SEO
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the means of optimizing a website to obtain high search engine rankings on Google. The 2 types of SEO are known as On-Page SEO and Off-Page SEO. Ranking in the top positions of Google will drive the following to your website:
1. Valuable traffic
2. Credibility and Trust
3. Leads
4. Sales
VALUABLE TRAFFIC
Search engine traffic is regarded as the most trusted form of traffic. SEO appeals to an audience already interested in your services, as people use Google to dig for products and services. A high-ranking website will be shown to a targeted market and receive valuable traffic. This will increase the site’s brand exposure.
CREDIBILITY AND TRUST
Appearing on the first page of Google will promote a company’s reputation. Unlike Google Ads, which gives the top positions to the highest bidders, SEO organic rankings are a vote of confidence by Google. It ensures browsing users that they are dealing with an established and trusted business.
LEADS
Search engine traffic has the highest form of conversions on the internet today. Users who click on your website on Google have the highest chance of inquiring, calling, and buying. A high-ranking website will receive lots of leads, which will help grow a business’s customer base.
SALES
Search engine traffic has the highest percentage of sales than any other platform online. Many businesses solely rely on SEO to promote their products and services online. A high-ranking website will drive new and repetitive sales on your website.
BENEFITS OF SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
THIS SECTION WILL FOCUS ON THE PRIMARY BENEFITS OF HIGHLY OPTIMIZED WEBSITES:
1. Long Term Results
2. Set Monthly Fee
3. Local Benefits
4. Customer Insights
5. Rapidly Expanding E-Commerce
6. Growing Internet Infrastructure
7. Competitive Advantage
LONG TERM RESULTS
One of the major benefits of SEO is long-term visibility. Once a website has established a presence on the search engines, a website will maintain its ranking position for a long period. It’s advisable to continue to do SEO on your website and not to start and stop.
SET MONTHLY FEE
SEO payments are done with a set monthly fee. Unlike Google Ads, which requires big budgets to drive tons of traffic to a website, effective SEO will drive the same results as Google Ads but with a set and lower budget. It’s advisable to do both SEO and Google Ads when starting to market a business as SEO takes time to work.
LOCAL BENEFITS
SEO benefits local businesses in South Africa as they appear to a local, targeted market. SEO will push up your website on Google Maps and Google My Business rankings and drive additional traffic to your website. It’s advisable to apply a business to Google Maps and Google My Business, as it’s simple and free.
CUSTOMER INSIGHTS
SEO specialists should install Google Analytics and Google Search Console on a website, so a website owner can view traffic statistics on their website. Google Analytics allows SEO experts to view the interaction between users and websites, which allows SEO experts to identify issues and make the necessary improvements and updates.
RAPIDLY INCREASING E-COMMERCE
South Africa is rapidly increasing with online stores as now more people have become comfortable with doing online payments. With safe payment gateways, like PayPal, people have become accustomed to purchasing products and not worrying about their credit card details being intercepted.
GROWING INTERNET INFRASTRUCTURE
South Africa has joined the World with Fibre Internet and fast internet connectivity. The amount of people using Smartphones has significantly increased, which has broadened the internet market in South Africa. It’s advisable to ensure your website is mobile-friendly to reach most of the audience on the net today.
OPEN MARKET
Since South Africa is still new to SEO, not many businesses are utilizing this online service. This means that businesses that start with SEO early are more likely to survive and expand. Businesses that do not implement SEO will fall behind in the search engine race and miss out on multiple opportunities.
TYPES OF SEO
There are two types of SEO
1. On-Page SEO
2. Off-Page SEO
ON PAGE SEO
On-Page SEO is the process whereby an SEO Specialist will assess your website and make the necessary changes to optimize it for Google. Each web page will be examined and updated to reach the 1st page of Google. Several of these updates will include adding and editing content, adding valuable keywords in your metadata, and ensuring website download speeds are up to scratch. Page SEO normally requires a once-off fee, while Off Page SEO requires monthly payments.
