What is SEO? What are its Benefits?

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the process of improving site visibility so that it appears at the top of search results. Strictly speaking, it should be called Optimization for Search Engines because that’s the whole point of the work. If you do it properly, SEO measures will result in your page appearing on top in organic search results. Search Engine Results Pages (SERP) are displayed as close to the front as possible. SEO is like a branch of search engine marketing. Optimization has focused on different types of search engines, including image search (e.g., Google Images), video search (e.g., Google Video), and news search (e.g., Google News).

Who is search engine optimization (SEO) for?

If you just got the impression that search engine optimization is the ultimate miracle cure, we have to honestly say that this does not apply to every business without exception.

SEO is worthwhile in these areas

• most online shops
• price-intensive services like advisory services, broker offices, and agencies
• modern B2B area 
• local providers who aimed to dominate the local market 

Key figures of SEO

The success of an SEO strategy can be recorded by many key figures, which are of different importance depending on the campaign’s goal. Important key figures are, for example:

Click-Through-Rate (CTR)

This key figure shows how many users who were shown the page in the SERPs visited it.

Bounce rate

Indicates how many users leave the domain after visiting a single page.

Average session duration 

The more satisfied the user is with a page, the longer he or she stays on a page. The type of content can play a big role. If the dwell time is very short (~ less than 30 seconds), this could be due to the page’s quality.

The number of backlinks

Which and how many external websites are linking to a page are used to indicate whether this page is perceived as relevant and of high quality.

Benefits of Search Engine Optimization

Google has the greatest reach

82% percent of people use search engines. So, if you rank on the first page of Google, you guarantee that your page will be visited. SEO is one of the most important and most sustainable channels for your marketing – because you benefit from the right strategy for months and years, while a social media post fizzles out after a day or two.

SEO is the easiest acquisition measure

Search Engine Optimization is the warmest and easiest measure. Because when someone Google’s something, there is already the desire to find an answer behind it. With search engine optimization, you operate so-called pull marketing. You don’t have to “force” anything on anyone – interested parties simply come to you, all by themselves. Incidentally, that is also a much better basis for negotiations.

SEO strengthens your expert status

Most search queries are in the information area: users want to know something (don’t buy anything). With SEO, you deliver the appropriate answers. The more your readers deal with your topic or the better the first impression is on your site, the more often users will come back to your content; they perceive you as an expert. This is a process that takes time and in which you have to prove yourself repeatedly.

SEO has a high return on investment

SEO is not cheap. The reason is complexity and SEOs have many years of experience, because good tools cost good money, and simply because a 1st place ranking is extremely valuable for a good keyword. And that brings us to the return on investment. If your site ranks, you will get monthly, weekly, and possibly daily income. 

SEO is measurable

The success of your SEO measures can be evaluated. This includes, for example, the following measured values:

Pageviews from organic search

How often do search engines view your page?

Keyword rankings

Which search engine do terms rank in which position? How often are the relevant pages clicked? Which keywords bring in how much traffic?

Page view per session

 How many URLs does user access when he visits your site?

CTR (click through rate)

 What percentage of the clicks go to your result?

Bounce rate

How many users bounce off your site?

Conversions 

 What percentage of newsletter subscribers come from SEO? How much revenue do your rankings generate?

With SEO, you pick up your customers at their pain points.

Users have three main reasons to Google something: 

They want to

• know something
• go somewhere
• buy something

Nowadays, search engines are the source for finding information in the sales process. You can pick up on your readers exactly where they are in their customer journey. 

You benefit from SEO measures in the long term

SEO has long-term added value to your marketing, if your page ranks on page 1 on Google, these rankings will usually stay with you for months and years. You have to keep your content up-to-date, find out about algorithm updates being announced, and technically maintain your site. That’s the smallest problem if you’re already climbing. Posts and stories on social media burn out within a few hours and days.