What is SEO and why is it needed in marketing?

People's internet usage influences their consumption decisions

In today's technology-oriented world, the vast majority of businesses are represented on the Internet either in the form of an informative website or an e-shop. People make their purchase decisions largely based on the information they find on the internet, so it is important that a website promoting your product or service comes up first in search engines. This is dealt with by a practice called SEO, which is short for search engine optimization.

A page that is well adapted to search engines will appear among the first in the search, if you do not consider the website that uses Google Ads services - they have the mark "advertisement". If web pages marked with Google Ads are among the first thanks to paid advertising, a page optimized for search engines appears among the first organically, not in a paid way.

Broadly speaking, SEO can be divided into three areas: on-page SEO, off-page SEO, and technical SEO. Technical SEO is a part of on-page SEO. In addition, when it comes to SEO, we talk about organic and inorganic traffic.

On-page SEO focuses on the content of the page

On-page SEO focuses, for example, on the page using words or phrases that are also the most used keywords in search engines. Popular WordPress-based sites often use various plugins, such as Yoast SEO, Rank Math, and others, to optimize website content for search engines. Plugins give recommendations on which words to use and where to make the page more visible in search engines. In addition, plugins allow you to add a meta description, which is text that describes a website or one of its subpages in search results.

Off-page SEO connects the wider internet to your page

Off-page SEO links the website to other pages and even to social media - therefore it is good if, in addition to having a website, the company also uses social media. From the point of view of off-page SEO, it is great if there are links on the internet or social media that bring visitors to your page. This page layout allows your site to be more easily recognized in digital media.

Google constantly evaluates the technical SEO indicators of a page

Google robots constantly evaluate the technical characteristics of web pages. In general, page speed is valued most in technical SEO. The faster the various components of the website are delivered to the visitor, the higher the page is in the Google rating. In addition to the speed at which visual elements appear, it is also important how quickly the page becomes interactive, i.e. if the visitor clicks on a button on the site, for example, something new is immediately displayed (another page, a drop-down menu or something else). Technical SEO is also affected by the structure of the web page content - the more logical it is structured for the user, the better the web page's technical SEO score.

The importance of SEO and organic traffic cannot be underestimated

In the case of SEO, the importance of organic traffic is highlighted. Organic traffic occurs when a page uses the right keywords, moves up in the search results, and therefore people easily reach the relevant page. 6 Non-organic traffic, on the other hand, comes from paid ads.

Most people never move past the first page of search engines. This means that if your website does not appear on the first page of the search engine, you will lose potential customers. It will also be more difficult for you to increase people's awareness of your brand or company.

Good organic traffic allows you to reach a larger number of visitors or audience faster. Compared to buying paid ads, investing in organic traffic is cheaper in the bigger picture, so it makes sense to invest in quality content production and SEO optimization to increase organic traffic to your page. Also, organic traffic generates more credibility.

Which businesses benefit the most from strong SEO?

All businesses that represent themselves on the Internet benefit from organic traffic, but especially well-functioning organic traffic is necessary for the following areas:

• Retail trade and e-commerce E-commerce is usually very well optimized to generate organic traffic. As a result, organic traffic has become very important for retail businesses in the last decade.
• Travel and hospitality services. Since most travel sites aim to generate direct bookings and operate on strict CPA (cost per action) targets, organic traffic is important for this industry. Moreover, tourism tends to be a seasonal business, so it is necessary for organic traffic to help the business.
• Beauty and well-being. The first organic search results often have a huge impact on what people decide to buy. In the beauty industry, many brands and products compete with each other, which is why the first products and services that appear organically often get the "unique victory".
• Technology. Technology is what many people classify as a prime example of an industry that needs good organic traffic due to high volume and competition. Unlike some other industries that deal with more than just a product—such as travel—tech companies rely on search engines to educate their visitors about the product or service they offer before they make a purchase decision.
• Financial services. Online visibility is crucial for the financial industry. The financial industry depends on the web - especially when it comes to investing and personal finance, so they need to reach as many people as possible through organic search results. Professional services: private doctors, law firms, etc. Every attorney knows how important it is to get strong and relevant search results when running this type of business. The best attorneys in any niche can be very competitive if they pay attention to their image and online discoverability. What lawyers say about themselves matters as much as what others say about them. This logic also applies to, for example, medical professionals.
• Health care and medical services. The health industry is quite sensitive to consumer attention. Search engines are integral to maintaining a good reputation in the industry, especially when it comes to medical advice.
• Services related to pets. Pets are naturally part of the family. And what pet lover wants what they find online to be inaccurate. The same applies to veterinary services - ensure relevant information in search engines and you will easily increase your customer base.
• Real estate and real estate agents. When you're looking to buy or sell real estate, what Google says about a real estate agent can be just as important as what they say or don't say about themselves. The best opportunity to make a sale and conclude a deal often lies in the information that can be found on Google about the property or the broker.
• The field of cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency and blockchain are some of the most exciting concepts right now. As new players are constantly emerging in this industry, using targeted messages to increase organic traffic is very important. Summary

In conclusion, we can say that SEO is a very technical and versatile practice that allows you to increase the visibility of your website in search engine results. If from the point of view of website performance, all SEO areas are taken into account to the necessary extent, then it can be ensured that the page is well adapted to the search engine. This, in turn, makes better advertising for the company or institution that created the page, helps to increase sales numbers and general recognition. Read more about how WebTailor can help your business bloom by implementing strong SEO strategies.

Used sources:

1 https://blog.styla.com/en/22-seo-techniques 2 https://xysum.ee/mis-on-seo/ 3 https://www.wpbeginner.com/showcase/9-best-wordpress-seo-plugins-and-tools-that-you-should-use/ 4 https://d-help.com/en/what-is-external-seo/ 5 https://yoast.com/what-is-technical-seo/ 6 https://tenfor.ee/kodulehe-seo-optimeerimine/ 7 https://cobiro.com/blog/organic-reach-and-paid-reach 8 https://ingenia.com/news/2022/06/09/organic-vs.-paid-reach-why-your-business-needs-both/ 9 https://straightupsearch.com/what-industries-need-seo-the-most/