Internet results pages can be a cutthroat place. Everyone wants their business to show in the #1 spot for all queries related to their goods and services. Even as unlikely an outcome as that is, many business owners are willing to try anything to get as close as possible. So with this mentality, is SEO important in reality? The short answer is yes. Here’s why.

1. If you are running pay-per-click ads, you can optimize the other elements of each page around the same keywords you’re targeting in your paid campaign. This increases your chances of showing up in the organic section of the search results, as well as the paid/ad section. The benefits of this are twofold. One, the more spots you take up on a page, the fewer there are left for your competitors. And two, studies have shown that the more spots you take up in the search results pages (SERPs), the more trustworthy and knowledgeable searchers view your company.

2. Speaking of competitors…Search engine optimization is important in getting ahead of them. If your competitors aren’t optimizing their sites at all but you are, you’ve got a real leg up! If they’re also in on the SEO game, though, you may have to up the ante to win, but it is possible. And in this case, it’s even more important.

3. Most searchers click on the first five results in the SERPs. Without optimizing the various elements of each page on your site for popular queries related to your business – and that page’s topic – you’re not likely to show in those spots, so you’re not likely to gain those searchers’ business.

4. The search engine algorithms don’t just focus on matching a keyword on a page to what a user searched for. Factors like how long they stay on the landing page and how many pages they interact with on the site as a whole also figure in to where you rank on the SERPs. So proper SEO also makes the user experience with your site, as well as its usability, top notch.

At Asterisk Creative, we understand the importance of SEO for businesses of all sizes, and we have an expert team in place to get your website optimized properly. When your strategy pairs our SEO team with our social media team, using social media for SEO can take your business even further! Don’t let your competition spend another day getting ahead of you online. Give us a shout and let’s jumpstart things!