If you’re not currently investing in SEO, you’re probably at least somewhat familiar with the basic concept. Maybe you’ve heard colleagues bring it up in conversation or you’ve seen it popping up on wherever you get your marketing advice. But maybe you’re just not totally bought in yet.
Well, what if I told you that over 55% of small businesses invest in SEO? That’s a sizeable chunk of the market going after the coveted Page 1 of Google.
Because businesses everywhere – of all shapes and sizes – are investing in SEO to get ahead of the competition, you need to fight fire with fire to beat them. If you don’t, you’re likely missing out on significant traffic and revenue.
In this article, we’ll discuss five eye-opening statistics that indicate you’re falling behind the competition by ignoring SEO.
1. Businesses invested more than $65 billion on SEO initiatives
With that kind of money invested in SEO in 2016, you can bet your competitors are getting a piece of the pie – especially when you consider that about two-thirds of this was spent by startups and small-to medium-sized businesses.
Companies everywhere understand the importance of maintaining a quality organic search presence, and the money invested indicates that. They’re trying to get a leg up on the competition wherever they can, and they know that positioning themselves well on page one of Google, Bing, and Yahoo – where millions of people can see their brand every day – is a good place to start.
One other note: SEO spending is projected to reach nearly $80 billion by the year 2020. More and more companies will dedicate a portion of their marketing budget to capitalize on the growth opportunities in SEO. If you’re not in on the SEO push, there’s a good chance you’ll fall behind.
2. 57% of B2B marketers state that SEO generates more leads than any other marketing initiative
It’s no surprise that more than half of the B2B marketers surveyed say that SEO is their most effective lead generation tool when you realize there are more than 5 billion Google searches per day (that’s 57,870 searches per second!).
SEO puts your business before the eyes of millions of customers who are searching for your products and services.
It’s hard to get that kind of targeted exposure with any other marketing strategy.
3. 87% of marketing influencers say that SEO tactics continue to increase in effectiveness
If 87% of digital marketers believe SEO effectiveness is increasing, you can assume they’re happy with their results. That means your competition is getting better at SEO, and they’re seeing a positive impact on their bottom line as a result.
If you’re not convinced that SEO is becoming increasingly effective, just consider the fact that 93% of all online experiences begin with a search engine and about 43% of all website traffic is driven by search rankings.
4. 60% of marketers publish one piece of content per day
Content is the groundwork for all things related to SEO. It directly influences how well you rank for a given search term, how users interact with your site, and it’s been verified by Google as the most important ranking factor (tied with backlinks).
Creating relevant, in-depth content on a regular basis, along with a solid SEO strategy, is a powerful way to rank well in search results, increase the traffic visiting your site, and distinguish yourself in a competitive industry.
That’s why 60% of marketers, potentially your competitors included, are publishing content on a daily basis. In fact, in 2015 there were 2 million blog posts published every day. That kind of volume can easily drown you out if you’re not creating content of your own.
5. 61% of marketers say improving SEO and growing their organic search presence is a top priority
The majority of marketers are beginning to realize the value of SEO. They know it’s a foundational marketing strategy that generates qualified traffic and increases brand awareness, all while helping them reach their bottom line.
With more than 60% of marketers making SEO a priority, you can be confident that your competition is jumping on the bandwagon. They know they need SEO to build on their success and continue growing.
But don’t worry, this means there’s still time for you to optimize your site and climb up the search engine result pages.
These statistics share some insight on just how big of a business driver SEO is to so many businesses. After all, organic search is where millions of customers start their search for products and services that you offer every day. Don’t miss out on this kind of exposure with a website that isn’t optimized for search engines.
Take advantage of the countless growth opportunities SEO presents. If you’re interested in growing your business with organic search, we can help you get started with a free consultation.
