Do you have a small business? For it to flourish, especially in the age of technology and the pandemic, creating a strong online presence is vital. To keep up with the competition, you need to have an engaging website without any bugs.
Your business website should be fully functional and be noticeable by Google. To gain profits and make your business thrive, you have to dive into the world of digital marketing. Keep up with the competition by optimizing site engagement, organic traffic, and the overall digital presence.
Make your company successful using web audit, SEO, and SEM. This article will address these three topics to make it easier for you to understand their importance.
Why Do You Need Web Audits?
Many people run their businesses without a website, they are missing out on a significant number of potential customers and profits. By establishing a digital presence, you will be more visible to the public.
Suppose you have a small firm that specializes in local catering. Most people are unaware of it, despite the amazing food and commendable service you provide.
The scenario is more saddening when a person is seeking a catering service that exactly falls into your expertise, but she found your website to be laggy. She got the notion that your company is not that good since the site itself is bad and so, she reached out to another caterer instead.
This whole fiasco can be avoided when you have a functioning website that is accessible. That potential client could be yours when she stumbles upon your site and can easily navigate, understanding that you provide the exact services that she needs.
Web audit means inspecting your website and updating it accordingly. It helps in detecting any technical issues. It also involves finding ways to improve the general performance and user experience. Conducting regular web audits ensures proper reach to the audience.
How Do Web Audits Work?
Before we delve into how web audit works, let’s get familiar with some terms first.
Web Crawlers: These are tiny robots that access the websites and grab various data and store it in the database of the search engine.
e.g. Google web crawlers are known as Googlebot. They keep track of all the websites present in the Google database.
SERP: It is short for search engine results page. It is the page you see after entering your queries in a search engine.
Click-Through Rate (CTR): It is the number of clicks your ad receives per time the ad is shown.
Call-to-action (CTA): These buttons redirect the user to the next step of getting the service or product. Buttons like “Register Now” or “Buy Now” are prime examples of CTAs.
Now that we know these terms, let’s get back to understanding how these audits work.
Just having a business website will not cut it. Your site needs to be visible and known by everyone. The website of your business needs to appear after a person enters relevant services or products into the search engine. Only then, you can attract more customers and generate profits.
Some individuals get online marketing services to make their websites visible and ranked high on the results page. This also helps to grow their client base and profits.
If a person is in dire need of a service and Googles it, and your business provides that service, it will be highly advantageous for you if your website appears on the first page of their search results.
Your website can appear on the first results page when the web crawlers have previously identified it. Hence, your page can be ranked on the first page if it is optimized and easily readable by the tiny bots.
It will be beneficial for both the business owners and prospective customers when your website is easily accessible on the first SERP. Since Google is the most used search engine, it is best to optimize your business website according to Google standards.
The ranking of your web page is crucial. The structure of your website and your ways of outreach should comply with Google rules and avoid any penalty. A routine web audit will also help you to detect any unknown discrepancies that might be penalized by Google.
Here is an example to make you understand. Kids Klub Dentistry is a dental clinic that specializes in children’s teeth. They wanted their website to be more visible in the local search engine rankings mainly for getting more clients and maximizing their ROI by having a stronger online presence.
The clinic improved its website by optimizing its entire site structure like web titles and content. Part of the website update was the addition of reviews where the clients can share their experience of dentistry. Within only a year, their rankings hiked up over 84 positions. More people were stumbling upon their site and hence, it helped them gain more revenue.
By regularly updating your websites, you can boost your reach and gain more business opportunities. Web audit is an integral part of SEO and SEM. We will discuss SEO and SEM later in this article.
How Web Audit Benefits Your Business
The advantages of routine web audits are countless. It basically improves your chances of generating more sales and profit. It keeps your company on the radar and people get to recognize your company and its services.
Better Visibility in Search Results
The higher your company website ranks on the search results page, the more visible your brand becomes, enabling your site to obtain better organic traffic. Routine web audits give you the opportunity to provide the best user experience.
Through regular assessments, you can find ways to improve the quality of your site. No one likes slow and complicated websites, this type of website drives potential customers away.
For better ranking, your website needs to be seamless and easy to navigate. This also ensures improved user experiences so that the prospective buyers can find what they were seeking. Consumers will be more likely to stay and explore your site when it is simple to use.
This increases the click-through rate and reduces the bounce rate. When your webpage is optimized, Googlebot will recognize it and make it visible in the SERPs.
Be on the Radar
It is crucial for your firm to be relevant and be on the radar, which will help your company to keep up with the competition. Your website needs to be updated so that it can maintain its relevance. Do not take any chances of your site getting outdated and behind the current trends.
Users will stop browsing through the site once they find it mundane and old-fashioned. The consumers might also get the idea that your company is dated and will exit the site. Through regular web updates, your brand can remain steady and stand out in the competition.
Maximum Conversion Rates
Your conversion rates can be maximized with the aid of an audit. You can create an efficient sales funnel on your site via call-to-action buttons and the development of various other conversion features.
Updating the SEO of your site is also important for increasing your sales, Besides, your conversion rates and general ROI will be effectively improved through regular web audits.
