SEO has become widely adopted in an online digital marketing strategy because of its effectiveness. While the benefits of SEO are vast, here are the top 5.

The digital landscape has changed dramatically over the past few years, but SEO still remains an effective and important marketing strategy. While there are many benefits to a good SEO strategy, we have outlined the top 5 SEO benefits in digital marketing to help you understand (or remind you!) why SEO is awesome.

Increased Traffic – Top positions on the search engine result pages receive a majority of the impressions and clicks, so ranking in these top positions can result in significant traffic increases for your website. SEO also focuses on creating informative and keyword-relevant title tags and meta descriptions, which show up in the result pages. Having optimized tags and descriptions helps to increase the click-through rate, which also promotes increases in qualified web traffic.

ROI – SEO provides trackable and quantifiable results, regardless of whether you are an e-commerce or non-e-commerce site so there are no qualms when it comes to ROI. SEO agencies can track nearly every aspect of their SEO strategy, like increases in rankings, traffic, and conversions. Comprehensive analytics also provide the ability to drill down at a granular level and see demographic information and other engagement metrics for individuals who have interacted with your website. E-commerce sites, SEO agencies can see which paths users take to complete a sale, all the way down to which keyword they used to search for you before purchasing. For non-e-commerce sites, you can attribute values to your lead conversions, like a ‘contact us’ form fill-out, and calculate the value of your SEO strategy that way.

Cost-effectiveness – SEO is one of the most cost-effective marketing strategies because it targets users who are actively looking for your products and services online. SEO’s inbound nature helps businesses save money as opposed to outbound strategies like cold-calling. While cold-calling can still be an effective strategy, the leads generated cost 61% more than leads generated by an inbound strategy like SEO. And since SEO also targets users who are actively searching for products and services like yours, the traffic resulting from SEO is more qualified than many other marketing strategies, resulting in cost-savings for companies.

Increased site usability – To make your website easier to navigate for the search engines, SEO simultaneously helps to make your website more navigable for users as well. SEO consists of rearranging the site’s architecture and links to make pages within the website easier to find and navigate. This not only makes it easier for search engines to crawl your site and find pages but also makes it easier for users to find information on your website as well.

Brand Awareness – Since top position rankings result in significant impressions, having your website in these top positions on the result pages translates to more exposure for your website. Plus, being on the first page for your targeted keywords not only helps users associate your brand with those keywords, but it instills trust since companies on the first page are generally perceived to be more trustworthy. The more your pages and content rank in high positions in the search engines, the more chances you have for users to see your content and associate with your brand.

Like what you read on the benefits of SEO? For more information on how our search engine optimization services could be beneficial to your website, or for a free SEO consultation, please contact us and we would be happy to help.

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Submitted by Erica Machin, SEO Titan

How to Choose an SEO Company

With the incredible amount of spam and disreputable companies circulating online, it can be frustrating and intimidating to find the right SEO agency for you. After all, SEO is a long-term investment and can really make or break your web presence depending on how the strategy is conducted, so do your due diligence before selecting a company to handle your SEO. We’ve outlined five things that you should be on the lookout for when considering SEO companies.

Realistic Offerings – If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Look for companies who offer realistic results and don’t use guarantees. SEO is an ongoing process, and no one has the ability to guarantee rankings 100% since the search algorithms are beyond an agency’s control. Any promises for overnight rankings or guaranteed rankings should raise an immediate red flag.

Experience – It’s a good idea to look at how long the company has been in business. The length of time that a company has been up and running is indicative of their level of experience. Companies that have serviced many clients have experience in multiple industries and know what works and what doesn’t.

Case- Studies – Good SEO companies should not only have case studies readily on-hand but should be more than happy to show them to you. The case studies should highlight their work and give concrete examples of their performance, validating their expertise and skill. Case studies are a testament to the company’s ability to provide positive results, so make sure the companies you are considering are able to provide them for you.

Certifications – While there is not an ‘SEO certification’ per say, there are standard certifications that many of the legitimate agencies hold for Analytics and PPC. Google, Yahoo, and Bing all have their own certifications for PPC, and companies who hold these certifications have proven their knowledge of each search engine’s advertising platforms.

White-Hat Practices – Ask your agency what type of strategies they use and have them explain it to you in terms that you understand. Any strategies that seem manipulative or unethical should pose an immediate concern. Ethical companies will have no problem answering your questions and explaining the details of their strategy so that there are no qualms with their practices.

While SEO can be an intimidating subject if it is unfamiliar to you, it’s important to equip yourself with some basic knowledge and research your prospective SEO agencies wisely. If you have any questions about how to choose an SEO company, feel free to contact us.

Submitted by Erica Machin, Titan Growth

For years, online marketers and SEO skeptics have challenged the sustainability of SEO as a digital marketing practice. Every time a big algorithm hits, a new digital trend emerges like social media or the search landscape begins to shift, there is talk of SEO being doomed to its grave. If the rumors were true, then SEO must be a cat with 9 lives, because it has ‘died’ and come back to life many times. We’re here to clear up any miscommunications, right here, right now. SEO has never died and as long as there are search engines, it never will. Here’s why:

SEO is Adaptable

Good SEO’s know that there will always be a high level of evolution in their strategy. Since search engines are constantly changing, SEO strategies that worked a couple months ago may not be as effective today. Luckily, SEO has room for adaptability. Since search engines are always changing and improving, there will always be opportunities to evolve right along with them, you just have to make sure to keep up!

SEO is Helpful

Who does SEO help? Good SEO helps search engines to more effectively identify what a website is about so they can deliver the best results to their users. This in turn helps searchers, so that they are able to find what they are looking for quickly and conveniently. And of course it helps the websites get in front of their target audience. It’s a win-win situation for everyone, and the search engines know this.

SEO’s Spend Money on PPC

We can preach that SEO is adaptable and helpful all day long, and granted, those are very important factors when looking at its viability; but, at the end of the day, it all comes down to revenue. The search engines have to make money too, otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to continue delivering results. The biggest source of revenue for search engines is in pay per click and display ad networks. You may ask yourself, who buys ad space and bids on keywords? SEO and marketing agencies do. Since SEO companies play such a vital role in the revenue cycle for search engines, they have secured their spot in the digital marketing circle.

The Caveat

Now, notice the mention of good in the above reasons for sustainability. That’s because while SEO as an industry will never die, some companies will. SEO companies who practice ‘black hat’ or shady tactics will most likely fail at some point. While search engines like the help and revenue that good SEO companies provide, their main priority is to provide useful and relevant information to keep their searchers happy. Constant algorithm updates help to flush out spam and black hat tactics to keep results honest. So again, while SEO is sustainable, not all SEO companies are.

While the future for SEO is bright, it requires SEO companies to stay on their toes. Using white hat strategies and staying ahead of the search engines is the best way to help ensure SEO sustainability. As long as good companies have honest methods in place, they will prevail. Sorry skeptics, but SEO is here to stay!

Do you need help with your SEO strategy, or have questions on how to identify a good SEO company? Feel free to contact us!

Submitted by Erica Machin, Titan SEO