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Over the last few weeks, I’ve been brainstorming topics to discuss here on the NoRisk blog. When it comes to digital marketing, there’s just about a million things to talk about! I could probably write until it’s about time to write my own tombstone.
However, when we do anything at NoRisk, it’s to benefit our readers, and most importantly, our clients. That’s why I’ve decide to write a multi-part series entitled “Can I justify it?”
The goal of this series is to discuss important facts and statistics you can use to determine whether or not you can justify SEO, PPC, Content Marketing, or Social Media Marketing. Today we’re discussing whether or not SEO is truly justifiable.
If you’re reading the NoRisk blog, chances are you already know how SEO works, and have a fundamental understanding of the kinds of results you can expect from SEO. The problem arises when you have to decide whether or not SEO is really a justifiable marketing investment for your business. Here’s a few stats that prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that SEO is in fact, not only justifiable, but incredibly advantageous.
93%
I went back and forth with the “best” title for this particular section of the article, and I settled on “93%” for one important reason. I want you to never forget that percentage. Why? Because 93% percent of online experiences begin with a search engine.
So the next time you wonder to yourself, “Do people really look for what I do on search engines?”, be confident that the answer is a resounding yes.
Users favor organic results 94% -6%
When considering how to balance your digital marketing budget, often times the age old question is asked: “PPC or SEO?” While that’s a question deserving of it’s own post, it is a valuable statistic to think about. Search Engine Watch reported that 94% of a measured 1.4 billion successful search queries ended up with natural (or organic) search results being clicked, vs 6% for PPC. This statistic sat around 75% vs 25% just a few short years ago, so it’s remarkable to see users continuing to stream towards organic results.
B2B purchase cycles
While B2C search marketing is a beast in it’s own right, it’s amazing how effective organic search traffic can be, (garnered through a robust SEO strategy).
According to the Earnest Agency, 81% of B2B purchase cycles start with a web search (even if they buy offline), and 90% of buyers say that when they’ll ready to buy, “they’ll find you”, meaning, they’ll search you out on, you guessed it, a search engine.
B2B marketing results
NewsCred reported in 2014 that that 57% of B2B marketers agree that SEO has the largest impact on lead generation among all forms of marketing.
What these B2B statistics show is that SEO is not strictly a B2C marketing avenue, as many have thought over the years. Along with the statistic cited above this one, B2B customers are searching online just like consumers. So to all you B2B business weighing whether or not SEO is a viable marketing solution, here’s your answer.
Organic leads close at 14.6% vs 1.7% for outbound leads
NewsCred, the same source as one of our previous statistics, noted that on average, leads that have come from organic search traffic close at a rate of 14.6% vs just 1.7% for outbound leads!
No one is suggesting a mass exodus of your salesforce, but imagine the efficiency, morale, and ROI of a salesforce dealing with inbound leads vs making cold phone calls or emails all day only to convert them at 1.6%! The difference is staggering.
Mobile conversion rates 15x higher from search vs social
Social media marketing is great. In fact it’s great enough that one of our upcoming articles in this series will focus on whether or not you can truly justify it as a marketing strategy for your business.
On mobile, social media marketing seems like second nature, considering a huge portion of all social media consumption is done on mobile devices. But how well does that traffic convert?
There are many cases where search traffic goes far above and beyond the success social traffic can bring to your marketing. Perform Insider shared last year that on smartphones, conversion rates for search traffic is 15 times higher than social traffic. That’s a statistic you can’t ignore.
Wrap up
SEO is not for everyone, but it’s darn close. There are hundreds of amazing statistics I could throw at you to convince you of the immense potential and power that SEO holds for the growth of your business, but I think these are a great start.
If you run a business that serves customers of any type, you better have a marketing budget; and if you have a marketing budget, allocated a portion to SEO. You won’t be disappointed as long as you pick the right SEO partner. In fact, if you’d like to read more about red flags to watch out for during that process, we’ve got you covered there too.
Next time we’ll talk about the hotly debated world of PPC. Is it worth it? Is it viable? And most importantly, Can I justify it? Stay tuned.