SMEs – Investing in SEO pays off
SMEs make up 99% of companies in Germany alone. This is a considerable number and although the competition is largely made up of these same SMEs, many of these companies think that it is simply not worth investing in digital marketing such as SEO. One of the most common and erroneous statements is that SEO only pays off for large companies and is hardly feasible for smaller ones – especially in terms of costs. But search engine optimization does not aim to be incredibly expensive. In this article, we would like to explain to you why it doesn’t always have to be high-priced and what market advantages you can benefit from in the long term, in contrast to the competition.
The importance of SEO
It’s hard to imagine a company without a website. Especially in the age of digitalization, having a website on the Internet is a sign of the times and conveys modernity. Not only is e-commerce a supporting sales channel, COVID-19 has also shown us why a website is so important. Search queries are predominantly made via the search engine and around 99% of users only search for results on the first page of their search query. Of these, an average of 60% click on the first search result, and the trend is rapidly decreasing with each subsequent one. Nevertheless, many website operators are already satisfied with being indexed and represented in the search results. However, being on the first page of the SERPs (Search Engine Result Page) and ranking relatively high should still be a goal to strive for.
But why is it so important? It can already be seen from the figures that increased visibility is a primary issue. If you are at the top of the SERPs, you will be clicked on more often. This is referred to as traffic. Traffic that leads to a successful conversion is one of the biggest sales factors in e-commerce. A good SEO strategy can also overtake the big competition. The major industries do nothing other than also take SEO/SEA measures. Here, everyone competes on an equal footing. Roughly speaking: Whoever knows SEO and maintains it better wins. In contrast to SEA, you don’t have to pay anything for clicks in organic search.
Advantages for SMEs
In principle and as a very overriding goal, the task of good search engine optimization is to increase your visibility. They should be noticed by potential customers right away. In addition, there are measures to shape perception as a positive user experience, because visibility alone is only half the battle. But more on that later. First of all, we would like to show you the basic benefits associated with visibility.
Traffic & Conversion
As already mentioned, visibility brings you one thing above all: increased click rates. Every user who accesses your website is part of the traffic and once they have visited your site, appealing and functional content ensures that they will buy your service/product. This event is known as a conversion. If you already have some traffic and conversions, you can be happy that a good SEO strategy will ensure more.
Local or international
It is highly market-dependent, but SEO is the enabler to reach your target group or to open up new target groups. If you have a fixed location, you can rely on local SEO, for example. One of the advantages of this is that the competition is much smaller. With specific local keywords, an optimized Google My Business account and other measures, you should be found locally at the top of Google Maps and in organic searches.
Companies that are not tied to a specific location can consider operating internationally. This means realizing an online store that delivers beyond Germany and is also accessible to other countries. The market and target group can thus be greatly enlarged and expanded. A measure that generates a lot of new customers.
Basic & more
Once all SEO measures have taken place, you will quickly realize how much has actually been achieved. Many people are not aware that there is more to search engine optimization than simply finding and correctly setting ideal keywords. An SEO agency or SEO expert offers many services. This includes the complete design and creation of your website. The site will usually offer target group-oriented content, be easily indexed, load quickly, have good landing pages or, for example, be accessible on all end devices. In addition to a high ranking, you therefore have a well-maintained website whose shortcomings are completely eliminated, thus preventing potential customers from leaving your site in frustration because links do not work or similar.
This creates a basic foundation for you that allows potential for further measures. In addition to regular maintenance and monitoring of performance, you and your company can focus on other goals and their implementation, as you definitely have one less thing to worry about with a functioning and well-ranking website.
Branding & Image
The large companies have already clearly positioned themselves with their brand. Small and medium-sized companies, on the other hand, are often only just starting to establish their brand. It must be clear to customers that the company is reputable and credible and that it offers a high-quality range of products. One discipline of search engine optimization is to lay this foundation for companies.
This primarily includes content. The texts are unique, contain USP and testimonials and are clearly specialized for the target group and the defined keyword. The website itself has an appealing design and has elements to provide customers with an adequate service. As already mentioned, user experience is a factor that goes hand in hand with SEO optimization. Companies that offer a customer-friendly website and convince with their brand through suitable content also convince the customer. Above all, companies that are positioned at the top of the rankings are perceived by users as much more reputable and enjoy a high level of trustworthiness.
Competition at eye level
It is often the main reason why SMEs forgo marketing measures such as SEO. How can you compete with the big players when you have so many more resources at your disposal? For SEO, a large budget is rather irrelevant, because the price range is always set so that it is affordable. This can be realized through different packages and varying scope, as SEO needs are in principle very individual. Rather, the focus is on implementing suitable measures that are in line with the company’s objectives. It is not the company with the biggest budget that wins here. Off-page and on-page measures, unique content, well-researched and analyzed keywords and much more are used to convince. You have exactly the same opportunities and possibilities as large companies. Those who implement it better and maintain their SEO will also be able to overtake the high competition and become competitors for large companies themselves.
This is how it’s done
You can read in detail how SEO works in this article. In general, an SEO proceeds according to the following principle: OnPage optimization and OffPage optimization. What is being done?
Analysis
The purpose of the analysis is to obtain a general overview of the status of your website. A website that does not function optimally is a major reason for high bounce rates, which Google rates negatively. To avoid this, it is checked for all possible errors, which are corrected in OnPage and OffPage optimization. In addition to this, further measures are taken that may not have been implemented at all or hardly at all in order to drive the website higher up the rankings.
OnPage optimization
On-page optimization refers to all improvements and measures within the website. This includes writing and correcting content, setting important keywords (main keywords, secondary keywords), correctly scaled images labeled in the alt tag, structured and functioning links and removing broken links, meta tags and meta descriptions, SEO-compliant URLs, responsive design and much more. All this increases your relevance for the Google search engine and thus your ranking.
OffPage optimization
Off-page optimization focuses on backlinks. Backlinks to relevant pages are built up, which also increase your relevance, and harmful spam links are removed.
Controlling
Appropriate SEO tools are then used to check whether everything is working as it should or whether there is room for improvement. This phase of search engine optimization measures whether, for example, visibility has increased, all backlinks are working, more traffic has been generated, the website is loading fast enough, etc.
Long-term ranking for SMEs
SEO is a very complex area in which a lot needs to be considered. In addition, SEO does not work overnight. It is a long-term process that pays off in the long term. Once you have generated high relevance in the search engine, you will not lose it so easily. Having an expert or an agency that is familiar with all the necessary know-how in this regard can take a lot of pressure off an SME and support it in the long term. It doesn’t take a lot of budget to rely on extensive search engine optimization and if you are afraid of losing visibility due to your competitors, SEO is a fair way to meet them at eye level and even overtake them.
