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SEO Information |
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The Business Case for SEO
It's interesting how potential clients have preconceived notions about which aspects of search engine marketing have the most value. In fact, they tend to fall into two camps that are 180° apart. The first camp believes completely in the value of pay-per-click marketing (PPC). It's easy to understand why. PPC provides immediate and measurable benefits. The ROI of PPC marketing is obvious. This group doesn't understand why it's necessary "to bother" doing SEO. The second camp believes the only way to go is SEO. Clicks are free and the branding benefits of high rankings have been well documented. The right answer is that they are both valuable. Each has its benefits and when you can afford to, you should implement both. Pay-per-Click PPC makes sense if you want immediate benefits and like the idea of paying for performance. SEO provides branding benefits and longer-term will provide an ROI that is compelling. But unlike PPC, SEO revenue results aren't as directly measurable and manageable. Pay per click (PPC) gives you the ability to have complete control over your search traffic. With PPC programs you select the keywords and write the listings. You control where you're listed and what the listing says. You decide what your budget is and can adjust your spend rate based on results or events (e.g. announcements, promotions). By tracking results from a PPC campaign, you can build up a knowledge base with respect to your business, including which messages perform the best, which search terms have the best conversion rates, and what destination URL is best for specific users to land on. Over time, this knowledge can help you to improve and define your business. One of the greatest attractions of PPC is the ability to easily track clicks and costs allowing you to understand your ROI from a specific marketing initiative. This gives you confidence to spend money and drive volume. You may have thought that spending $5,000 a month on a PPC campaign is way outside your budget, but once you measure the ROI, you may realize that it's well worth the investment. Search Engine Optimization So, if PPC is so great why bother with SEO? Basically, because you will be missing out on a large number of potential clicks. How large? A number of recent studies have demonstrated that there are still a lot of users that do not click on the "paid" listings but rather will search through the regular editorial search results. The accompanying chart shows that 60% of the search users prefer (some exclusively) organic over paid listings. The only way to get optimized (high) rankings in these regular editorial results is through an effective SEO program. In most cases, once you have good positioning in the regular search results, you will continue to receive "free" traffic. Again, based on data from a number of marketers the increase in traffic due to SEO averaged 73%. Consider search engine optimization the same as you would word of mouth advertising or public relations. It's exposure that comes with a very high degree of credibility and trust. Traffic coming from traditional search listings tends to have high conversion rates. There's another advantage to traditional search listings. They are considered unbiased and non-commercial. Traditional search performs very well at certain points in the buying process. When consumers are gathering information about a purchase, they show a marked preference for traditional search listings. When they are ready to buy online, they seem to have less bias against paid placement listings and their likelihood to click on one of these listings increases. The Dollars and Cents of SEO Perhaps the most compelling reason not to exclude SEO from your online marketing strategy comes down to dollars and cents. In an attempt to quantify the business case for SEO I have gone back and done some analysis on three recent SEO engagements and the results they achieved. I chose ecommerce clients that we had optimized and reviewed their average sales before and after SEO was implemented. In two of the situations the only change made was the optimization of the site. In another the optimization occurred at the same time we implemented a PPC campaign. In the first two cases the store sales rose 64% and 75% after the SEO was implemented. In the third case the store revenue actually went up a staggering 169%, but if you back out the sales that were a result of the PPC campaign, the store revenue that could be attributed to SEO improved by 49%. In other words, the average improvement in store revenue that was apparently due to SEO was 62%. Can we be sure that all of this was a result of SEO? No. There could have been product, seasonal and other effects that contributed. But I think it's safe to say that there was a significant increase that resulted directly from the SEO. The bottom line: search optimization has a real and measurable impact on traffic, conversions and revenue (or lead generation) improvement. Given that these clicks begin to approach "free" after amortizing the cost of SEO over time, the ROI for SEO is compelling. Added to the branding benefits no marketer or business owner should doubt the value of search engine optimization. About the Author Scott Smigler has been an evangelist for a serious, ROI-based focus on the online channel since he founded Exclusive Concepts (http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com) in 1997. Exclusive Concepts provides integrated online marketing strategies, Internet brand consulting, search engine marketing campaigns and results-oriented web sites for hundreds of clients that range in size from small ecommerce firms to public companies.
