16 Reasons to Focus on SEO in 2016

SEO has been around for more than a decade and a half and provides the majority of traffic for successful web sites (learn what is SEO). The following are some of the top reasons why SEO still matters a lot and provides substantial business value for SEO in 2016.

1. A trillion is big number. Google processes an estimated 3.5 billion searches per day and 1.2 trillion per year. Take a look at the rolling query meter.
2. The majority of website traffic comes from search engines. A BrightEdge study found that on average 51% of the tracked channel traffic comes from natural search.
3. On average 83% of the traffic from search engines comes from SEO and 17% from paid search, according to BrightEdge research.
4. The quality of the search results are better than ever with the algo changes that punish spammers and reward real brands and authoritative, relevant sites. That and advances in artificial intelligence mean it will continue to command attention even with competition from social search platforms.
5. Though it accounts for the majority of channel traffic, most companies underinvest in SEO relative to its contribution or the opportunity, meaning it should provide higher returns for those who do.
6. SEO traffic converts better than other channels because of the research process, journey stage, and transfer of trust from the search engine sorting and ranking. SEO leads have a 14.6% close rate, while outbound leads, such as direct mail or print advertising have a 1.7% close rate.
7. SEO requires an upfront resource investment, but successful content performance marketing benefits once earned have long-term duration or equity.
8. SEO traffic has no media cost and can provide a substantial ROI – higher than most other channels.
9. Proper SEO helps organize your website and makes it easier for your visitors to navigate and transact as topics will be more clearly delineated on pages and logically linked together.
10. SEO success secures a share of voice on the search engine results pages, and this can make your company look better-organized and more competitive. SEO is an integral component of your brand and brand trust.
11. Search engine results pages are landing pages for traffic that is generated by your other marketing channels. It is important to align those messages to capture the maximum amount of traffic and revenue.
12. SEO is a critical part of the research process, especially for long sales cycle products. People use search engines to create a list and then use them to collect opinions and input and make decisions. 44% of online shopping begins by using a search engine.
13. SEO leverages and compounds investment in social content because some queries are more sensitive to fresh and social content to determine positioning.
14. Focusing on SEO and legitimate link building leads you to develop relevant, useful content that people want to share and provides highly leveraged digital word of mouth.
15. SEO allows you to understand user interest and intent and build site content that addresses and captures that intent.
16. SEO has global reach and can even provide dynamic translation and localization that can bring in new and unexpected customers and opportunities from all corners of the world.

SEO in 2016 is more compelling and rewarding than ever. Make a strong case for expanding your content performance marketing and SEO in 2016 to drive more traffic and revenue.