As a new business owner, you are likely feeling the pressure. There are a million and one tasks on your plate as it is without having to think about your digital marketing. How will you grow your online presence? Should you focus on SEO or is it possible to succeed by focusing on other digital marketing strategies? If you can’t quite make your mind up or feel a little overwhelmed by it all, stick around and we’ll outline some strong considerations for SEO and Digital Marketing being strong focal points of your business.
Is SEO necessary to succeed online?
Yes and no. SEO isn’t mandatory and it is possible to experience relative success online without it, however, it isn’t recommended. Even if you focus solely on video marketing or social media marketing, you still have to direct them back to your website – which should be well-optimized. Optimized for your audience while taking notes, and conforming a bit to what search engines like Google want to see.
If you fail to do this, it doesn’t matter how well you do with your other digital marketing strategies, you’ll never reach your true potential. Today, search engine optimization is just as much about creating a user-friendly website with high-value content as it is about increasing your online awareness and attracting more traffic.
So, what should you do?
Focus on local SEO first
If you feel overwhelmed by the prospect of spending thousands of dollars on SEO, at the very least you should begin with local SEO, and choose one relevant to your country. This means targeting geo-centric keywords that are relevant to your service areas and claiming a GMB profile.
Perform Onsite and Technical SEO
Following that you want to ensure that your website has been optimized well for SEO. Even if you don’t go straight into an aggressive link-building strategy, you still need to understand which focus keywords are most relevant to your business, and what your ‘ideal customer’ is searching for, and then present your website accordingly.
Social Media Marketing can be Very Powerful
As a small business owner, you can put a lot of resources into your social media marketing, however, as mentioned above, you still need a well-optimized website in order to convert these clicks into customers.
Email Marketing Requires SEO to Attract Leads
You can focus your energies on email marketing, which is an excellent digital marketing strategy with a great potential ROI. However, in order to attract new leads to your website and effectively sign them up for your mailing list…guess what? You need a well-optimized website to help facilitate these KPIs (key performance indicators).
PPC can help you Attract New Leads in the Meantime
SEO can take some time to establish (often between 4 and 12 months), which means that PPC (pay-per-click) advertising can be an effective way to attract some leads in the meantime. However, once again, if you don’t have a well-optimized website, you won’t ever convert half as many customers as you could.
Hire Experienced Professionals
If the main thing holding you back is not so much the budget, but the lack of experience and the fact that SEO can feel terribly overwhelming, then we highly recommend hiring a digital marketing agency in Dubai to support you. If you do your due diligence and hire the right agency (with plenty of social proof and real-life case studies), then you’ll be able to enjoy a faster and more sustainable return on your investment.
The verdict? Don’t neglect SEO
Many people will tell you that you can get away without doing your SEO so long as you focus on other digital marketing strategies. We strongly disagree. SEO should be treated as the ‘backbone’ of your online marketing efforts. The fact is, if you get your website in order, create a stunning UX design, and deliver a superior on-page experience, all of your other marketing strategies will perform better as a result.
It’s scary and overwhelming however, that’s why the professionals exist; to deliver superior results with very little stress or effort on your part. Freeing up your time for other aspects of your business provides what you need: a Perfect Afternoon.
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