How SEO Supports Long-Term Revenue Growth of Your Business

Every business comes down to the earnings it generates (fair enough). But THE question is, how do you ensure long-term revenue growth that will help your brand expand? There are many roads up that mountain, but SEO is definitely one of the best routes. Why? There are many reasons for that, such as organic traffic, more qualified leads, and a compound effect of your efforts over time. 

But does SEO work for all business sizes, niches, and locations? Actually, it does. How is that possible? Digital magic! Well, almost. The biggest secret SEO holds is flexibility. You can adjust it as much as you like, depending on your goals. Still, for many, search engine optimization seems too complicated, but it shouldn’t be like that. And we’ll prove it in this post.

Does SEO Really Help a Business Earn Long-Term Revenue? 

Oh yeah, SEO really helps companies grow. In fact, search engine optimization is the holy grail of long-term revenue. Don’t just take our word for it. Here are stats that prove it:

• According to Search Engine Journal, 49% of marketers say that organic search has the best ROI of any marketing technique. Databox puts that number at 70%. 
• 68% of all online experiences begin with a search engine. 
• Search is a 24/7 business. As a result, 51% of website traffic and 40% of revenue are driven by organic search. 
• 88% of US customers search for products online before making a purchase offline, and 80% of local SEO searches actually convert. 

SEO helps you deliver value to both your existing and potential customers. How? Through content. If the things you share are juicy and helpful, people see you as a trustworthy brand. And name at least one thing that’s more valuable than trust. 

What is the percentage of revenue SEO is responsible for? You can find different numbers in different sources, but the idea stays the same – when compared with paid search and social media, SEO wins by a landslide across industries.

Source: BrightEdge

6 Ways How SEO Can Support Your Business Growth

To be clear – SEO, by its nature, is more of a long-term strategy. It takes a while to fully implement and some time to see results, but the outcome is solid and sustainable growth (if you know what you’re doing, of course). What results can you expect?

1. Make Your Brand Seen (Finally)

All brands are like extroverts – they enjoy being in the spotlight (no judgment here). But it’s not just for the sake of winning a popularity contest. Being visible is how businesses survive and grow. In the end, the more eyes on your product/service, the more leads and sales for you.

Still, truth be told, there are already so many companies vying for the customer’s attention at the same time. And consumers are simply tired of all that noise. If you’ve been in marketing for long enough, you know that banner blindness is more real than reality. So, yeah, standing out from the crowd isn’t easy, let alone ensuring long-term revenue growth. But roll your sleeves and do your SEO (or just outsource it), and you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Businesses invest so much in PPC, hoping to generate long-term revenue. Yet, most people keep ignoring those ads and prefer organic search results, which get the most links as well. A good SEO strategy is what can get you to the top of search engine results, increasing your visibility and CTR at the same time. 

2. Get More Traffic (A Lot More)

There are over 1.13 billion websites on the internet. That’s a lot (Hey, Captain Obvious!). Out of these, 90.63% of web pages get zero organic traffic from Google. Zero! On the other hand, the first three results on Google search result pages get the most traffic. 

Even then, most clicks go to the website on the number one spot, and less than 1% of searchers bother to check the second page. I mean, when was the last time you scrolled down to the end of the search result page, let alone checked out the second and third pages? Exactly! It’s the same with customers. 

And SEO is the key to those prime spots in SERPs. Even repurposing old blog content and throwing in a couple of optimized images for a little razzle-dazzle can boost your organic traffic by 106%.

But don’t think that SEO is all sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows. Ha! First, you have to polish your technical optimization, learn millions of tips for buying and obtaining links, and ensure that your local SEO is in place. And well, those are definitely easier said than done. But a little motivation goes a long way. 

3. Rock That Lead Generation and Conversion Rates

Let’s face it – getting leads is just as dependent on how many people know about your brand as it is on your sales tactics. When more people come by to check out your site, the number of signups and sales also goes up. It’s math, really (something about probability). Remember how the top spots in search engine results get the most clicks? Well, some of those clicks will turn into leads, conversions, and more revenue for you. But how do you get there? Two words – content marketing.

SEO and content marketing always go hand in hand. The latter nets you 3x more leads than PPC. The recipe is easy – you share truly valuable information, and people start seeing you as the authority in your niche. Since the content will be live for a really long time, maybe forever, it becomes a good source of long-term revenue for your business. 

The best part is that these results only get better with time. You know, good SEO ages like fine wine. You can’t put it in your cellar, of course. But if your SEO works, you’ll be able to buy something decent for that cellar as well. 

Source: Content Marketing Institute

#4 Gain a Competitive Edge and Be Different

You know how the situation is. There are probably hundreds of similar businesses like yours, all targeting the same customer demographics as you do. What can do about it? Fight back with better marketing tactics, of course. For some, this would mean pumping out ads but we already know most people ignore those. So, you want to use SEO instead. 

