RSSM Digital USSA Edition March 2021 | Page 22

1 . SEO targets the clients who are “ ready to buy ”
SEO is commonly treated as a foreign language that makes non-technical people take a step back so , we ’ ll put it simply – SEO brings sales . The key is to attract the proper audience . Now , to understand this better , we need to learn about the keywords that are used for each stage of the buying process .
In the image below , you will see the search funnel for organic traffic , the type of keyword that is used for each stage , and their search volume .
Long-tail keywords have the lowest search volume yet their conversion rate is higher compared to short-tail keywords . This is how SEO helps generate leads , by using long-tails that help highly-qualified prospects find you at the time they are ready to take action .
2 . SEO is affordable
Organic search is all about using a cohesive strategy to get your website to the top of the search engine results pages ( SERP ). It is different from a pay-per-click ( PPC ) ad , the ones that commonly occupy the first 3 spots of the SERP , where you have to pay to get attention . PPC has its strengths but SEO is more affordable in the long-run .
According to research , small and medium-sized businesses spend about $ 9,000 to $ 10,000 on pay-per-click ads in a month . This is an overwhelming amount that can be spent somewhere else . On the other hand , SEO is more affordable and , in addition , ranking organically creates an authoritative image for your business .
The top of the funnel is the awareness stage . During this phase , the user searches for generic and single-worded keywords known as shorttail keywords . The intent is to gather a general idea about a certain topic .
The middle of the funnel is for research . At this stage , the user is already informed about the idea of the topic . He is more interested but he is not yet ready to sign-up . He uses 2-3 keywords that are more specific than short-tail keywords . These are called medium or mid-tail keywords .
Lastly , the bottom of the funnel is called the purchase stage . This is when the user chooses very specific phrases called long-tail keywords to look for the exact results , making him a high-quality prospect who is ready to purchase .
3 . If you are not on top , you ’ re invisible
With SEO , patience is key because no one ranks for a specific keyword overnight ( unless you belong to the chosen ones who were destined to break the internet ).
It may take 3 to 12 months to see the results which may sound like a huge inconvenience but , if you weigh the pros and cons , you will see that not being on top of the SERPs is what will hurt your business .
Based on data , 75 % -95 % of users never go past the first page of Google . After browsing and not seeing the result they like , they are more inclined to do another search using a new keyword than to go to page 2 . This means that if you
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