In this article you will learn about what SEO is, how it works and how you can benefit from it in digital marketing. First off, let us know what SEO stands for and how it works.

SEO stands for “search engine optimization.” SEO is the practice of getting targeted traffic to a website from a search engine’s organic rankings. Since organic search is one of the ways through which people discover content online, higher rankings can translate to higher organic traffic to a website. SEO includes both technical and content practices aimed to align with the best search engine algorithm needs. Common tasks associated with SEO include creating high-quality content, optimizing content around specific keywords, and building backlinks. In other words:

SEO is all about improving a site’s rankings in the organic (non-paid) section of the search results.

In simple terms, SEO means the process of improving your website to increase its visibility in Google, Microsoft Bing, and other search engines whenever people search for:

Products you sell.
Services you provide.
Information on topics in which you have deep expertise and/or experience.

The better visibility your pages have in search results, the more likely you are to be found and clicked on. Ultimately, the goal of search engine optimization is to help attract website visitors who will become customers, clients or an audience that keeps coming back.

5 Reasons why you need it for digital marketing

SEO is a critical element of any digital marketing strategy. While it demands time and consistent effort, the results are well worth the wait and offer excellent long-term benefits. Here are a few factors that highlight the importance of SEO in digital marketing.

1. Rankings and visibility

When searching for something online, users are most likely to interact with the top 10 Google results. Proper SEO helps you rank on the first page (top 10 results) for the relevant keywords. This allows you to gain more organic visibility, puts you right in front of potential customers, and enhances the chance of users clicking and exploring your site.

2. Increased web traffic

Getting site visitors through paid ads may be a good strategy, but it’s not feasible in the long run. If potential users can’t find your website, your sales opportunities will decline significantly. SEO, when done right, increases the organic traffic for your website and attracts new and relevant users. The beauty of organic traffic is it brings in users on the merit of your website and content’s quality. This helps you rank on the first page and establishes credibility in your site, which increases your chances of sales and profitability.

3. Credibility and trustworthiness

The better your SEO, the higher you’ll rank on Google’s search results. While that is a sought-after benefit as it offers increased visibility, the other equally strong use of good rankings is the credibility you earn with potential customers. You will have the extra gain of users finding you on their own, plus showing up in the top five results is a sort of recommendation from the search engine. Users today know the effort it takes to rank on the first page— the quality standards a website needs to meet to score that position. All this, in turn, solidifies your credibility and trustworthiness in the user’s mind.

4. Better user experience

A great website answers all the basic questions, such as what product it offers, where it’s based, how a user can buy the product, payment, shipping details (if applicable) and more. When you build a site that caters to the user’s needs, the search engine can extract the correct information and show it to the users when asked. If a user struggles to navigate your website, chances are the search engines will, too. Bottom line: Work toward delivering excellent user experience and SEO will take care of itself.

5. Long-term growth

In the large scheme of digital marketing tactics and strategies, there’s no doubt that SEO is key to business growth. The higher you rank for high volume and relevant keywords, the more quality organic traffic your site will receive. It’s as simple and as complicated as that.

A well-optimized website that’s constantly updated and boasts high-quality, valuable content is more likely to gain customers and make more sales. And if your users love their experience with you, they may refer you to their circle of influence through social media, which is the best word-of-mouth advertising.

But, How exactly does SEO works?

SEO aligns your website and content with the Google algorithm. Or, in other words, what Google looks for in good search results.

Basically, Google wants to rank webpages that:

Satisfy search intent (what the searcher is looking to achieve)
Demonstrate experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T)
Load quickly and perform well
Are easily navigable by users and search engines

So, SEO is about making sure your pages tick these boxes.

Some of the most common SEO tactics include:

Keyword research: Identifying and analyzing the search terms target audiences use
Content creation: Creating quality content that meets your target audiences’ needs
Link building: Getting other websites to link to your site so that it appears more trustworthy
Technical SEO: Improving the technical performance of your site for users and search engines

Conclusion

The role of SEO has expanded significantly over the last few years, and it’s only becoming more challenging and expansive in the face of AI.

New technologies are constantly creating new processes and even shortcuts and workarounds that are changing the game, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse.

One thing is certain, though: Without giving SEO efforts some significant attention through a brand’s fiscal year, you are doing your business a disservice. Try it and see. Analyze the results. Test some more. Try new things.

Stay up to date with changes and guidelines, and make sure you’re offering unique content that is valuable. And if it’s not originally yours, include proper citation and linking.

SEO will continue to help consumers when in need.

Implementing robust, quality SEO updates on a brand’s website and digital properties will benefit them and their marketing efforts in measurable ways, and the impact will be felt.

There will be challenges, but when done right, there can also be success.