It’s cute to think there will ever be a point when SEO doesn’t matter. SEO runs the internet. Search engine bots are the reason you can get the answers to your questions in less than a second.
Without SEO, it’s like taking all of the world’s knowledge, printing it out, and throwing it into the air. Once each the trillion pieces of paper have landed on the floor…that’s when you can try to find the answer you’re looking for.
SEO can’t go anywhere. If anything, business owners and marketers have become more aware of this than ever before.
With more time spent online, more questions getting typed into the search box, and consumer spending on the rise—the time to optimize for SEO is right now.
If you still doubt us…check out these 5 reasons why SEO matters more than ever in 2021.
#1: People are Spending More Time Online
Don’t worry. We won’t make you tell us your average screen time. But, we suggest taking a look to get a firsthand glance at the reality of how long you spend on your phone and laptop. It’s probably hours per day.
According to Adage, consumers spent an average of 53.1 hours per week in 2020 on media. That’s a 2.8% increase compared to 2019 and the fastest annual growth rate in 5 years.
We like to keep things simple when it comes to marketing, and this is the perfect example.
People spending more time online = Create high-quality content
If people are scrolling for longer, you want them to get pulled into your corner of the internet. To do that, search engines need to know what you’re up to. They need to know if you’re a Facebook marketing agency or you sell gratitude journals. What tells them this crucial information?
SEO.
#2: People are Asking Search Engines More Questions
Not only are people spending more time online, but they’re also asking more questions. We love to see the curiosity spike over the years. Not only does this mean people are becoming more accustomed to tapping into the power of search engines—it means they’re increasingly looking for more solutions. Again, the simplicity of this can’t be overlooked.
More Google Search Queries = Create Content to Answer Customer Avatar Questions
With more people looking for answers, not providing them seems sillier than giving your toddler a crayon and walking out of the room. Lean into the growth in Google search queries and strategize what content can answer the questions your audience is asking.
They’re already looking for answers.
Why wouldn’t you use SEO to strategically position your content as the best answer?
#3: Consumer Spending Is On The Rise
After a year spent reading headlines about the doom and gloom of our economic future, the opposite has happened. Not only are stock prices rising, but consumers are starting to get back into spending.
And they’re spending more than they were before the pandemic. If people are looking to spend their money, we don’t want to cross our fingers and hope they choose our products. We want to show them why your products stand out among the competition and create high-quality content that builds a relationship with them.
Increase in consumer spending = Create content that leads to “Buy Now” or “Subscribe” CTAs
Spending on durable goods is higher than it was in February 2020 (before the pandemic) and nondurable goods and services are steadily increasing.
Use SEO to showcase why your products are the answer to your customer avatar’s problem.
#4: 5 Million WordPress Blogs Were Posted Every Day in Q1 of 2021
Yeah…that’s a lot of articles. According to Worldometers, people are hard at work writing blog posts. When we hear that number, we like to be realistic. How many other websites were writing marketing-related articles?
Probably a lot.
That means there’s more competition for each search query. More competition means the search engines have to work double-time (well, they’re computers so they actually don’t need to work that much harder) to figure out which resource is best suited to answer that question.
5 million Blogs Posted Per Day = Create Strategic Content that Shows Up in Search Results
And how do they figure this out?
With SEO.
#5: There’s a 13x ROI on Blogging
Blogging is a fun hobby, but it’s also a fun way to get more customers. It’s a transparent way to showcase your expertise in your industry and show your readers why they want your products over someone else’s. And we know blogging works.
According to OptinMonster, companies who blog get a 13x ROI compared to those who don’t. A 13x ROI from ONE marketing channel sounds like a great number to our marketing ears. Add your other channels (physical and digital) and your business could double or triple in a year.
High ROI on Blogging = Invest in an SEO Strategy to Get More Traffic
Companies are getting huge ROI from their blogging efforts. When you write great content and drive an initial surge of traffic towards it, you can create a high-performing article that brings in thousands (or hundreds of thousands) of dollars in revenue.
If your article is delivering on it’s promise, search engines want to push it to the top of search rankings.
Let SEO be your conversion-boosting friend.
Don’t Let SEO Slide Away
SEO isn’t a fashion trend that will go out of style and come boomeranging back like bell bottom jeans did. It’s how search engines work. It will always be around because search engines have to organize all of the information getting published.
That’s why SEO can’t be a background blog strategy. It needs to be a huge component of it.
A great SEO strategy relies on creating:
- High-Quality Content
- Content to Answer Customer Avatar Questions
- Content that Leads to “Buy Now” or “Subscribe” CTAs
- Strategic Content that Shows Up in Search Results
- An SEO Strategy to Get More Traffic
And remember, as much as it may seem that algorithms are against you…they’re not. Search engines want to give their users the best experience. If your content gives their users that top-tier experience, they’ll keep showing it to other users with a similar search query.
Create great content, strategize for SEO, and drive as much traffic to it as you can.
Then, let SEO keep the momentum going for you.
