1. Better Content for Consumers
Content that is good for search engines is often good for consumers as well. This is by design: Google and other search engines want to help people find good content, so they prioritize good quality content. Sites that are well-optimized for search engines will answer a question the reader has in a well-written, authoritative manner. Gone are the days of short keyword-stuffed, hard-to-read articles ranking well in search engines. Instead, good search engine optimization focuses on content that readers will find helpful, which builds trust in your brand and encourages readers to convert to leads.
2. Better Accessibility
Have you ever wondered what happens when a screen reader for the visually impaired comes across a picture on a website? Web designers have the option to designate alternative text that the screen reader can read to describe the picture. This same alternative text is also used to help search engines understand pictures, so good SEO includes filling out the alternative text for all images on the site. This means that if your pictures are optimized for search engines, they are also more accessible to those with disabilities. Not only is this just a good practice, but the focus on better accessibility on the web is becoming more and more important.
3. Faster Loading Speeds
Have you ever left a website because it was taking too long to load? Search engines know that speed is important to readers, so a big factor in search engine optimization is making sure that pages load quickly. Slow pages don’t rank well, so search engine optimization specialists have many tricks to help pages load faster. As you can imagine, this is much better for customers as well. It decreases the chances that people will leave your site right away because it’s taking too long to load.
4. Cheaper Ads
If you are running pay-per-click ads, you might be surprised to learn that optimizing your landing pages for search engines can also lead to cheaper ads in Google. This is because Google wants to serve high-quality ads to customers so people keep clicking on the ads. Google rates ads and landing pages according to their quality, and higher quality pages can lead to cheaper ad prices. Many of the same factors that make a landing page high quality for pay-per-click ads are also a part of search engine optimization. Plus, you can use the data you get from pay-per-click ads to improve your SEO and vice versa. PPC and SEO work hand-in-hand.
5. Good for Social Media Sharing
Chances are if you are focusing on SEO, you also are focusing on social media (or you should be!). A good SEO strategy will often include regular blog posts with eye-catching images. These are also great to share on social media to encourage your followers to visit your site. As a bonus, many social media sites often use some of the same factors as search engines when displaying links for your site. For example, a description is set for Google to display in the search results for your page. This same description is also pulled by sites like Facebook when links to your site are shared. Thus, setting a good description for Google will also improve the way your site shows up on social media.
Overall, a site that is optimized for search engines has many other benefits as well, and a good SEO strategy will only improve your other marketing efforts. If you are looking to improve your presence on the web, a good search engine optimization team can greatly benefit your business. Contact Kite Media to learn about how our experts can help improve your SEO and your website overall!