Wonder if first page search engine ranking is vital for your business?

Here are 5 reasons why you should ensure SEO is part of your company's marketing toolkit:

Google-it

Everybody Googles It

Search engines in general, and Google in particular, are now the main route for researching any purchase. A proportion of your potential customers will use Google – just like you – to look for the services or products on offer. Being on the first page of the search engine results will drive more customers to your site.

91% of people surveyed said they prefer using natural search results when looking to buy a product or service online.

Even new customers that come to you through referrals will still search on Google for the services they are looking for and to see what’s on offer. You need to make sure that they see your company name when they are searching.

Shopping-around - Your Customers Are Looking Elsewhere

Even if you have a loyal customer base, or you are on a preferred supplier list, your customers are likely to be searching on your key phrases in Google. If your customers are researching the market, or even looking for a service that they don’t realize you are able to provide, do you want the competition to win the business just because they’ve invested in SEO and you haven’t?

If you are in a fairly competitive sector, you’ll need the help of an agency specializing in SEO, as there are a large number of both on-site and off-site factors to consider when you want to achieve first page rankings on Google.

Number-one = Authority.

Many people using the internet consider companies who appear on the first page of Google as leaders in their sector. 36% of search engine users believe that companies whose websites appear top of the search results are the leading companies in that field. Only 25% believe that top search engine rankings do not automatically signify an industry leader (iProspect / Jupiter Research 2006).

Further research also indicates that 62% of users click on results on the first page and 92% within the first 3 pages, with only 8% going further than the first 3 pages.

Cost Effective

Search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) overall is far less expensive than traditional marketing methods, which allows you to increases your bottom line whilst reducing your customer acquisition costs.

Conversion rates from organic search tend to be lower than the conversion rates from paid search. Achieving high results for valuable key phrases in the natural search results is a very cost effective method of driving important traffic you your site. In a recent study conducted by Hubspot, 43% of businesses reported the cost per lead for organic search marketing (SEO) as below the average cost per lead for their business.

Trust

Organic search is more popular and trusted than sponsored links. You should use SEO to get more traffic at a lower cost. Sponsored links are a cost effective way to get your business onto the first page of search engines, but normally natural listings drive more traffic to your site at a lower cost per sale. When looking to buy a product or service online, 91% of people said they preferred using natural search engine results (Tamar 2008 Search Attitude Report). The same survey also found that 31% of people actively choose natural search over paid search results as they trust search engines to give them the most relevant results.

If you want to be a leader in your chosen market, ensuring that your position in the search engines reflects your market position is an essential part of your future customers’ perception of your brand.