[Hot] Ask the Expert with Alex Stepman: Why Do I Need SEO?
We frequently receive emails from readers asking specific questions about optimization techniques. However, by far, the most persistent question is a general question: Why do I need SEO? We asked Alex Stepman, the SEO expert, for some answers...
Last year Search Engine Land cited a report by a "local media forecaster," Borrell Associates, that estimated "total SEO spending will be just over $65 billion this year (2016), growing to nearly $80 billion by 2020."
The report--which can only be accessed with a subscription--argued that "the two categories that businesses spend the most on--web hosting and design--are switching positions with SEO and social media management...advertisers have finished the basic structure of their digital storefronts and are venturing out...to find virtual customers."
This report is cited four times on the first page for the Google search: "SEO spending." There are two Search Engine Land articles as well as reports from Entrepreneur and MediaPost. The MediaPost report includes a interesting graphic: a pile of money.
But, as Search Engine Land notes, Borrell's numbers "may cause some skepticism." The SEO industry is as varied as it customers, and definitive numbers are impossible to quantify.
The basic assumption of the report, however, that a majority of online businesses are now ready to promote viable storefronts, is consistent with Alex Stepman's experience at Stepman's SEO.
"The cliche 'everybody has a website' really is true," Stepman says. "In today's markets--local, national, or global--a well-designed and developed website is standard operating procedure. But a well-designed and developed site is not enough. To compete, you need a viable SEO and social media campaign."
Unfortunately, Stepman's experience has also revealed another fact: A majority of online businesses are ready to promote, yet many do not.
"When speaking to small and medium-sized business owners," Stepman says, "the sentiment I most often hear is, 'I need SEO and social media, but...' Most companies have excuses--some reasonable; some ridiculous. If you hope to profit from your website, though, you need to promote somehow."
Stepman's implication is that far too many businesses treat their websites like "high-priced business cards." Brick and mortar stores, especially, view their own websites as mere information portals. But Stepman believes any business can benefit from SEO--or any form of digital marketing.
"Even if your website is not a storefront," Stepman says, "you can profit from your online presence. After all, how do you drive customers to your brick and mortar? Traditional advertising? Today, traditional advertising is online advertising."
Most small and medium-sized business owners understand this. And most continue to offer the excuse cited by Alex Stepman: "I need SEO and social media, but..."
An effective online marketing campaign requires a significant monthly investment. But doing nothing might doom your online efforts, and perhaps your entire enterprise, online and offline. Unfortunately, many online business owners are dissuaded by the perceived costs of SEO and social media marketing.
In reality, there are plenty of low-cost options for the penny-pinching business owner. The Organic SEO Blog, for example, offers "SEO 101" tutorials for people who want to try to perform their own website optimization. To quantify the potential effect of an online marketing campaign, you must, first, understand how your website drives traffic to your business.
In our recent conversation, Stepman also noted: "Most website owners do not use (or understand) website data--the rich analytical statistics that detail the performance of a website. This data is available to all websites for free via Google Analytics, or for a fee via enterprise SEO platforms."
Read: "How to Analyze Three Key Data Points to Improve SEO"
Once you understand how the Internet drives traffic to your business, you can better quantify the potential effect of an online marketing campaign. To do so, perform a Google search for your business. How do you compare to your competitors. Are you the top result? The second result? The third?
According to a 2013 study from Chitika, top results receives 33% of all traffic; the second result receives about 18%; and the third result receives 11%. That's a significant drop-off. If you're not on the first page, you're missing out on nearly 92% of all traffic.
"If you know how much traffic your receive," Stepman says, "and you can quantify that number in dollars, you can easily see the difference between, say, the third result and the first. By optimizing your site to be the first result, you could triple your profits."
Is indecisiveness costing you money? Call Stepman's SEO!
If you sell a high-quality product that deserves customers, you also deserve a well-optimized website. Do not let the changing search landscape compromise your sales. Now, more than ever, you need the astute wisdom of a professional search engine optimization professional.
