What is SEO/SEM?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is the process of getting free traffic from the organic listings on search engines. The goal is to get your business website listed on the first page of major search engines, like Google, preferably at the top of the organic search results, for your most highly searched keywords. This translates into highly targeted traffic for your website, and hence more leads and/or sales.

What is Local SEO?

Local SEO, on the other hand, is another way of getting on the first page of search results and almost always, towards the top of the organic search results. In Google, it is referred to as the Google 3-Pack or the 3-Pack for short. It is usually the first top 3 results that show up in the Google Maps section with their map pins showing their location. And when a business is listed in the 3-pack, that business stands a FAR greater chance of landing customers than those that aren’t listed at all.

Why do I need SEO/SEM and Local SEO?

SEO/SEM, including Local SEO, is a crucial part of internet marketing. If properly executed, you can get your website listed on the first page of the major search engines for your most highly searched keywords — sending traffic to your website. The higher the placement, the more traffic you can expect, giving you more leads and/or sales.

SEO/SEM is not a cost but an investment with a high return. It will increase your sales without proportionately increasing your marketing costs, growing your profits exponentially over time. It also has a better return on investment than most other comparable forms of online marketing because you can tweak it to get better conversions and more sales with little incremental cost.

In addition, most of your competitors are already using SEO/SEM as part of their internet marketing strategy. If you are not currently using SEO/SEM, it is time that you start considering it for your company to stay competitive. If you are not competing for the top positions of the organic search results for your most highly searched keywords, then you’re losing out to those who are because they will get the traffic, leads and/or sales.

Top 10 Benefits of SEO/SEM and Local SEO:

1. Provides a more cost effective and lower cost in comparison to Adwords and Pay-Per-Click.
2. Definitely increases traffic on first page position listings.
3. Reaches more customers and expands your customer base.
4. Improves brand exposure, trust and credibility.
5. Provides better return on investment compared to normal ads.
6. Helps make your website stand out over and above most of your competitors.
7. Drives offline sales because consumers use the internet to find local businesses.
8. Provides access to marketing data through reports and analytics.
9. Gives your company the ability to tweak your campaigns for better conversions and increase sales.
10. Leverages Social Media Sharing and Reputation Management.