Economic research by Deloitte Access Economics has found that the biggest dividend for Australian small businesses from increased digital engagement, such as search engine optimisation (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) is revenue growth. However, 84% of small businesses are still not using SEO and other digital marketing strategies effectively.
Statistics show that small businesses with a high level of digital engagement:
- Have better growth prospects, more diversified sources of revenue and a bigger customer base.
- Earn two times more revenue per employee than those with low digital engagement.
- Are job creators, being four times more likely to be hiring than those with low engagement.
- Are three times more likely to have growth as a business objective, use the internet as a critical facilitator to achieve growth and are three times more likely to be increasing investment in digital over the next year.
- Are doing more than just creating a website, as three-out-of-five small businesses have a website, but less than one-in-five have high digital engagement.
SEO is not going away any time soon. Your potential customers are searching for you on the internet and without effective SEO in place, people will have a very hard time finding your website and will find your competitors instead.
Many small businesses cite cost as a reason for not investing in SEO, however it is relatively cost effective compared with print advertising and some other forms of digital marketing such as Google AdWords (PPC), social media marketing or purchasing leads for an email marketing program.
SEO actually provides excellent return on investment, and organic results will create a solid foundation for your online presence.
How many keywords can you come up with for your industry? Are you ranking in one of the first five positions on the first page for each of your keywords? If you’re not moving forward and improving your SEO position, you are giving away your business to a competitor who is.
Local search optimisation is also important for your small business, with 80-90% of customers checking online reviews prior to making a purchase or visiting your website. User reviews help to build your visibility in local search results, and so does your willingness to engage with/respond to these reviews, whether they are positive or negative.
It’s also crucial that your website has the correct local search information such as addresses, phone numbers and location pages that are consistent with off-page directory listings.
SEO is an ongoing process, not a one-time thing. Just as your business grows and evolves, so should your website and SEO strategy.
Great SEO involves creative and technical expertise to ensure that your website is optimised to help Google (and human users) find and share your information easily.
KMO can help you to increase your page ranking and get found in search engine results. Get in touch today for an obligation free consultation about how to increase your search engine visibility and improve your website ranking.
