Search engine optimization (SEO) doesn’t function in a silo. It’s not all about outranking the competition on Google and increasing search visibility. While those are often two primary SEO goals, the benefits of a comprehensive SEO strategy extend beyond the search engine results page (SERP).
Whether you’re trying to make a case for hiring an SEO agency or increasing your SEO services, here are 20 ways a comprehensive SEO strategy can impact different marketing and business efforts.
How SEO Can Impact Your Content
1. Support Content Marketing
Integrating SEO with your content marketing strategy can significantly enhance your online presence. By combining high-quality content with search-optimized practices, you can expand the reach of your content and increase traffic to your site.
So by strategically incorporating target keywords into your content and optimizing meta titles and descriptions, you can increase the likelihood of your posts showing up in search results. This will drive more traffic to your site and help establish you as a reputable resource for information in your field.
2. Build a Content Hub of Education Materials
A content hub filled with educational materials on your website can increase user engagement, improve your credibility, and strengthen your brand. It also allows you to share your knowledge and expertise with your audience, helping to improve your site’s E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness).
Consider an online shop selling eco-friendly products. A content hub featuring blog posts, videos, and infographics on sustainable living, eco-friendly product reviews, and tips for reducing waste could not only boost SEO efforts but also serve to establish the brand as an expert in the sustainable living space.
3. Increase Topical Authority
Securing top-ranking spots on page one of Google for relevant keywords not only drives traffic to your site but also boosts your authority in your field. By consistently creating and promoting valuable content, you’ll demonstrate your expertise and become a trusted source of information.
Imagine a marketing agency that consistently ranks in the top positions for search terms like “inbound marketing” and “social media strategy.” This increased topical authority will lead to more business opportunities, partnerships, and customer trust.
How SEO Can Impact Your Website Experience
4. Improve UX
Optimizing your website for search engines will also enhance the user experience (UX) for your visitors. A well-structured website with clean navigation, fast load times, and mobile friendliness is not only appealing to search engines but also to users.
An ecommerce site might improve its UX by implementing a responsive design, compressing images for faster load times, and organizing its products into clear categories. As a result, users can easily find what they’re looking for, increasing the likelihood of purchases.
5. Reduce Website Bounce Rate
A lower bounce rate is an indication of a positive user experience and can contribute to higher search engine rankings. By optimizing your website’s design, usability, and content, you can decrease your bounce rate and keep visitors engaged.
Some ways to decrease bounce rate include improving search functionality, ensuring your website is simple to navigate, and making webpages easy to read. As a result, visitors will be more likely to explore the site.
6. Improve Conversion Rates
Optimizing your website for search engines can also have a positive impact on your conversion rates. By attracting more targeted traffic and providing a seamless user experience, you can encourage visitors to take desired actions, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter.
A site might improve its conversion rates by using strong call-to-action buttons, offering persuasive testimonials, and optimizing its product pages for target keywords. These efforts will help guide users through the buying process, ultimately resulting in more sales.
How SEO Affects Customer Reach
7. Increase Brand Awareness
Digital PR efforts, such as earning backlinks on high-quality and high-traffic sites, not only improve SEO but also increase brand awareness and drive traffic to your site. By collaborating with reputable websites and creating valuable content, you can expand your brand’s reach and establish credibility in your niche.
Example: A health supplement company could collaborate with a popular wellness blog to create a guest post about the benefits of their supplements. This not only earns them a valuable backlink but also exposes their brand to a wider audience, potentially driving more traffic and sales.
8. Increase Local Visibility
Local SEO tactics can help your business attract more local customers and increase revenue. By optimizing your Google Business Profile listing, incorporating local keywords into your content, and gathering positive customer reviews, you can boost your visibility in local search results.
A small coffee shop might use local SEO to target search terms like “coffee shop near me” or “best coffee in [city name].” This will help the business appear in local search results, attracting more customers from the surrounding area.
9. Drive Offline Sales
While SEO primarily focuses on online visibility, it can also positively impact offline sales. By optimizing your website and online presence, you can attract potential customers who may visit your brick-and-mortar store or engage with your business offline.
A restaurant, for example, could optimize its website and Google Business Profile for local search and include information on its menu, location, and hours of operation. This can help attract more customers to the physical location, increasing foot traffic and sales.
10. Boost Referral Traffic
By earning high-quality backlinks from reputable websites, you can increase referral traffic to your site and improve your overall SEO performance. While this isn’t the primary goal of link building, it’s a nice side effect! Partnering with complementary businesses, guest blogging, and creating share-worthy content can all help you earn valuable backlinks and drive more traffic to your site.
