Many businesses just starting out or making the transition to online marketing don’t understand the importance of search engine optimization (SEO). In fact, a lot of business owners still mistakenly believe that all they need to grow is a wealth of customer referrals. However, SEO is a potentially invaluable asset that businesses need to take advantage of if they want to remain competitive and succeed.

While your focus might be on increasing customer referrals, SEO can help with this and many other aspects of your business. If your customers spend a lot of time online searching for the products and services that you offer, it’s better to start diving into SEO now rather than later. Otherwise, you could be missing out on a huge chance to increase brand awareness and attract more high-quality customers.

The following are some key reasons why it’s best to get started with SEO campaigns as soon as possible.

1. Higher Rankings Mean More Exposure and Credibility

A majority of people do some research around the products or services they’re considering buying. They want to be sure that they’re making the right choice, and performing some searches on Google can help them make more informed decisions.

People Don’t Look Hard for Search Results

Considering the fact that 75% of users don’t bother scrolling past the first page of search results in search engines, it’s crucial to appear as high as possible if you want to get people’s attention. You’ll also be competing with paid ads that tempt people to click before even viewing organic results. At the same time, the higher you rank, the more credible your business looks if you appear as one of the top results. People are more likely to trust and turn to you based on the combined convenience and perceived credibility that high rankings provide. People will also become more familiar with your brand as you become ubiquitous in search engines.

If you aren’t showing up near the top, you’ll quickly become lost in the mix with thousands or even millions of other results.

2. It Can Take a Long Time to Get the Results You Want

SEO isn’t an overnight process. Some companies might deceptively have you believe that you can rank on page one in Google within days of optimization, but the fact is that it often takes months or even years. There are many elements that go into SEO, which can take weeks or months alone to implement, followed by even longer periods of monitoring and modifying to optimize results. SEO is worth it in the end, but it’s a long game that doesn’t have any shortcuts. It used to be far easier to rank with old-school SEO tactics, but today’s SEO practices require diligence and patience if you want your efforts to pay off.

If you wait too long to get started with SEO, you’ll only need to wait even longer to get the best results. Getting started immediately can help you prepare for the long term early on.

3. Gain the Upper Hand When It Comes to Sales

Even if people refer your business to others, those prospects aren’t likely to go in blind. If people are unable to find you easily on Google, they could eventually give up on the search and go with the top results offering more convenience and credibility. People want to be able to easily locate the company they’re considering, especially if they’re relatively unfamiliar with the brand.

Start People on the Buyer’s Journey Before Competitors Can

Once you attract more visitors and bring people over to your website to submit contact details, you’ll be able to gain an advantage in the sales process. While competitors are still trying to lure those prospects, you’ll already have their information and start launching email campaigns to keep them engaged. As people begin to travel down your sales funnel, they’ll be less inclined to turn away and consider competitors.

4. The Competition Isn’t Likely to Waste Time

Seeing as SEO has been around for years, many companies have already jumped into the optimization game and have become well-established in search engines. As a result, more people are likely to find them, but this doesn’t mean that you don’t have a chance of matching or even outshining those competitors. The sooner you get started on a winning SEO campaign to bring your business to the forefront, the more you’ll be able to get ahead.

Giving Users What They Want

Google likes high-quality content that’s fresh and informative, so you can get started on developing optimized content that establishes you as an industry leader. People are also looking for fresh content that many competitors may neglect to provide. For instance, a company may have a blog post from 10 years ago about a product or service that has since gone through multiple changes. While people will overlook that article, they may be interested in a fresh article you’ve written about the same topic. In turn, Google may rank your content above others as people subsequently read it and spread it even farther.

The important thing to remember is to optimize for readers, not for Google. While black-hat techniques like keyword stuffing and redundant content might have worked 10 or 15 years ago, Google wants content that people find helpful. Focus on producing blog content and other materials that your audience will want to not only read but will be willing to share with others. The more content you publish and curate that your audience craves, the more they’ll be likely to trust you over competitors, and the higher you’ll rank.

Launch Your SEO Campaigns with the Help of a Reliable Partner

If you’re considering getting started with SEO, it’s important to avoid waiting. The longer you hesitate, the more time you’re giving your competitors to surpass you, and the more you’ll hold your business back.

With the experts at Vigor SEOrchers by your side, you can benefit from a complete SEO campaign that equips your business for long-term success. Contact us today to find out how we can help your business flourish.