There are approximately 32 million businesses operating in the United States today, highlighting the fierce competition that exists within the marketplace. For small businesses in particular, it can be difficult to gain a foothold within their niche markets and build brand awareness and loyalty. The most effective way to build brand recognition and grow a business today is through digital marketing.
Central to digital marketing is a business's website. However, it is not enough to simply have a website or online presence. It is necessary to optimize a website strategically in order to get the most out of it. Given that 93% of all American adults use the internet today, an effective digital marketing strategy can reap enormous business benefits.
In this blog post, we will highlight the top reasons for business website optimization. We'll also highlight exactly what search engine optimization means and why your premier choice for online business growth is BitBranding. Let's get started!
Organic Search Is Key to Website Traffic
There is a joke that aptly sums up the importance of search engine optimization. It goes like this: "Where is the best place to hide a dead body?". The answer: "On the second page of a Google search result."
The point here is that very few people actually go beyond the first page of a search engine result when they are browsing online. Most people don't even look past the first handful of results at the top of the page. If your business website isn't highly ranked for relevant search topics, it simply isn't going to be found by people.
Even with PPC advertising, organic search is still a crucial way for businesses to get traffic to their site. Optimizing your site will increase its visibility and ranking on search engines. That's the central focus of search engine optimization (SEO) and is practiced by millions of businesses today.
Some effective SEO tips include:
- Research relevant keywords
- Add related keywords to your content
- Build internal and external links
- Optimize title tags
- Create high-quality content
- Monitor analytics
- Improve website speed and functionality
This is just a snapshot of the various SEO practices that can be applied to improve a business website. The best news is that SEO is cost-effective and garners excellent medium- and long-term results.
Improves User Experience
Here's an interesting statistic that is worth keeping in mind next time you look at your business's website. Online users are able to form an opinion about a website in just 50 milliseconds. This immediate impression may be the difference between a sale and the user clicking out of your site altogether.
In every walk of life, first impressions count. Optimizing your website also helps to improve its aesthetics and functionality. If your website looks like it was designed in the mid-1990s, then it's time for an overhaul.
Not only will this improve your user experience when they click on your site, but it will help to increase the site's visibility in the first place. A website that is highly ranked for relevant keywords and is also visually impressive helps to build trust and credibility among the public.
Think about the overall experience that potential customers have when they visit your website. It's likely that you will find things that can be improved and optimized.
Attract Your Target Audience
Of the aforementioned 32 million businesses in the US today, 99.9% are small businesses. This means that their target audience is likely local people living within a broadly defined geographical area. Local SEO can help to make your business a local leader and highly visible in online searches by your target audience.
According to Google, the vast majority of people (88%) who conduct a local search will pay a visit to a related store within 7 days. Narrowing in on this, 76% of people who perform a local search will visit a related business within 1 day, while 28% of local searches result in a purchase.
The above statistics highlight the importance of optimizing your website for your target audience. An experienced digital marketing agency like BitBranding can help your business understand its target audience and the most effective optimization strategies to reach them online.
Optimization Equals More Conversions
Boosting your business's conversion rate is another central part of a website optimization strategy. A properly-optimized website increases a business's ability to generate leads, make sales, and lower acquisition costs.
Calls-to-action are key to converting online interest into real action. These prompts encourage online visitors to take action, whether this is going to a sales page, filling out a form, or contacting the business directly. Popular calls-to-action include Shop Now, Sign Up, Learn More, and Contact Us.
They may come in the form of images, buttons, and text, and guide visitors through your site, helping to reduce the bounce rate.
Top Reasons Why You Need to Optimize Your Website
Search engine optimization can be a business's best friend when it is properly managed. If you aren't completely satisfied with the impact that your website is having, it helps to partner with an experienced digital marketing agency like BitBranding.
Based in Allen, Texas, our passion to helping small businesses succeed in the digital world. Schedule your strategy call with us today and we'll discuss how we can best optimize your website and unleash its untapped potential.
This 45-minute strategy session will help us to best understand your needs and provide as much value as possible to your business. We look forward to speaking with you!
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