SMB: Is SEO Playing an Integral Part in Your Online Marketing?

According to a recent Affinity Express survey of small to medium businesses (SMB), it appears the importance of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is often overlooked. As shown in the following chart from the survey, 77% of SMBs are using websites and landing pages to market their businesses, but only 31% are using SEO to assure customers will easily find them online.

There are probably many reasons as to why the use of SEO is rather low in comparison to website and landing page usage (ie. limited resources, lack of knowledge, or perhaps businesses feel their products or services will speak for themselves). Whatever the reasons, SMBs need to realize that in today’s market, SEO is an integral part of any online marketing effort. It is not an option, it is a necessity. Since most consumers today are searching online to find potential products and services available, a business must optimize the chances of their website being found on major search engines by using SEO.

SEO can be challenging for any business, especially smaller ones with limited resources since keeping up with the competition, popular search terms, and the ever-changing algorithms search engines like Google and Bing use is a continuous process. To meet this challenge, many businesses find out-sourcing this task more efficient. WebVisible is a Software as a Service (SaaS) company and leading name in local online advertising, known for being a true expert in bringing the Internet as an advertising and customer acquisition medium to small businesses around the world. WebVisible’s award winning Geneva software platform (named 2008 Internet Product of the Year by the American Electronics Association) contains a powerful optimizer – a rules-based campaign management algorithm that continuously learns and improves the placement and results of our clients’ advertisements. With over ten years of experience, WebVisible offers proven SEO results.

To learn more about how WebVisible can provide SEO solutions and other Internet marketing services, please feel free to contact us.

Comments for SMB: Is SEO Playing an Integral Part in Your Online Marketing?

Saturday, July 30, 2011 by Lisa :: I thought everyone knew about SEO? I've been doing it for years and I can't imagine marketing my business without it. You definitely can't just throw up a website and expect people to come to it!
Saturday, July 30, 2011 by KB :: I have to admit it took me a long time to get on the SEO bandwagon. Now that I've finally caved in and started spending some of my advertising dollars on SEO I wish I'd done it sooner. The results are really worth the small amount of money spent on the campaign.
Monday, August 1, 2011 by Jamie :: I find it hard to believe that so many businesses think it's enough just to have a website or landing page without doing anything else. The fact that email advertising is still so popular in comparison to the other SEO solutions is also surprising, since I don't even use it anymore. I think it's much more important to focus on new methods like mobile advertising that seem to get real results.
Monday, August 1, 2011 by Katherine :: SEO is intimidating, but software like the Geneva platform breaks it down and optimizes the campaign on an ongoing basis. Of course, businesses need to take the first step and make the decision to invest in SEO before they can see the results. I'm sure more and more business owners are going to get on the bandwagon in the near future, though. They have to if they want to stay competitive.