A strong online presence is necessary for any business looking to succeed. Some may think an eye-catching design with compelling content is enough for growth. But this isn’t the case. The fact is, without proper SEO (search engine optimization) strategies, your online efforts will fall short of their goals. This underscores the need for an SEO strategist.
What an SEO Strategist Does
An SEO strategist is a digital marketing professional specializing in SEO. They’re responsible for developing and implementing strategies that help websites increase rankings in search engine results pages (SERPs). These efforts can lead to increased website traffic, leads, and sales.
These professionals have in-depth knowledge of how search engines work and the factors influencing ranking. They use this knowledge to develop strategies that target specific keywords and phrases, create high-quality content, and improve user experiences.
However, their responsibilities constantly evolve as search engines update. For example, they’ll need to keep an eye on Google Search updates as outlined here: Search and SEO Blog | Google Search Central.
How SEO Helps Your Website
Maintaining a professional online presence is critical for brands, and understanding the role of SEO is no longer optional. But the question still arises, “How does SEO help my website?”
Before we get to that, let’s take a deeper look at what SEO is to truly understand its benefits.
What is SEO?
SEO involves optimizing a website’s content to improve its visibility on search engines. The goal is to increase organic (non-paid) search engine traffic. Organic search traffic is, after all, the gold standard of content marketing strategies. Right?
So, ensuring measures are in place to increase this traffic adds the potential for more clicks, website visitors, and sales or conversions. The process involves various tactics, from keyword research and on-page optimization to backlink building and technical improvements.
Understanding the Google E.A.T. Method
Google search engine algorithms prioritize content that displays Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness. This is known as the E.A.T. method.
- Expertise: The knowledge and experience of the website or content creators as demonstrated through educational qualifications, professional certifications, and years of experience in a particular field.
- Authoritativeness: The website or content creator’s reputation as seen through media mentions, awards, and backlinks from other reputable websites.
- Trustworthiness: The website or its content’s credibility and reliability as shown through transparency about ownership and funding, clear disclosure of conflicts of interest, and a commitment to accuracy and honesty.
How SEO Helps Websites
SEO is crucial for enhancing a website’s online presence and driving organic traffic. Below, we discuss how SEO benefits a website.
- Improved visibility and traffic: When your website is SEO optimized, you get exposure in front of a bigger audience. Users are more likely to click on links that rank at the top of search engines. As your position increases, so does your organic traffic.
- Credibility and trust: Consumers perceive websites on the first page of search as reputable and reliable. SEO provides a layer of trust and credibility to your brand.
- Optimized user experience: Optimizing for SEO includes addressing things like website loading times, mobile responsiveness, and easy navigation—factors that can improve your user experience. Focusing on SEO also helps you identify keywords and search terms that are relevant to your audience. Understanding these things allows you to tailor your website to the needs of your target audience.
The days of creating low-quality content and paying for spammy backlinks are long gone. Google ranks content that’s valuable, authoritative, and credible.
Working With an SEO Strategist: The Benefits
Working with an SEO strategist offers many benefits regarding boosting online visibility. Qualified strategists bring expertise in increasing organic search rankings, increasing web traffic, and enhancing user engagement.
Here are some benefits:
Save Time and Stay Competitive
This is probably the most important element for busy professionals. When SEO algorithms can change on a dime, most people simply don’t have the time to keep up. Every time search engines change, strategies must update. An SEO website strategy will stay on top of it all so you’re not drowned out by your competition.
Nowadays, everyone is online. That makes it difficult for any business to stand out among the overwhelming competition. An impressive 69% of companies invested in SEO in 2021 – up 5% from the year prior and is rising.
This proves the importance of SEO and begs the question, “How can you get ahead?”
The answer is quite simple, work with an SEO strategist. By analyzing competing websites, these professionals can determine their strengths and weaknesses. As a result, they can use this information to develop a plan of action. That gives your website an advantage to outperform them.
Boost Your Brand Image
A strategist isn’t just working on including the correct number of keywords or backlinks in a blog post. They’re not just posting pretty pictures on Instagram. These factors can be important to get noticed. Yet when people do click on your content, you want it to say something. They engage your audience, so you can build brand loyalty as much as an online following.
