5 Reasons Why SEO Matters for Every Startup

A tight budget is one of the most common problems startups tend to face. Expenses are always too high and every single dollar is carefully allocated, so startup owners are reasonably cautious before making any new investments. Here are five reasons why every startup should include SEO in their digital strategy.

1. Increased Visibility

Startups normally struggle to get some initial publicity. And there’s no better way to quickly boost your visibility than investing in search engine optimization. Basically, if you’re not on the first page of Google’s search results, you virtually don’t even exist – as much as 75% percent of users never scroll down to the second page.

Moreover, 87% of shoppers start their buying journey with an online search. This means that a lack of online visibility can seriously damage your startup’s chances of success. And the fact that new generations are getting more and more tech-savvy means that this number will only get higher in the years to come.

2. Increased Organic Traffic

Naturally, being more visible for search engines will cause an increase in the organic traffic that your website earns. To get the feeling of how crucial it is to boost your rankings to get clicks, have in mind that only 0.79% of users will actually click on a second-page search result. So if you want people coming to your website without spending a fortune on PPC ads and banners, you’ll have to start thinking about SEO.

Also, traffic generated thanks to properly done SEO is quality traffic – which means that this way, you’re attracting people who are actually interested in your company or your product. This will inevitably increase your conversion rate, and this, in turn, will have a positive effect on your bottom line.

3. Building Credibility and Trust

Consumers tend to get understandably skeptical towards new companies, so it’s difficult for young startups to prove their trustworthiness to potential customers. There are two ways smart SEO can help you in this respect.

Firstly, getting to the top of search results is often a sign of reliability for consumers. Google’s algorithm doesn’t normally allow for shady businesses and questionable websites to reach high positions. In this sense, good rankings have become a matter of brand image in recent years.

Secondly, doing proper optimization usually entails creating regular, industry-related, relevant content that your prospective customers may find interesting and helpful. This content is usually posted on the company’s website to show your readers that you’re knowledgeable and professional, which will undoubtedly help you build trust among them. Reaching out to a reputable website or influencer and offering a guest post is also a good idea as this will further boost your digital presence and authority.

4. Getting to Know Your Customers

Optimization for search engines, when done right, starts with meticulous research that should uncover the most frequent search queries related to your branch. This will tell you a lot about who your potential customers or clients are and what they’re looking for. It’s one of the best ways to get familiar with their specific needs and think about the ways you can address them.

This way, you’re basically conducting valuable market research. Once you have all this info, you’ll have a much better idea about what exactly you should focus on in your future product updates or your marketing strategy.

5. Improving SEO Means Improving UX

Finally, SEO is not done solely for the purpose of improving rankings. The parameters that Google’s algorithm uses are evidently not random – the algorithm is designed to look for websites that offer the best user experience and display the greatest authority.

By following instructions on how to boost your rankings, you’ll surely be making your website better. This is hugely important as your website should be one of the pillars of your business and one of your main marketing hubs. The years to come are only going to make our buying experience and our business interactions more digitized, so the importance of proper SEO for startups is only going to grow.

Simply put, SEO improves not only your website’s visibility but also its quality. Given this fact, there’s no doubt whether startups should include it in their digital strategies.