15 SEO Benefits That Get Websites to Start Doing SEO 2024

Search engine optimization (SEO) focuses on enhancing your visibility in organic search results on platforms like Google, Bing, and other search engines. The benefits of SEO extend far beyond just organic traffic, reaching all the way to your bottom line.

Discover the advantages of SEO now!

15 Benefits of SEO

Explore the ways SEO can benefit businesses and website owners:

1. Build Credibility Regardless of your industry, whether it’s e-commerce or professional services, trust is essential for success. Trust plays a critical role in SEO—Google utilizes several systems, such as PageRank, to gauge a site’s credibility and trustworthiness.As part of your SEO strategy, you’ll work on building trust and credibility by:
   • Creating unique, valuable content that showcases expertise and authority.
   • Incorporating trust signals, like awards and testimonials, into your site’s design.
   • Installing a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate to enhance site security.
   These optimizations not only bolster your SEO efforts but also improve your conversion rate optimization (CRO). When users see these signals (like a secure, reputable website), they’re more inclined to choose that business and its products or services.
2. Grow Brand Awareness Another key benefit of SEO is that it helps increase brand awareness.Brand awareness measures how familiar consumers are with your brand, products, and services. Increased brand awareness means people are more likely to recognize and return to your company.When someone finds your website on search engine results pages (SERPs), they might not purchase immediately. However, seeing you consistently rank in the top results as they search for related products and services increases their awareness of your brand.This enhanced awareness can help people form positive associations with your brand, improve your ratings, and lead to conversions over time.
3. Attract Qualified Traffic Traffic is great, but qualified traffic is even better.With SEO, you can target the most relevant users and reach them through search. For instance, instead of targeting broad terms like “white sneakers,” you could target long-tail keywords like “white hands-free slip-on shoes” to better reach your target market.The best part is that long-tail keywords are typically easier to rank for than short-tail keywords (due to less competition), which can help you achieve success faster with SEO.
4. Get Promoted 24/7 Whether you’re on vacation, in a meeting, or sleeping, SEO works for your business around the clock. At any time, people can use a search engine like Google to discover your company.This continuous promotion is particularly beneficial for companies offering emergency services. People can instantly find your services, connect with your on-call team, and get the help they need.
5. Improve Bottom-Line Metrics Most businesses want more than just traffic from SEO—they want tangible results. Depending on your business model, these results are often qualified leads or online sales.The advantage of SEO is its ability to improve both metrics. Based on our 25+ years of experience as an SEO service provider to B2B and B2C companies, we’ve seen SEO deliver on these metrics.Just in the past five years, our clients have generated:
   • 7 million qualified leads
   • 12 million online transactions
   • $10 billion in revenue
   By focusing your SEO efforts on your target market and proven best practices, you can use search to achieve real, measurable results.
6. Optimize Ad Spend SEO and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising complement each other well. When starting SEO (and waiting for it to take effect), businesses often use paid advertising to gain instant visibility and its associated benefits, like traffic and sales.However, as your SEO performance improves, you can start optimizing your ad spend by:
   • Focusing ad spend on branded terms or remarketing campaigns.
   • Redirecting ad spend to organic efforts, like content creation.
   While PPC is a valuable digital marketing strategy, it’s not one you should solely rely on, as it requires continuous funding. In contrast, SEO can deliver long-term results after the initial investment.
7. Streamline Buyer Journeys The typical buyer journey (aside from emergency services) involves multiple steps and touchpoints. A benefit of SEO is that it allows your business to meet users at these various touchpoints, building their awareness and trust.For example, you can create SEO content targeting:
   • Top of the funnel searches
   • Middle of the funnel searches
   • Bottom of the funnel searches
   These initial touchpoints can lead to further interactions. For instance, if your middle-of-the-funnel content invites users to take a micro-conversion, like downloading a guide, you can then engage with them via email to nurture them toward a more significant action.
8. Build Omni-Channel Campaigns The benefits of SEO extend beyond itself.With the organic traffic generated through SEO, you can support or create omni-channel campaigns, such as:
   • Creating remarketing campaigns using organic traffic.
   • Generating email subscribers via calls-to-action (CTA) on organic content.
   • Repurposing SEO content for social media posts or email newsletters.
   Compared to purchasing traffic via paid search, you’ve generated this versatile traffic at a more cost-effective rate.
9. Reduce Competitor Visibility Practicing SEO helps your business grow its online visibility while diminishing that of your competitors. You capture that crucial touchpoint with your target market—not your competitors—which can make a significant difference when a user is ready to make a purchase.In contrast, if you neglect SEO, you’re allowing competitors to dominate visibility, reaching and interacting with your target market and gaining an advantage in the buyer journey.
10. Increase Online Mentions Online mentions can build trust and generate backlinks, both of which benefit SEO.As you invest in SEO, you’ll likely see an increase in online mentions. This is because SEO strategies often focus on creating valuable content that gets shared online, whether it’s a study, tool, or something else.Whether mentioned in a social media post, on a website, or in an email newsletter, these mentions can drive traffic (and backlinks) to your site, supporting your overall SEO goals.
11. Create Long-Term Success SEO is not a quick fix—it’s an ongoing process that offers long-lasting success and revenue for your business. You can enjoy consistent results with your SEO campaign, making your website an active and reliable hub.With any SEO plan, you’ll invest more resources upfront to optimize your website and meet standards. However, once established, you can earn more traffic, conversions, and revenue, which will continue as long as you maintain your SEO efforts.
12. Track Performance Unlike traditional marketing methods, SEO doesn’t leave you guessing about what’s working and what isn’t. With SEO, you can leverage real data from your campaigns to evaluate their performance.For example, if you rely on traditional methods like cold calling or physical advertisements, it’s difficult to determine who sees your ad or when people stop engaging. Plus, there’s no way to track how many people interact with your company.With SEO, you can use various platforms and tools, like Google Analytics, to measure traffic, conversions, leads, and more.This data allows you to analyze your campaign’s effectiveness, saving you money and improving your ROI by focusing only on strategies that deliver results.
13. Grow Marketing ROI As you invest more time and resources into SEO, you’ll see greater returns for your company. With over 40% of revenue coming from organic traffic, SEO is essential for capturing that traffic and boosting your ROI.SEO can also indirectly benefit other aspects of your digital marketing efforts. For instance, more people may sign up for your newsletter when they find your website through SEO, and it can help convert users who land on your pages via PPC ads.Your SEO campaign can be the key to strengthening your overall digital presence, making it more secure and profitable.
14. Become an Industry Name As you create content and climb the SERPs, people will take notice—both competitors and users alike. You can establish yourself as a trusted resource for industry knowledge, rather than just a product or service provider.For example, SEO for energy companies can help businesses develop and optimize content around topics like green or renewable energy.People will naturally find you as they search for information and see your website repeatedly. This consistent visibility can foster a positive association with your brand, encouraging them to choose you over competitors when they need your products or services.
15. Build Career Momentum Beyond its business benefits, SEO can also positively impact your career.If you develop an SEO strategy that delivers bottom-line metrics and helps a business achieve its objectives, your career will often benefit through promotions, endorsements, or increased compensation.

Bring SEO’s Benefits to Your Business From improving traffic quality to generating leads, there are countless advantages to SEO.

Start reaping these benefits for your business with our free SEO toolkit. Track rankings, research keywords, monitor competitors, and discover quick wins with our free platform—designed by SEOs, for SEOs.