Why Does SEO Matter?

For those not familiar with the inner workings of website traffic and Google algorithms, SEO can be one of those things that everyone tells you to pay attention to, but you aren’t really sure why it’s important. SEO may seem like a complex topic, but it has one central goal: to attract more traffic to your website. Search engine optimization (or SEO) is, essentially, the strategy used to bring organic traffic to your website. So why does SEO matter? Well, you want to get users to your website, right?

What is Organic Traffic?

First of all, what is organic traffic, and why do I want it? Organic traffic is defined by how users get to your website. There is paid traffic (from ads or paid advertising), referral traffic (a link to your website from another website, for example, from Facebook), and organic traffic. Organic traffic is when someone naturally, or “organically,” comes to your website. This happens through search engines, like Google.

When someone searches for something relevant to your website, they will naturally see your website in the search results. That is the idea, at least. The problem here, though, is that if your website is not set up or maintained in a way search engines like, your website will be overlooked. This is where knowledge of SEO or use of an SEO consultant is key – many of the things search engines look for in a website would not be obvious to those with little knowledge of how search engines work.

Benefits of Organic Traffic

Organic traffic is the most desirable type of traffic. Why? Because it’s free! Of course, you have to spend time and resources working to get your website to a good place SEO-wise, but you don’t have to pay a penny for users who find your website organically. The best part is, the more you work on your SEO, the more your organic traffic exponentially increases. If search engines see more and more traffic coming to your site organically, they will give your website a higher rank in search results. So, the better you are at attracting organic traffic, the easier it will become to get it.

SEO as a Long-Term Strategy

SEO is not a one-and-done type of project. It is an ongoing strategy that will bring in more traffic the longer you do it. SEO is important in everything from the way your website is set up, to the copy on each web page, to how often you update your website.

So why does SEO matter? Not only is it absolutely vital in getting users to your website, but it’s a strategy that snowballs over time. The more time and effort you put into SEO now, the more benefits you will reap down the line!