and useful. That’s what gaining high rankings in SERPs is all about. But beyond making a page or site more visible to search bots, SEO is also a powerful tool for raising your brand visibility to an even more important audience – would-be customers.
Search engines remain the single most common way people start the process of looking for something to buy online – 44% of all shopping journeys start on search. As we’ve seen, the overwhelming majority of those searches result in people clicking on the top few results. High search rankings are therefore all about being visible. And if you’re consistently hitting high SERP rankings thanks to a strong SEO strategy, over time that visibility will translate into higher brand recognition. People will then skip the search and start coming to you directly.
Gain a Competitive Edge
While two-thirds of total web traffic comes from search, the average website can expect only around 17% of visits to come from organic search. The reason for this discrepancy is simple – search is an incredibly competitive field. Yes, it generates huge volumes of traffic. But that has to be shared around millions of websites.
This again underlines the importance of taking SEO seriously and getting expert help with it. Hitting those top SERP rankings isn’t easy. But the payback if you do is enormous. The top spot in search offers an astonishing click-through rate of 39.3%, meaning the top-ranking link results in traffic to your site from more than one in three searches. That gives you a huge edge if you get it.
Boost Conversion Rates
Beyond getting more clicks through to your site, what businesses really want is to convert as much of that traffic as possible into sales, or even better, into high-value repeat custom. There’s more to that than simply multiplying clicks. You want those clicks to come from what are known in marketing as qualified leads – those who are a strong match for your product or service, and who visit your site with a high intention to buy.
SEO specialists can generate more qualified leads by analysing the relationship between search terms and conversions in your niche, identifying what terms the most likely-to-buy searchers are using, and then optimising for those. Our digital team will also always look to make landing pages and websites as attractive and user-friendly as possible, so the path to purchase after clicking a link in SERPs is straightforward.
Unleash the Power of Local SEO
From cafes, pubs and restaurants to hair and beauty salons to tradespeople and more, many small businesses are focused on serving their local communities, or else winning passing trade in a particular area. For these types of businesses, online visibility and strong performance in search engines is vitally important. 98% of people use the internet to find information about local businesses, and 87% of people specifically use Google.
Local SEO is all about optimising your website for location-based searches. In a city the size of London where people are spoilt for choice whatever type of business or service they are looking for, making yourself as visible and prominent as possible on search is an essential part of your marketing strategy.
Get Value for Money on Marketing Spend
SEO can be a very cost-effective marketing strategy. We’ve talked about the big rewards in terms of traffic and visibility if you hit those high SERP spots. But it doesn’t require high input costs to achieve those goals. It’s not like advertising or paid search where you are paying for the privilege of getting your name (and links) in front of people in the right places. A lot of the tools you need for SEO – keyword research and analytics, website auditing tools, and backlink builders – are available for low cost or even for free.
One thing you do have to invest in organic search optimisation is time. It’s a slow burn to get results. What you don’t want to do is put a lot of time and effort in for little return. It’s better to get help from professionals who can ensure you see results.
Take a Data-Driven Approach
As SEO has become more and more competitive, data analytics has become more and more important. There are so many factors that affect SERs rankings beyond keywords and search terms – quality of content, usability and accessibility, page speed and site performance, mobile friendliness, backlinks and navigation – that it’s next to impossible to keep on top of all of them effectively without leaning on data.
Increasingly, successful SEO relies on spotting or anticipating trends in ranking criteria, or in how people are conducting searches, and capitalising while you can, before changing tack quickly as and when new opportunities come along. This requires ongoing analysis of performance, keyword trends and the wider search and digital environment. It’s a specialised and technical field and one that requires professional expertise and experience to succeed in.
Leverage Expert Knowledge
We’ve mentioned the importance of SEO expertise several times already. SEO is a complex area of marketing because it straddles several different disciplines at once. Even putting aside, the highly specialised field of search algorithms and how they work (and no one outside Google or the other major search engines can be entirely sure!), effective SEO takes in elements of web design, digital strategy, content strategy and creation, data analytics, website performance optimisation and more.
It’s not easy to learn all of this, run a business, and then have the time to put it into practice continually. Working with an SEO agency gives you access to the knowledge and skills you need straight from the off and gives you the best chance to achieve your goals.
Focus on Core Business
As well as unlocking better performance and competitive advantage thanks to expert knowledge, outsourcing to an SEO agency also takes the burden off you. As we’ve said, SEO is a long-term commitment, it takes time to see the fruits of your labour, and it needs continuous attention as a small business owner, it’s incredibly challenging to find the time to put that work in, never mind learn all the ins and outs of how SEO works.
Hiring an SEO agency, you can trust allows you to forget all about SEO and focus on doing what you do best – running your business.
Support Long-Term Sustainable Growth for Your Business
Finally, while it’s true that SEO requires long-term commitment and can be a slow burn in terms of returning results, the benefits are equally long-term. Good SEO strategy involves things like optimising your website for performance, content and the overall quality of the experience it provides, not just looking to drive traffic. That can only benefit your customers and your business in the long term. Good SEO also focuses on driving more qualified leads to your site, and/or building visibility and brand recognition in your local area.
You could say that, in broad terms, SEO is about refocusing on the things that help any digital business thrive. So, working with an SEO agency is an investment in your long-term stability and growth.
Ready to see how a market-leading London SEO agency can take your business to the next level? Get in touch with our digital marketing team.
Frequently Asked Questions
What role does mobile optimisation play in SEO?
Mobile optimisation is crucial for SEO because a significant portion of web traffic comes from mobile devices. Google also prioritises mobile-friendly websites in its rankings. Ensuring your site is mobile-responsive improves user experience and boosts your chances of ranking higher.
What is the role of backlinks in SEO, and how do they help SMEs?
Backlinks are links from other websites to yours and act as endorsements for your site’s credibility. For SMEs, acquiring quality backlinks from trusted sources can improve search rankings and drive referral traffic from those sites.
Can SEO help with re-engaging past customers?
Yes, SEO strategies like retargeting past visitors through content updates or optimised landing pages can help bring back previous customers. Providing fresh, relevant content and maintaining a strong online presence keeps your business at the top of their mind.
How does SEO integrate with other digital marketing strategies?
SEO complements other strategies like content marketing, social media, and email campaigns. For example, high-quality blog posts optimised for search can be shared on social platforms to increase reach, while email campaigns can include links to SEO-optimised landing pages.
How long does it take to see results from SEO?
SEO is a long-term strategy. It may take several months to see significant improvements in search rankings and traffic. However, these results tend to be more sustainable over time compared to paid marketing campaigns.
What are the risks of not investing in SEO?
Without SEO, your website risks low visibility in search results, making it harder for potential customers to find you. Competitors who invest in SEO can dominate search rankings, leaving your business at a significant disadvantage.
Dominique Childs