MORE RESOURCES: How to integrate SEO into your broader marketing strategy Search Engine Land Google Answers Whether Audio Versions Of Blog Posts Help SEO Search Engine Journal Jisoo and Seo In-guk Star in ‘Boyfriend on Demand’ (WT), A New Rom-Com Series Set in Virtual Reality About Netflix Google Search Ranking Volatility Heats Up February 19 & 20th Search Engine Roundtable Ask An SEO: Is There Any SEO Benefit To Image Geolocation Data? Search Engine Journal DeepSeek & SEO: What you need to know Search Engine Land Google: Audio Version Of Page Does Not Benefit Your Google Rankings Search Engine Roundtable AI SEO Optimizers Trend Hunter Best SEO Tools for 2025 – Ranked and Analysed CyberNews.com Brainiest AI Unveils Enhanced User Interface and New Applets for SEO, Text Summarization and AI Generated Image Structure Longview News-Journal Why you need humans, not just AI, to run great SEO campaigns Search Engine Land Has the much heralded AI Search made traditional SEO obsolete? Hospitality Net How to prevent PPC from cannibalizing your SEO efforts Search Engine Land Top SEO Tools: My Selection for 2025 CyberNews.com The Ultimate Guide To On-Page SEO Audit (Step-By-Step) Harlem World Magazine Lounge Lizard Releases Comprehensive Guide Comparing DeepSeek and ChatGPT for SEO Success in 2025 EIN News Boyfriend on Demand: Blackpink's Jisoo and Seo In-guk Set for Rom-Com Bleeding Cool News Top 15 SEO Tools to Improve Your Search Rankings Exploding Topics Now there’s an AI that can generate SEO content Popular Science Blackpink’s Jisoo & Seo In-guk To Star In Netflix’s ‘Boyfriend On Demand’ K-Comedy Series Deadline Ask An SEO: How Should Ecommerce Stores Deal With The Arrival Of AI Overviews? Search Engine Journal Automate SEO analysis with Google Sheets, GSC & ChatGPT API Search Engine Land Seo Kang-joon, who returned to the small screen after three years, once again certified the modifier.. 매ì¼ê²½ì œ Google On Why You Don't Need To Do Special SEO For Pagination Search Engine Roundtable Jisoo to star in new Netflix rom-com with Seo In-guk Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore BLACKPINK’s Jisoo and Seo In Guk to lead Netflix romance ‘Boyfriend on Demand’ - The Statesman Is SEO Always Changing? Not Really But Details Do. Search Engine Roundtable How SEO agencies can earn recurring revenue with site management services Search Engine Land 7 reasons why we love SEO Search Engine Land Seo Kang-joon captivates in action-comedy role on MBC's Undercover High School - CHOSUNBIZ ì¡°ì„ ë¹„ì¦ˆ Think spiderwebs, not funnels for remarkable SEO results Search Engine Land Jeon Jong Seo Talks About Her Upcoming Film With Han So Hee And Getting To Know Herself Better soompi Park Hyung-sik's 'Treasure Island' tops ratings, Seo Kang-joon's 'Undercover High School' follows - CHOSUNBIZ ì¡°ì„ ë¹„ì¦ˆ Why Google’s 4th Quarter Results Raise Questions for SEO & PPC Search Engine Journal Future of SEO: 5 Key SEO Trends (2025 & 2026) Exploding Topics 130 SEO Statistics Every Marketer Must Know in 2025 Exploding Topics Blackpink's Jisoo, Seo In-guk to star in upcoming Netflix rom-com The Korea JoongAng Daily How SEO Can Transform Your eCommerce Business BusinessMole Google Search: Find Results Based On Images You've Viewed Search Engine Roundtable Google Confirms Alt Text Is Not Primarily An SEO Decision Search Engine Journal SEO for ChatGPT search: 4 key observations Search Engine Land SEO today and beyond: 8 ways to balance what works now with what’s to come Search Engine Land Are Lee Si-an and Yuk Jun-seo Still Together After Becoming the Buzziest Couple of 'Single's Inferno' Season 4? MarieClaire.com Google: Sometimes Doing SEO Can Cause More Problems Search Engine Roundtable 2025 Marketing Trends: The End Of SEO? Search Engine Journal Seo Kang-joon faces challenges during high school infiltration in 'Undercover' - CHOSUNBIZ ì¡°ì„ ë¹„ì¦ˆ Google Causes Global SEO Tool Outages Search Engine Journal Google Shares Insight On SEO For AI Overviews Search Engine Journal Impact of SEO on marketing 2022 Statista Seo Ha-yan reflects on fitness struggles amid Lim Chang-jung's stock scandal - CHOSUNBIZ ì¡°ì„ ë¹„ì¦ˆ Google change disrupts SEO tools, resulting in data blackouts Search Engine Land Seo Kang-jun makes return with MBC's 'Undercover High School' after military service 코리아타임스 Top 10 SEO expert columns of 2024 on Search Engine Land Search Engine Land Title tags and SEO: Everything you need to know in 2025 Search Engine Land SEO noise vs. SEO signals: Distilling what truly impacts rankings Search Engine Land 5 New SEO Ranking Challenges You’re Facing Right Now [& A Fix] Search Engine Journal Blackpink's Jisoo, Seo In-guk to headline K-Drama 'Boyfriend on Demand' The Times of India ThriveLine Web Design & SEO Introduces Cutting-Edge Website Solutions for Dental Clinics The Globe and Mail Blackpink’s Jisoo and Seo In-guk to star in Netflix K-drama ‘Boyfriend on Demand’ The Express Tribune |
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