Digital marketing is a type of marketing that uses the internet and other digital technologies to reach out to a targeted audience, with the intention to make sales. Since the early 2000s, digital marketing has been on the rise, thanks to the massive increase in internet users’ numbers. According to statistics, the average time spent on the internet by an individual in the 2000s was 9.4 hours a day. However, that number has seen a significant increase in recent times, with more people spending over 18 hours of their time online every day. Experts have predicted that digital ad spending will rise to $335 billion by 2020, as almost all business activities around the world today can now be conducted online.

Search engines have been a significant part of the growth associated with digital marketing in recent times. For any business that has a website, the importance of search engines cannot be overemphasized. According to stats at serpwatch.io, 93% of all website visits start with a search engine, and four in five consumers make use of search engines to find information on the web.

What Is SEO?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a process of optimizing your website content in a way that will enable it to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERP). That further leads to an increase in your website traffic.

How Do Search Engines Work?

Search engines are continually looking for ways to provide users with valuable information relating to their search, and this means providing quality results in search engine results pages. Search engines are constantly scanning websites across the web for their relevance using certain algorithms.

When users search for a keyword or phrase, the search engine will pick the websites with the most relevant information related to that keyword and display them in order of relevance.

Factors such as backlinks and user-friendliness of a website can also contribute to the relevance of the website. SEO is how you organize your website content so that it appeals to the search engine algorithm.

Importance of SEO

• Visibility and Rankings

Search engines make it easier for users who are interested in what you have to offer to find you. When you have a website that is well optimized with keywords relevant to what you offer, you stand a good chance of ranking higher in the search engine result page (SERP). Also, according to statistics, 60% of users click on one of the top three search results on the first page.

• Increase in Website Traffic

When you rank higher in SERP, it increases your site visibility, which means that more people can find your website and have access to your products or services. This will automatically lead to an increase in traffic.

• Increase in Conversion Rates

SEO has a higher conversion rate (14.6%) when compared to traditional outbound marketing (1.7%). Users who use search engines for answers are already interested in what they are searching for, and that makes it easier for them to make a purchase. That is backed up by the fact that 18% of local searches lead to a purchase, as shown by statistics.

Bottom Line

Although every aspect of digital marketing plays a crucial role in its growth, SEO optimization is one aspect of digital marketing that website owners cannot ignore.

Author: Josh Wardini:

Josh Wardini, Editorial Contributor and Community Manager at https://websitebuilder.org.uk. With the preliminary background in communication and expertise in community development, Josh works day-to-day to reshape the human resource management of digitally based companies. When his focus trails outside of community engagement, Josh enjoys the indulgences of writing amidst the nature conservations of Portland, Oregon.

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