SEO is always changing. We’ve seen so many changes over the years since the introduction of search engines over 20 years ago. Google began in 1998, in 1999 it took Google around 1 month to create an index of 50 million web pages. Fast forward to 2012 and this task was completed in less than a minute. This is one example of how quickly search engines are evolving to better cater for user’s ever more complex requests. It’s clear that as the web grows and features such as voice search are becoming more popular, SEO is here to stay. We’re taking a look at the Benefits of SEO for your business in 2022.
One of the main focuses for search engines in 2022 is the user experience. Google in particular is making huge efforts to adapt it’s search algorithms to favour sites with a good user experience. What is defined as a good user experience? A fast loading website, an easy to use layout and navigation, and trustworthy, authoritative and relevant content. So, for any SEO agency, there’s certainly plenty of challenges ahead to keep clients ranking high in organic search in 2022.
Let’s take a look at some of the main benefits of SEO for your business in 2022:
Organic Search Drives Traffic
There’s no disputing it, organic traffic is a major contributor to website traffic. According to BrightEdge, organic search accounts for 53.3% of website traffic. That’s a statistic that can’t be ignored when it comes to developing a digital marketing strategy for your business.
Most websites appear in the Google index for one or more of their site’s pages. But, very few are actually optimised with SEO. Shockingly, 90.63% of websites receive zero traffic from organic search (Ahrefs).
So, why have a website, if nobody can find it and see your products and services?
0.78% of searchers click on a search result on the 2nd page (Backlinko). Enough said, your website needs to be on page one for at least one of your main keywords or phrases.
SEO is Constantly Changing
As we’ve mentioned above, SEO is never going to be a set recipe for success online. Search engine algorithms are changing constantly. There’s no simple one-time fix for a website to rank in search engines.
On average, Google makes 6 algorithm changes per day! Therefore, it’s fair to say that a business needs a long term SEO plan. Whether that’s an in-house SEO specialist or a reputable SEO agency, to keep up with changes and make modifications to the website on a regular basis.
A Great User Experience
Users to your website need to have the best possible user experience from the very start. Otherwise, they’ll go elsewhere. A delay in page loading beyond a few seconds can have massive implications for your website bounce rate. This will ultimately lead to a drop down the rankings.
In short, if your website doesn’t keep users on the page, why should Google display it high in results?
This will be a major ranking factor and benefit of SEO in 2021. Beyond page loading speed, there are many other factors that help to create a great user experience, including layout, heading, responsive theme, easy to use menus. These are all things that an SEO agency will look at and adapt to better rank your website in organic search.
Increased Conversion Rates
So, your website is attracting traffic, the bounce rate is at an acceptable level, but where are the sales?
You may be getting a good flow of traffic through your website, but not seeing these convert into sales or enquiries. There might me many reasons, but commonly, these can be solved during search engine optimisation.
Reasons including poor menu / navigation structure, broken links, slow page load speeds, missing or inaccurate content can all lead to reduced or missed sales. Firstly the reasons need to be established through looking at analytics data. From here your SEO agency can identify the problem and increase that conversion rate!
Brand Awareness
You’re growing your business and you want to be recognised as one of the best in your industry. Either personally, or under your brand name.
Yes, your branding is on your website, or it should be! But, when a Google, Bing or Yahoo user searches for a product or service you offer, wouldn’t it be nice if your brand name was appearing more and more frequently in search results?
As part of any SEO package, incorporating brand identity into your optimisation strategy is essential. Headings, Meta Descriptions and Schema Markup are all On-Page SEO factors, and using your brand identity to build your authority with both search engines and users is vital.
Conclusion
We’ve covered what we believe to be some of the most important benefits of SEO, as we move into 2022. SEO has never been so important, and keeping on top of a carefully prepared SEO Strategy is key to ranking your business website high in organic search.
If you have any questions, we’re always happy to help. Comment below or contact us.