Say a graphic design agency collaborates with a marketing blog to create an infographic on “the power of visual storytelling.” This not only earns them a backlink but also exposes their brand to a wider audience, potentially driving more referral traffic and leads.
SEO and Market, Audience, & Competitor Research
11. Conduct Market Research/Audience Research
Market and audience research can provide valuable insights into your target audience’s needs and preferences. By analyzing search queries and keyword trends, you can better understand what your potential customers are looking for and tailor your content strategy accordingly.
For instance, keyword research could help a fitness brand discover that there’s a growing interest in home workout equipment. Armed with this information, the brand can create content and products that cater to this trend, attracting more customers and increasing sales.
12. Improve Sales Funnel and Customer Journey
An effective SEO strategy can provide valuable insights into your customer journey, allowing you to optimize your sales funnel accordingly. By analyzing the keywords and content that attract and engage your visitors, you can understand what stage of the buyer’s journey they’re in and provide them with the right content or offer at the right time.
13. Find Potential Service or Product Offerings Your Customers Want
Keyword research can reveal more about what your target audience is searching for, providing insights into what they want to purchase. This information can help you identify potential service or product offerings that your customers may be interested in.
What could this look like? A skincare brand might find that many people are searching for “vegan skincare products.” By developing a line of vegan skincare options, the brand can tap into this demand, attracting new customers and expanding its market share.
14. Learn More About Your Competitors’ Websites
Researching your competitors’ top pages, keywords, and website traffic can provide valuable insights into their marketing strategies and help you identify areas where your business can excel. By understanding what works for your competitors, you can refine your own SEO strategy and capitalize on their weaknesses.
A digital marketing agency might analyze their competitor’s website and find they lack content about email marketing. By creating high-quality, in-depth content on this topic, the agency can fill the gap, attract more traffic, and give itself an edge over the competition.
How SEO Supports Other Digital Marketing & Business Efforts
15. Support PPC Campaigns
Integrating unpaid and paid marketing campaigns can be a powerful way to maximize your digital marketing efforts. By using SEO best practices, you can create a strong foundation for your pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns and increase their effectiveness.
Through SEO efforts, you can optimize your landing pages for target keywords, ensuring they also rank organically. This will not only improve the quality score of your PPC ads but also lower their cost-per-click, maximizing your return on investment.
16. Enhance Social Media Presence
Using SEO techniques in your social media strategy can significantly improve your online visibility and drive organic traffic to your website. By optimizing your social media profiles and incorporating target keywords in your posts, you can reach a wider audience and boost engagement. Plus, search engines index relevant social media posts.
For example, a clothing brand could optimize its Instagram bio and captions with relevant keywords, such as “sustainable fashion” or “ethical clothing,” to increase its chances of appearing in search results. This can help them connect with more potential customers and grow their social media following.
17. Upgrade Email Marketing
Incorporating SEO tactics into your email marketing can help you create more targeted, engaging, and valuable content for your subscribers. By using keyword research to identify topics that resonate with your audience, you can develop emails that speak to their interests and needs, ultimately boosting open rates and click-through rates.
Example: A financial services company uses keyword data to create an email series on topics like “retirement planning” or “debt management.” This leads to higher engagement, more website traffic, and increased conversions from email campaigns.
18. Strengthen PR Efforts
SEO can also help you refine your public relations strategy by identifying relevant publications and influencers in your industry. By leveraging SEO data to target high-authority media outlets and influencers, you can build relationships and secure valuable press coverage that enhances your brand’s reputation and reach.
A tech startup could use SEO insights to identify influential tech blogs and pitch their product or service for a review or feature. This can lead to increased brand exposure, backlinks, and referral traffic.
19. Improve Customer Retention
SEO can contribute to customer retention by helping you create valuable, engaging, and relevant content that keeps your audience coming back. By using keyword data to understand your customers’ needs and preferences, you can develop content that addresses their questions, concerns, and interests.
A pet supplies retailer, for example, could create blog posts and videos on topics like “dog training tips” or “how to choose the right pet food.” By providing helpful and engaging content, they can foster customer loyalty and encourage repeat business.
20. Increase Job Applicant Visibility
If you’re a business looking to hire, a strong online presence can attract more job applicants. When potential employees research your company, a professional, well-structured, and optimized website can make a positive impression and increase their interest in working for you.
Uncover More SEO Benefits With a Trusted Partner
Investment in SEO isn’t just about rankings — it can be a cornerstone of your marketing strategy and help you increase the chances of achieving your business goals.
Ready to implement SEO strategies that will have long-lasting benefits beyond ranking on page one? At Victorious, we can help you uncover powerful ways to leverage your SEO efforts to expand your reach, boost conversions, and much more. Contact us for a free consultation to get started.