An SEO strategist does more than just optimize keywords or improve site speed. They’re instrumental in crafting and solidifying a brand’s image online.
- Content strategy: They understand the importance of aligning content with a brand’s voice, mission, and values. They work on crafting content your audience wants to consume, leading to better engagement and brand recall. For example, for an eco-friendly brand, they’d prioritize content emphasizing sustainability, eco-friendly practices, and green technologies.
- Positive user experience: Search engines value websites that offer a seamless user experience. Strategists ensure your site navigation is intuitive, leading users to relevant content without frustrations.
- Reputation management: Strategists often use online reputation management tactics to monitor brand mentions. Addressing negative reviews or feedback and amplifying positive testimonials help portray a positive brand image.
Brand image is key. These professionals will ensure your website stands out among search results. When consumers see a brand’s website at the top of search queries, it establishes the business as a trusted source.
Measurable Performance, Results, and Analytics
We’ve all come across a website with poor load times that make us want to fall asleep. If your website loads too slowly, it’ll cause your engagement and search engine ranking to drop. Strategists prevent this from happening. They use various tools to track your website’s performance. In doing so, they can identify areas for improvement and suggest changes.
Above all, they’ll ensure your website is easy to use. They do this while also attracting visitors who have an interest in what your business offers.
Return on investment is a critical metric for any business. Strategists can actually track the ROI of your SEO efforts. This allows you to see the tangible impact of your investment. The beauty of this data is that it also empowers you to improve. They aren’t only collecting data. They interpret it to refine your SEO strategy to better suit your goals.
Improved Conversions
No matter what the call to action is, whether it’s to buy, sign up, or donate, the core principles are the same. The worth of this profession is measured in results. Strategists must maintain and grow traffic and improve conversions, so you can hit even your ambitious goals.
For businesses, it’s not just about attracting traffic but also about converting that traffic into leads or sales. Here’s how an SEO strategist ensures that:
- Landing page optimization: Strategists analyze the effectiveness of landing pages, ensuring they tailor them to the user’s intent. They optimize elements like compelling CTAs, concise forms, and trust signals (e.g., customer testimonials or security badges) to increase the likelihood of conversion.
- Mobile optimization: With a significant chunk of users accessing websites via mobile devices, strategists ensure they optimize the site’s mobile version for conversions. This includes ensuring quick load times, easy navigation, and mobile-responsive design.
- Sales funnel analysis: SEO isn’t just about the top of the funnel. Strategists look at the entire customer journey, identifying and optimizing potential drop-off points. Whether it’s improving product descriptions in an e-commerce setting or refining the checkout process, they work to enhance every step of the funnel.
- Engaging content: Content isn’t just for rankings; it’s a tool to guide users through the buyer’s journey. Strategists work on crafting content that addresses users’ pain points, answers their questions, and nudges them toward conversion.
They may not know your organization or cause as well as you do, but strategists understand how to appeal to your demographic online. From technical specs to content adjustments, they can elevate your site in more ways than one.
You Save Money
There are shortcuts to getting noticed online, but they’ll cost you. The most common way to skip the line is by using Pay-Per-Click or Cost-Per-Click tactics. With this strategy, your website goes to the top. But you’ll pay the search engine a fee every time someone clicks (even if it’s accidental).
These strategies are often recommended for brand-new companies that don’t have the luxury of slowly accruing organic traffic over the years. But this strategy can be very costly. A legal firm could pay $500 for a single click. SEO gives you more leverage online without paying Google or Bing. The right strategist may not get you immediate exposure, but they can reduce lead time to getting noticed.
Working with an SEO strategist is an investment in a foundation. It’s one that provides consistent traffic at a fraction of the cost. The reliance on ads will leave your business exposed. This investment avoids that problem. They help spread out your traffic sources. Ensuring your business isn’t reliant on any single channel for growth.
Fuel Your Business Growth With an SEO Strategist
With our online world constantly evolving, embracing the power of SEO isn’t only an option – it’s a necessity. So, if you are looking for a way to unlock the full potential of your website to achieve long-term success, make the worthy investment of collaborating with an SEO strategist today.
Editor’s note: nDash community members Meredith Summers, Blair Nicole Nastasi, and Liam Chapman collaborated to create this guide.