Source: terakeet

Again, if you can get your web pages to the top of search results, you will end up with more clicks and traffic than your competitors. Don’t believe it? Well, people searching online for something already have an idea of what they want and just need a little nudge in the right direction. That’s why optimizing your website with your target keywords and sharing quality content will help you outrank your competitors (almost) easily.

Still, SEO is more than just keywords and content optimization. It has many technical aspects to it. For example, mobile-friendliness can help you capture more traffic, as 70% of people now prefer to use their mobile phones for online searches. 

5. Build a Richer Backlink Profile That Generates More Long-Term Revenue

Most marketing specialists believe that backlinks have a really great impact on your brand authority. Then again, the top pages in Google search results have 3.8x more backlinks than the rest. Remember those pages mentioned earlier that get zero traffic? Well, most of them had no backlinks. Coincidence? Probably not! 

Clearly, backlinks can affect organic traffic which will, well, impact everything else. But wait. Can’t some links lower your web performance? That’s right! Spammy and low-quality backlinks will do no good for your page. So, the quality of backlinks is far more important than the volume you have. Overall, link-building is arguably one of the most challenging parts of SEO, and many struggle to get the hang of it. That’s why many choose to outsource this task to an outreach team.

6. Get a Source of Sustainable and Future-Proof ROI in Marketing

Guess what? SEO is actually more profitable and cost-effective compared to other forms of marketing. According to SEOmator, for every $1 spent on PPC, you can expect to make $2 on average. But with SEO, you can get an ROI of $250 for every $1 spent. That sounds like a decent investment, doesn’t it? 

Unlike paid ads, you don’t have to keep pumping money to keep getting results. As lovely as the results of SEO might be for the present, the best part is that they become even more powerful with time by cementing your place amongst the top players in your niche. 

You know, trends come and go, but love lasts forever (not only in Hollywood movies). And that’s the story of what happens between search engines and time-proven SEO tactics. Get your SEO strategy right, and you will rank high for years to come. 

Common Issues With Long-Term SEO Strategy & How to Overcome Them

Here’s the other side of the SEO story. It takes a lot of planning and knowledge to come up with an SEO strategy that can generate long-term revenue for your business. This is just like any investor should learn not only about the miracle of compounding but also about risk management. Same works for SEO. But in this context, the most common challenges include:

1. No Resources (Talent, Time, and Budget)

Not having the right talent or working with a limited budget and time constraints? We’ve all been there. Of course, it’s easy to say that SEO is effective when you can afford everything and anything. But most businesses can’t. And it’s alright. You can still enjoy its benefits with little resources.

Solution: Just like issues can vary for each business, the solution you need will also look different. If you’re a small business owner and can’t afford an in-house team like the big companies, try to do it yourself. Knowing more about SEO is a great investment in your long-term business growth strategy. you can also take more valuable information through existing SEO guides available on the internet.

If you don’t want to do it yourself. Hire a contractor and make them focus on one single tactic instead of spreading your resources all over the place. What could that tactic be? Mention recommends paying attention to guest blogging. It is a great way to show that you know your thing, spread the word about your brand, and get those valuable backlinks. 

2. Not Having a Real SEO Strategy in Place

The thing about SEO strategy is that you actually need to know what you are doing to avoid it being a time sink and a waste of money. Even when the chips are laid right, there are so many factors that can affect your result. For example, if you do not know how to manage projects well, set clear goals, and prioritize tasks, you will find yourself grappling with too many things at once. And your website will be the one that suffers as a result. That’s why strategy isn’t just a beautiful PDF file. 

Solution: If you want to succeed, make your SEO planning clear, factual, and flexible. In the end, great search engine optimization comes down to clear and systematic actions. That’s it. You need to have clear goals and targets right from the start. For this, you have to know your audience to understand how to align your business goals and efforts with their interests and preferences. If you feel like you’re missing something, consult with professionals or get an SEO expert who can help you build an effective strategy.

3. Constantly Changing Trends That Are Hard to Follow

Trying to master SEO can sometimes feel like trying to handle a slippery eel with wet hands (ew). This is because there’s always something new to learn and another thing to unlearn. But there’s a good reason behind this. Consumer behaviors change all the time, new technological advances shake the world, search engines get better at adapting to the changes, and so best practices also evolve to meet up.

Solution: It may feel like a lot trying to adapt to every new Google update, but the truth is that once you fix your sights on matching the user intent, it becomes less stressful. Think of it this way – all changes and updates have one goal: to deliver the best possible experience to consumers. And it’s also in your best interest. So, keep learning and adapting, and don’t forget to use the SEO tools at your disposal to make your workflow easier.

Conclusion 

SEO isn’t just about ranking better on Google. It’s about delivering the right type of information to users at the right time. And your rankings are just a reflection of that in the long run. There is no doubt that any business can support long-term revenue growth with SEO. But in reality, they can do much more. They can become industry leaders with an army of loyal customers who find their brand special.