Opportunities of Repurposing
You can find opportunities of repurposing the content you already have. Search engines like Google aim for unique content when ranking sites on the results page.
For instance, you can make a clear infographic from the detailed content you already have. Alternatively, you can repurpose all your blog articles into an eBook. Create fresh content throughout the year by repurposing your existing content into new and different formats.
What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
SEO is short for search engine optimization. It is basically the process of enhancing your site to be more visible when people search for services or products related to your business in search engines like Google.
The more visible and accessible your page is in the search results, the more opportunities you have to attract clients and generate more profits. SEO is effective and is a significant contributor to the enhanced visibility of your site.
The content and structure of your website should be properly optimized to boost visibility and reach in search engine result pages (SERPs). SEO administers relevant keywords that fall under the services, products, and various other information of your website.
Your website will be ranked higher on the SERPs if you have implemented a proper, well-planned SEO strategy and the potential consumer searches the related terms. You will have a good quality of organic web traffic when you have executed the SEO strategies tactfully.
Here is an example to help you understand the importance of SEO. OVME is a clinic that specializes in cosmetic augmentations such as botox and fillers. Their website was overcomplicated and did more harm than good. By implementing SEO strategies, they restructured their webpage and made it simpler.
They also applied SEO-optimized keywords, metadata, and other technical components. Within three months, OVME had a 10% hike in organic website traffic and a 60% growth in appointments that came from the organic search.
What is Search Engine Marketing (SEM)?
SEM stands for search engine marketing. It is basically online advertising and marketing that lets companies directly place their advertisements on the SERPs. The company’s advertiser is charged only when a user clicks on the ad. This is one of the most effective marketing strategies. Moreover, the method is low cost and utilizes fewer resources.
Search engine marketing uses paid ads that appear on the pages of the search engine results. Advertisers input certain relevant keywords in the ads which are usually entered by consumers when they are seeking the related products, services, and details. This gives the firm an opportunity to have their ads appear along with the results of the search queries.
Such advertisements are known as pay-per-click or PPC ads. There are various formats of these ads. Some are visual product listings or shopping ads that let users take a quick look at important details like price and reviews. Some people also opt for text-based ads, which are not as captivating.
The greatest strength and advantage of SEM is that it enables business owners to place their ads in front of potential clients who are ready to purchase depending on their search results. Search engine marketing is a powerful tool to expand your business successfully.
The Difference Between SEO and SEM
Both SEO and SEM are integral parts of establishing a strong online presence. These are fundamental for online marketing. Their main objective is to gain more visibility on the SERPs.
Generally, “search engine marketing” refers to paid search marketing, a system where businesses pay Google to show their ads in the search results. SEO is an efficient way to draw in organic traffic at the top of the funnel. SEM is all about making your advertisements better and reaching more consumers.
The paid ads you see when you enter a search query, that is an example of search engine marketing. The relevant pages appear after searching a word. The sites emerge in the SERPs through SEO.
Search engine optimization does not require any payment to Google for traffic and reach. By possessing the most relevant webpage content for specific keywords, the pages are displayed on the search results page for free through SEO. They are ranked and placed organically in the SERPs by the algorithm of the search engine.
Advertising on search engines via SEM engagement is highly cost-efficient. You only need to pay for the ad every time a user clicks on it. You do not have to pay for every click directed to your website when your site appears organically on the results page.
Maldives Traveller is a tourism company that had ineffective digital marketing approaches. Besides optimizing their keywords, they strengthened their CTA buttons and placed the ads strategically. This helped them to hike their sales up to 40% within a short period of time.
Implementing both SEO and SEM strategies will generate more buyers and therefore, more revenue. While SEO works in the background, SEM and paid advertising can help in obtaining the targeted number of leads. As time goes by, SEO will gradually reduce the expenditures on paid advertisements.
Benefits of SEO and SEM
Small businesses grow faster when one can easily find the site in search engines like Google. This is achievable by the proper implementation of SEO. You can connect and establish your brand better via the organic reach in SERPs.
SEM increases the number of conversions and site visitors through paid ads, PPC marketing, and other online marketing implementations. SEM gives fast results by targeting the audience who are already interested in the service, product, or information your company offers.
Despite their aims differing in the timeframe, both SEO and SEM have the common aim of gaining traffic for your company website. SEO takes a longer time, patience, and continuous effort, but it generates valuable organic results.
SEM brings in targeted traffic in a short time but requires strong support from SEO to convert the visitors into loyal customers. By implementing both SEO and SEM successfully together, your small business will soon become a force to be noticed.
Overview
With the advent of technology, it is crucial for your company to have an engaging digital presence, especially when you are a small business owner. Web audits help you identify areas where your website needs improvement. SEO and SEM strategies effectively improve and optimize your site.
Your small business will experience a boost in sales and visibility, increasing the chances of earning a good reputation. Your hard work will pay off when everyone gets to know about your commendable services.
In order to make your small company prosper, execute regular web audits, and incorporate both SEO and SEM into your business plan.
