You have probably heard of SEO (search engine optimization) in the past but may have dismissed it as something you don’t really need to do for your website. After all – you’ve already got a steady stream of business through word of mouth and in person, right?

Well, the first thing that you’re doing wrong is underestimating the power of using your website as a sales and marketing tool. If you run a business, it’s crucial that your website forms part of any future marketing strategies. And to make that happen, you’ll need to carry out on and off-site search engine optimization. If you’re still not convinced, take a look at these reasons why it matters so much.

#1: Organic Search Is Your Primary Traffic Source

There’s no denying that many people will head to Google when they want to search for something on the Web. These days, Google is the major player in the search engine world, and so it makes sense for website owners to optimize content so it shows up on relevant Google search engine results pages (SERPs).

If you’re not optimizing your content for Google and other search engines, you’ll miss out on a significant opportunity to gain lucrative organic traffic to your website!

#2: SEO Helps Your Website Appear Credible

It’s important to gain people’s trust when you want them to find out more about your website and what you’ve got to say. Let’s face it: the last thing anyone will do is visit some spammy site out of their own accord! If your website appears in relevant SERPs on search engines like Google, it signals to Web surfers that your site has some credibility. After all: search engines aren’t likely to index pages from a spam or malware-ridden website.

#3: You Get to Discover Things About Your Website

As a website owner, it’s all too easy to look at your content from a fixed perspective or bias. The thing is, you need to look at your site from the eyes of a random visitor. How well does the content come across? Does it answer the questions they have? And, above all, is the site content relevant to their needs?

Carrying out SEO is an interesting way to discover things (good and bad) about your website. In the latter’s case, you’ll have an opportunity to address any problems. If you didn’t do any SEO for your website, you’d have no idea that certain issues even existed!

#4: You Increase Engagement and Conversion Rates

The idea behind your website is that you’ve got a message you wish to communicate to a particular audience. Even if you’re not selling something as such, there’s still a story you want to tell people. But, how can you effectively engage with your target audience and increase conversion rates (visitors, sales, etc.) if no-one is listening?

By doing some SEO work for your website and brand, you’ll have a surefire way of increasing engagement and conversion rates.

#5: SEO Is a Relatively Cheap Form of Marketing

One fact you should know about search engine optimization is that it’s one of the most cost-effective ways to market your brand. You aren’t having to pay for conventional marketing costs like product launches, events, and advertising. All you do as far as SEO is concerned is pay to have your brand name and website content optimized for specific audiences.

SEO is such a cheap form of marketing that even sole traders with shoestring marketing budgets can afford optimization services!

#6: You Can Easily Measure Results

Sometimes it can be hard to measure the results of online marketing campaigns. The thing about SEO is that you’ve got a full set of measurable data at your disposal that you can analyze. Free tools such as Google Analytics can tell you exactly how people find your site, which keywords and phrases they used, and even which links on other sites people clicked on to land on your website.

#7: SEO Helps You to Understand What Your Visitors Want

It’s a well-known fact that Web trends come and go regularly. When it comes to trends relating to your website’s niche, it makes sense to know more about what people want. That way, you can determine how relevant your content is and whether you need to tweak anything on your site.

If you sell products and services on your website, search trends give you an idea of what your target market wants.