OFF PAGE SEO
Off Page SEO is where an SEO expert will increase a website’s popularity by building backlinks to it every month. A backlink is a vote of confidence, but each backlink is measured differently by Google. Some backlinks will improve your online presence, and some backlinks can get your website penalized by Google. The process of link building is delicate, you want to ensure your SEO provider uses the latest SEO techniques.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SEO AND GOOGLE ADS?
Many people in South Africa still do not know the difference between SEO and Google Ads. Essentially, they are the same thing as they both appear on Google’s search engine, but Google Ads works on a Cost-Per-Click (CPC) basis.
Every time an individual clicks on an advert on Google, the advertiser will be required to pay for that click, regardless of what action occurred afterward. The price of the click will vary too, depending on the competition and industry. Organic placements (SEO) on Google are free, and if an organic ranking receives 10,000 clicks, there will still be no charges by Google.
KEY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SEO AND GOOGLE ADS
SEO
• Takes Time To Work: it is a long-term investment in your business (3-18 months to benefit)
• More Affordable: Once SEO does well, you will pay a set fee for a ton of traffic.
GOOGLE ADS
• Works Instantly: You can set up and launch a Google Ad campaign within 24 hours.
• More expensive: Google Ads are more expensive, however, they are industries in South Africa with a low CPC.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
SHOULD A COMPANY INVEST IN GOOGLE ADS?
A company should invest in Google Ads marketing, whether a company is brand new or an established business. Google Ads should be your first investment if you working with a limited budget. Companies with limited spending capabilities should first start with Google Ads before looking into SEO. Remember, SEO can take one year to see results, you need to use Google Ads in that time to drive leads and sales to your business.
SHOULD A COMPANY STOP GOOGLE ADS ONCE THE SEO DOES WELL?
A company should always continue to do both SEO and Google Ads together. If Google Ads delivers a Good ROI (Return on Investment), there should be no reason to discontinue it when your organic ranking grabs good positions. If your business has 2 listings on the first page of Google, users will trust your brand more. Google Ads listings also grab top spots, so you don’t want to miss out on any opportunities.
THE DISADVANTAGES OF SEO
SEO is a great service that all businesses should implement, however, there are disadvantages to SEO.
Here are the following issues with SEO:
1. Poor SEO Providers
2. Results Take Time to Work
3. Algorithm Updates
4. SEO can be Expensive
5. Competitive Keywords can be hard to rank
POOR SEO PROVIDERS
Many SEO companies in South Africa implement old SEO techniques. If an SEO company does not upgrade its knowledge of SEO and continues to implement old techniques, its website will see no improvements and could even receive bans from search engines.
RESULTS TAKE TIME TO WORK
One of the major disadvantages of SEO is the time it takes to work. Depending on the competition of specific business keywords, SEO takes anywhere between 3- 18 months to rank on Page 1 of Google. Unlike Google Ads, which delivers instant traffic, SEO needs consistent time and work to climb up the search engines.
ALGORITHM UPDATES
Google is consistently upgrading its systems and algorithms to enhance the user experience. These updates are implemented to remove low-quality sites and sites that try to manipulate their systems. If SEO companies do not comply with these updates, they will fail to rank a website on the first page of Google.
SEO CAN BE EXPENSIVE
SEO prices can be pricey. Depending on the SEO company, SEO services can range anywhere from R3000-R100000 per month in South Africa. There are many factors contributing to the SEO price, such as the number of pages you want to promote, the expenses of the SEO company, and the strategy involved in promoting your site.
COMPETITIVE KEYWORDS WILL BE HARD TO REACH
The time it takes to rank a specific keyword depends on the competition involved. Usually, one-word keywords are the hardest to rank, as they obtain the most traffic online. SEO experts know to target medium-long tail keywords as it sets a realistic expectation of reaching the first page of Google.
CONTACT US
Our company, Pro Rank, provides affordable and effective SEO Solutions in South Africa. We have been promoting industries on Google since 2013. We comply with the latest algorithm updates implemented by Google, and we have recently completed the latest Google Ads certification. Our company works month-to-month basis with flexible budgets. This means we do not hold clients to long-term contracts, and we can increase and decrease budgets on Google Ads.