Imagine for a moment that you need to hire a tradesperson, an industry specialist or even a retailer. The chances are that your first port of call is to turn to the search engine, Google. So, if that’s your first line of action, then you can be confident that your potential clients are going to act in precisely the same way.

It quickly becomes apparent that a start-up needs to have a strong online presence if they are to be successful. But it can take time to achieve that coveted page one position within the search engine results. That means that search engine optimisation (SEO) needs to be planned and actioned at the very start of launching your new business. 

Now we know that at this point in your business launch, you’re trying to fit a 30-hour day into 24 and that weekends are a long-forgotten luxury. This is where utilising the services of an SEO consultant, Manchester-based, that then enables you to meet and discuss your plans and put you at a considerable advantage. 

We think that’s already made a pretty strong case for the importance of an SEO strategy. However, if you need to be convinced further, we’ve identified five key reasons why you need to have focus and clarity in ensuring that your clients can quickly and easily find you on the web.

1. Rank Higher on Search Engine Result Pages (SERP)

When was the last time you clicked on to page two of a search engines results? Us neither. In fact, it’s been estimated that just 6% of search traffic clicks comes from page two.  

So, being on page one is important; we’ve got that. But, it’s more than that. You need to be one of the first companies on page one, ideally within the first five being presented by the search engine. It’s been suggested that the first five results receive 67.6% of clicks, with the remaining five on page one receiving just 3.73%.

2. Understand Your Audience

You probably have an idea of the market that you’re trying to target. But do you know how they behave and how they respond to your online presence?  SEO is invaluable in providing you with customer data. 

For example, what happens before they make that purchase or click on the contact us page? How long are they spending on the site before they decide to make contact or to leave? What about the individual pages of your site? Which ones encourage a linger factor, and which ones result in a quick exit?

With an effective SEO strategy, you now have data that is invaluable in ensuring that your online presence meets your clients’ needs.

3. How is Your User Experience?

We have become notoriously impatient, with research indicating that three seconds is the upper threshold before we shut down the page and look for an alternative.  Then there are strong indications that Google is also penalising sites that take too long to load. So, not only are potential clients turning to your competitors, but your site rankings also take a hit. 

Remember that saying, ‘You only get one chance to make a first impression? That’s precisely the case for visitors to your site. If the experience is poor, they’re unlikely to try again in the hope that the situation has improved. Therefore, getting it right, through the implementation of your SEO strategy is essential.

4. Build Credibility from Day One

When your business is one of the first to be presented within the search engine results, you immediately develop credibility. There’s something credible about a company that’s managed to get itself listed above thousands of others.

There’s also the kudos that comes from knowing what your customers are searching for and demonstrating this through content that addresses their needs. So now you don’t just have visitors to your site; now you’re developing relationships. 

5. Looking Long-Term

SEO isn’t something that you can ‘do’ and see an immediate result. It takes time. In fact, if you’re promised quick results, you should be aware that these might actually cause damage to your SEO rankings in the long term. 

That means that you need to implement a long-term strategy that will see your site rise through the rankings. But unfortunately, this is not a stable environment. There are, for example, regular changes to the algorithms used by Google, which then decide which sites are presented on page one. And that means the need to adjust the way in which your site is set up in order to be indexed.

Search engine optimisation is not something that is a short-term solution. Planning your time and budget to get expert advice is essential for your business to be successful within the online world.

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