Today’s world of business is different from what it looked like a couple of years back. With advancements in tech devices and internet technology, the consumer of today is heavily reliant on search engines to help them get information, find products, and locate service providers. As a matter of fact, you can order a pizza or purchase a product you’re interested in these days without having to leave the comfort of your home or office. In some cases, your order can be delivered at your doorstep in minutes.
For this reason, a lot of businesses know and understand how important it is to have an online presence. But it is one thing to have a website for your business, and completely another to rank high on search engine result pages! Forgive the seemingly harsh tone, but ranking high on the search engine is what separates successful businesses from newbies and wannabes of this day and age. Now, assuming you already have a stunning website with an attractive UI up and running, just how important is it to invest in SEO and ensure your site ranks high? Here are a few reasons why website ranking is important for your digital marketing efforts.
It Helps You Stay Competitive
The main idea of creating a website is to reach a target audience, most of who are internet users. Regardless of the services or products you’re offering through your website, there’s a huge chance that part of your target audience is searching for such stuff online through the search engines. It’s how today’s consumer is wired… they can’t help it but look it up on Google! To attract them to your site, you have to invest in SEO and other digital marketing strategies to ensure you are easily found on search engines. It is funny how most internet users will only check out and click on links displayed in the first 10 or so results after a search. This means that if your site is listed among these results for certain keywords, it gives you a competitive edge over your competition.
High Ranks Mean More Opportunity for Your Business
When an internet user conducts a search on Google for a certain set of keywords or phrases, the first page displays 10 results. Now, these search engine results are based on various issues, including site speed, content quality, keyword structure, hosting, and link authority, among others. Among these, backlinks are one of the most important ranking factors considered by search engines. With the right link building strategy, you can win Google’s trust faster and find your site listed on the first few results in no time. The article “How To Manage Your Backlinks For Faster Rankings” from SEO Jet explains how to help you improve your Google rankings. As seen on Adam White’s post, you’ll also need to analyze SEO data, track progress, and update your content regularly to keep your site ranking high. Achieving higher ranks for your set and keeping it that way can expose your business to a wide range of opportunities.
Site Traffic
It goes without saying that your sales, customer recruitment, and brand recognition will all depend on the number of visitors your site gets. Your site’s traffic will have a direct impact on your revenue and net profit from your site or online business. Well, this might sound obvious to experienced internet entrepreneurs, but sites that rank on the first pages of Google and other search engines receive more traffic. On Bing, a popular search engine next to Google, for instance, the sites at the top position receive approximately 42 percent of the traffic, while 11% and 8% of the traffic goes to the second and the third positions respectively. This only indicates how fierce the battle for online traffic is, and the same principle applies across the board. The higher your site is listed on search engine results, the more traffic you receive… period.
Ranking Reflects a Business’s Authenticity
As earlier mentioned, internet users tend to see the top-listed sites on search engine results pages as more reliable. This means that along with boosting traffic and improving leads, your business will also be seen as more authentic by your audience if your site ranks higher on the search engine result pages (SERPS). In most cases, this is true while in some instances, it is rather a psychological game that you can take advantage of. This is not to forget that your brand’s recognition or image will highly depend on it as will be seen in the point that follows. Nonetheless, this is all the more reason to not only invest in ranking your site high but also strive to maintain the top positions on the search engines.
It Impacts Your Brand Image
As time goes by, internet users are becoming more conversant with the internet and how search engines treat websites. A good number of consumers also know that the internet is a highly competitive market. They understand that it takes significant effort, time, and money to please Google and keep a website ranking high on the search engine pages. Some associate it with reputation and popularity. New consumers may have the notion that since you have higher ranks, many other people must be using your site or business for similar needs. This is why in the eyes of many consumers; higher ranks portray a better image for the brand or business. Smart entrepreneurs who want a respectable image for their businesses strive to achieve higher ranks and keep their websites ranking among the top 10 results on search engines.
It Impacts Your Marketing Costs
Digital marketing is broad and diverse. However, search marketing is among the most reliable internet marketing approaches as far as the costs are concerned. But it is even more effective if you have an edge on your competition, your brand is widely known, and you are receiving massive traffic. If you rank high, it means that you’ll be receiving most of your leads from organic search, which is much cheaper compared to paid advertising and other digital marketing approaches. What’s more, it will have a significant impact on your social media marketing campaign. Especially if you’re a small business just taking off, search marketing can be a great way to slash your advertising costs and reap big over time if you stay focused on maintaining higher ranks.
And there you have it; the icing is on the cake. If you’re smart with your digital marketing approach, ranking high on search engines should be one of your top priorities. The above are just a few reasons why website ranking is important in today’s world of online business.