What is SEO?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the art of getting a website listed higher in Google's organic listings. It's one of the most effective ways of marketing a business and has seen unprecedented growth during the credit crunch, as it is both cost effective and completely measurable. Professional search engine optimization consultants, such as MediaVision, recognise that SEO is not just about specialist solutions and results, that is why our services include background knowledge into the SEO industry and comprehensive in-depth reports, to keep out clients in the know and in the loop.

Why is it important?

More Benefits

1. Trust

Google is the number 1 brand in the UK. The trust that consumers have in Google is transferred to websites that rank well in the organic search results. This leads to lower bounce rates and higher conversion rates.

2. Highly Cost effective

SEO typically represents one tenth of the cost of PPC for the same amount of traffic generation, and this is before the reduced bounce rates and increased conversion rates are taken into account. More sales from the same traffic = better ROI.

3. Cumulative traffic generation

SEO generates traffic continuously, whereas PPC experiences step growth that only increases when the budget is increased. SEO growth constantly pushes the ceiling, as higher and higher rankings are achieved over time.

4. Highly targeted

You will only ever rank for your intended phrases, which means there is no need to constantly evaluate search phrases that you don't want. Owning to the broad nature of PPC bidding tools, however, PPC campaigns experience constant wastage. SEO success revolves around site content, and if a phrase does not appear on your website you won't rank for it.

5. Highly Measurable

There is a common misconception that PPC is more trackable than SEO. In fact, the same technology that makes PPC so trackable can be integrated into an SEO campaign to draw comparative reports across the two marketing techniques. Google does not broadcast this, however, because when the two strategies are analysed in this way, the cost-effectiveness of SEO is very evident.

6. Challenges

When choosing a search engine optimization agency, it is very important that both you and the company understand the challenges of SEO.

Search engine optimization challenges include:

1. Highly specialised

SEO is constantly evolving and needs a specialist agency's full attention to succeed within the changing online landscape. More importantly, however, is the specialised nature of the roles within the SEO agency. From strategists to solutions architects, and linkbuilders to content writers, it takes a diverse skill set to create the ultimate search engine marketing strategy. This is why the decision to outsource SEO is the right one.

2. SEO can't be packaged

Every solution has a different goal and different challenges. This is why MediaVision puts so much effort into conducting research before providing accurate and relevant cost estimate. After all, how can an agency provide an estimate of costs before analysing the search phrases and competition for a client?

3. SEO can't be automated

Some SEO agencies claim to have special tools that automate much of the search engine optimization process. The major issue with SEO tools is that as soon as they're complete, they are redundant. The organic search marketing landscape moves so fast that tool-based agencies can't keep up and are likely to fall foul of Google penalties, or worse.