Stepman's SEO is now offering a free mobile website audit. Contact Stepman's SEO today to learn how you can improve your website's mobile performance: 215-900-9398.
Last year Search Engine Land cited a report by a "local media forecaster," Borrell Associates, that estimated "total SEO spending will be just over $65 billion this year (2016), growing to nearly $80 billion by 2020."
The report--which can only be accessed with a subscription--argued that "the two categories that businesses spend the most on--web hosting and design--are switching positions with SEO and social media management...advertisers have finished the basic structure of their digital storefronts and are venturing out...to find virtual customers."
This report is cited four times on the first page for the Google search: "SEO spending." There are two Search Engine Land articles as well as reports from Entrepreneur and MediaPost. The MediaPost report includes a interesting graphic: a pile of money.
But, as Search Engine Land notes, Borrell's numbers "may cause some skepticism." The SEO industry is as varied as it customers, and definitive numbers are impossible to quantify.
The basic assumption of the report, however, that a majority of online businesses are now ready to promote viable storefronts, is consistent with Alex Stepman's experience at Stepman's SEO.
"The cliche 'everybody has a website' really is true," Stepman says. "In today's markets--local, national, or global--a well-designed and developed website is standard operating procedure. But a well-designed and developed site is not enough. To compete, you need a viable SEO and social media campaign."
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| "To compete," Alex Stepman says, "you need a viable SEO and social media campaign." |
"When speaking to small and medium-sized business owners," Stepman says, "the sentiment I most often hear is, 'I need SEO and social media, but...' Most companies have excuses--some reasonable; some ridiculous. If you hope to profit from your website, though, you need to promote somehow."
Stepman's implication is that far too many businesses treat their websites like "high-priced business cards." Brick and mortar stores, especially, view their own websites as mere information portals. But Stepman believes any business can benefit from SEO--or any form of digital marketing.
"Even if your website is not a storefront," Stepman says, "you can profit from your online presence. After all, how do you drive customers to your brick and mortar? Traditional advertising? Today, traditional advertising is online advertising."
Most small and medium-sized business owners understand this. And most continue to offer the excuse cited by Alex Stepman: "I need SEO and social media, but..."
 |
| Andy Warhol's One Dollar Bill [Source] Are you dissuaded by the cost of online marketing? |
In reality, there are plenty of low-cost options for the penny-pinching business owner. The Organic SEO Blog, for example, offers "SEO 101" tutorials for people who want to try to perform their own website optimization. To quantify the potential effect of an online marketing campaign, you must, first, understand how your website drives traffic to your business.
In our recent conversation, Stepman also noted: "Most website owners do not use (or understand) website data--the rich analytical statistics that detail the performance of a website. This data is available to all websites for free via Google Analytics, or for a fee via enterprise SEO platforms."
Read: "How to Analyze Three Key Data Points to Improve SEO"
Once you understand how the Internet drives traffic to your business, you can better quantify the potential effect of an online marketing campaign. To do so, perform a Google search for your business. How do you compare to your competitors. Are you the top result? The second result? The third?
According to a 2013 study from Chitika, top results receives 33% of all traffic; the second result receives about 18%; and the third result receives 11%. That's a significant drop-off. If you're not on the first page, you're missing out on nearly 92% of all traffic.
"If you know how much traffic your receive," Stepman says, "and you can quantify that number in dollars, you can easily see the difference between, say, the third result and the first. By optimizing your site to be the first result, you could triple your profits."
Is indecisiveness costing you money? Call Stepman's SEO!
If you sell a high-quality product that deserves customers, you also deserve a well-optimized website. Do not let the changing search landscape compromise your sales. Now, more than ever, you need the astute wisdom of a professional search engine optimization professional.
Stepman's SEO is now offering a free mobile website audit. Contact Stepman's SEO today to learn how you can improve your website's mobile performance: 215-900-9398.