This week I had an interesting question from one of our customers. She was trying to find what would be the combined budget when using their Social Media Digital paid campaign plus an Advanced SEO Strategy Plan.
This is when it hit me. I asked her how much money she had spent in the past 12 months on social media advertising. She came up with an average of $500 / month for a total of about USD 6,000 in the past year.
Considering that a Top Class SEO service price tag is USD 1,499 (flat, one-time single payment) and that we have websites scoring 1st Google Search Results page for up to 8 years, this translates to $15.61 / month; an amount that shrinks as time passes by.
From this, we can easily determine that price instantly becomes a powerful reason why Advanced SEO (Search Engine Optimization) starts to shine among the best marketing tool options in the digital world.
But wait: there's more. Here are 6 reasons why SEO is the best marketing tool you can use today to boost your sales:
Before diving deep, let's start by understanding this single principle: Buyers we attract through SEO are those that will find us as a result of using Search Engines such as Google, while digital advertising buyers are the ones that will be taken to our website or landing page as a result of paid aids that we run on any given digital platform such as Facebook, Instagram or many others.
1) Buyers have up to 8.5x more predisposition to buy from SEO than from paid ads.
Studies have revealed that when a buyer searches through Search Engines, they are 8.5 times more likely to commit to buying compared to what they see on paid ads on their social platforms.
The reason is simple, and it's related to number 2 below.
2) SEO offers solutions to buyers' problems, while paid advertising creates them.
Think about it for a minute: when someone jumps into Google, they are looking for solutions to their needs or problems. They are actively searching for alternatives on fixing whatever it is that they need. By the time they perform a search in Google, all this is taking place:
Potential buyers acknowledge they have a need that must be solved.
They don't need anyone to convince them they have a problem to solve. This phase has already been accomplished in the past.
They are actively searching for solutions to their problem.
They are ready to buy because they have the need, they have the mindset to buy, and they have the money to commit.
Furthermore, they will trust a more natural non-paid search result, than a paid ad that they know its only purpose is to sell them something regardless of whether their problem is solved or not.
This is why search engines provide solutions to buyer's needs, while on the other hand, paid advertising ultimately creates problems that they didn't even have, and that will get solved only if you buy what they are selling.
3) By the time a potential buyer reaches your site, half of your sales process efforts have already taken place.
It works like clockwork: every time a new potential buyer reaches your website through SEO, a lot has happened on his end without you even noticing. He's been thinking about whatever it is that you offer, he's done some research about cost and benefits. He's been looking for options. Likewise, he has even taken the time to plan on having the money ready to buy when he finds the right product or service, and suddenly, after all that, there's your website, and he's ready to buy. If you have heard about the 7-Steps Sales Process, well, with SEO your buyer rings your doorbell on step 6. All other steps have been completed either by himself or by someone else.
You jump directly from Step 1 to the "closing the deal" Step #6 in a single move. Isn't it what all businesses want after all?
4) SEO is the solution, VS advertising is an interruption.
It's all about user experience, experts say.
SCENARIO 1: A potential Buyer is browsing any given digital platform and your paid ad pops up. He's just been interrupted while he was messaging a colleague, watching his favorite show or music video. His mindset is everywhere except in the shopping mode where ideally you want him to be able to sell him your stuff.
You've just interrupted him.
This is how paid advertising works.
SCENARIO 2: Potential buyer has a need that must be solved. He launches Google Search and looks for answers to his needs. He's got the need, he's got the drive, he's got the money. On the 1st results page, the search engine is so well-oiled that it will bring a good set of options on where to buy what he's looking for.
Researchers have found that 71% of the time, users will stick to what they see on the 1st Google Search Results page. Up to 92% of the time, users will stick to what they find in the 1st and 2nd results pages combined.
They have just solved their problem.
This is how SEO works.
5) Limited reach VS unlimited reach.
Let's do some math for a while:
PAID ADS, THE LIMITED MODE:
All your paid ads will run for the time you keep paying, and for the amount, you can afford to pay. In other words, your reach is limited, and directly proportional to your budget. The minute you run out of budget, your ads stop airing and your reach stops right there.
SEO: THE UNLIMITED REACH:
SEO, on the other hand, is the strategy you will follow to make your website visible to your target audience at all times. This strategy is directly communicating to the Search Engine in such a way that when any user performs a search within your defined geographical zone (meaning it can be the whole planet if you want), your website, store, or landing page will be shown in the results page, organically, naturally, non-paid: free.
Forever!
With a strong SEO strategy, you will no longer depend on your advertising budget, not even on the long sales process. Your buyers will reach you even when you are not running ads, and as explained above in bullet #3, the buyer jumps directly to the closing stage of your sale.
6) Buyers trust SEO more than ads.
Stats have shown that 71% of users will trust Google Search Results, while less than 9% will trust paid ads. We can determine that SEO is 8x more trusted than any other form of digital advertising. On top of that, did we mention that once you have configured your SEO it's free forever?
However, as good as it seems, there's also a high level of complexity and expertise required to achieve top-performing results. It's definitely much better to hire an SEO Expert to do the work for you. Even though this kind of service doesn't come cheap, in the long run, it turns out to be the one that will cost you less, since it is performed only once and for all. You pay once, you use it forever.
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