Does SEO really work?

Search Engine Optimisation is the process of fine-tuning your website to load quickly, with high quality content and clean code in order to help search engine’s find you, and in turn, help your target market find your business. But does SEO really work and is it actually a valuable business asset? To put it simply yes, Search Engine Optimisation really works but it only works if it is implemented with a clear strategy and long-term goals in mind.

The truth is that there is no big secret to SEO and it does not magically work overnight. It takes consistent and daily effort to achieve optimal and significant results. However, it is not all doom and gloom because there is a science and logic to SEO and it will be successful if businesses have the right expectations and work closely with an SEO agency that is transparent about their SEO services, processes and objectives. 

What is Search Engine Optimisation?

Before we begin, let's take a look at what Search Engine Optimisation is and how it works. 

Search Engine Optimisation or SEO, is the practice of increasing the quantity and more importantly, the quality of traffic to your website through organic search engine results. 

For example, with quality SEO in place, when someone is searching for a product or service you offer, your website will be one of the first pages suggested to them in the search engine results page (often abbreviated as SERP).  Learn more about what SEO is and the processes involved in SEO, here. 

This sounds great but does it actually work and is their value in SEO?

How do you know your SEO is working?

A well planned and strategic SEO campaign requires a lot of work and a mix of technical SEO, content, link building, competitor research and analytics. It is vital for a digital agency or your internal marketing team to work on these specific elements to overcome any possible doubts regarding SEO and its benefits. Learn more about these processes, here. Once all of these elements are put in place, the value of your SEO will begin to show.

At Nexa, we believe in transparency when it comes to all of our services, and when it comes to SEO, transparency is vital to success. We believe that every business needs to know the process in order to understand the long term benefits but we also believe that our clients need to see results in a way that they can understand. This is why we make sure that our clients are always made aware of three areas once their SEO process begins. 

We make sure that all our clients are made aware of their: 

1. Search visibility: The percentage of clicks received based on organic ranking positions, across all the keywords being used for their SEO.

2. Search visibility compared to their competitors:  By knowing where they rank in relation to their competitors we are given a strategic advantage. Once strategies have been put in place to get them to rank higher than their competitors, they will gain more leads and make more sales. 

3. The monetary value of their website traffic: How much their SEO is worth in terms of cold hard cash. 

Without analysing and unpacking the above throughout the SEO process, you will never be able to see the rewards and understand the value of the service provided.

To help give you more perspective as to why it is important to know all of the above, let’s use Nexa as a case study.

A case study outlining how SEO works and the benefits of SEO: 

Nexa and Search Visibility

Based on data from June 2020, from a set of 400 key-phrases and keywords based on Nexa’s service offerings, we have reached a search visibility score of 75.1% for desktop and laptop users, and we are at 75.9% for mobile searches. 

This means that for any of those 400 key-phrases and keywords, we are likely to convert 75% of these searches into website or blog traffic. 

Nexa and Search Visibility in Comparison to our Competitors

But how does our search visibility score of 75.1% compare to our closest competitors?  This is an important metric for any business as a click to your website rather than a click to a competitor's website can be the difference between a sales and a missed opportunity. 

Using the same data, keywords and key phrases, our closed competitor's search visibility score is at 33.7%. As per the June 2020 data, our search engine visibility drove 7,469 visitors to our website through organic search alone. Using the same set of keywords and key-phrases, our competitors drove only 2,453 visits in this time. This means that we received 3x more visits due to our high search engine visibility. 

Nexa SEO in Monetary Value

As stated above, for the month of June 2020, our organic traffic reached 7,469.. And we can calculate what this means for us in monetary terms. If a new competitor had to enter the market and their objective was to generate the same amount of traffic as Nexa, we can determine how much investment they would have to make in their marketing efforts to reach the same visits and clicks on their website. 

Based on Google data and analytics for the same set of keywords and key-phrases, the average cost per click using the Google AdWords platform would be $7.20. This means that our competitors would have to pay $7.20 for every click through to their website using Google AdWords, which equates to US$ 53,086 for that particular month.

This means that they would have to spend this amount every month to reach the same traffic that we reach organically and for FREE. This is a massive asset to our business in its entirety, however website traffic is not the only determinant of our SEO value. 

In essence, this traffic converts into a consistent flow of leads and if we convert 1% of that traffic into new business, the ROI from Nexa’s Search Engine Ownership becomes even more significant. 

How to know your SEO is working right now:

The above gives you some insight into how a good SEO strategy can help your business grow, but what can you look at to now to see if your SEO is on the right track?

• Keyword Growth: Do you see improvements in both the number of keywords and key-phrases you rank for and the position in the Search Engine Results where you rank?
• Traffic Growth: Doe you see consistent organic traffic and traffic growth to your website?
• Sales Growth: Doe you see an increase in leads and of course, an increase in sales from your traffic? This is the ultimate test in SEO success and isa great indicator of your campaigns progress.

At Nexa, we know what you need to look for in order to track your SEO success, and we know how to translate that success into a valuable business asset.  

In Conclusion:

SEO absolutely works if the right pieces of the puzzle are put in place. In order to achieve the best possible results, you need to ensure that your marketing team and digital agency understand your needs and goals, and work toward them with transparency and openness. SEO and in our case, Search Engine Ownership, is a long journey, and when you put in the work,  you reap the rewards. So yes, SEO really does work and its monetary value speaks for itself. 

If you are looking to own the search engine results, we are the growth agency for you and your business. We focus on improving your search visibility, your search visibility in comparison to your competitors, and the value of your organic ranking in real currency. 

If you are looking to implement successful Search Engine Ownership for your business, Nexa is here to help. Contact us today for all your Search Engine Ownership requirements and get ranking.