πŸ€” What is SEO? Why Business Can’t Survive Without It?

As digital transformation continues, businesses must have a strong online presence.

Today, consumers use the internet to research and make purchases. A website is now an essential part of the customer journey.

But having a website isn’t enough. Businesses need to optimize their website with SEO to stand out in a crowded competition.

By utilizing the right SEO techniques, businesses can attract more organic traffic to their website, generate more leads, and increase their revenue.

In this article, we’ll explore why SEO is essential for businesses in the digital era, and how it can help you stay ahead of the competition.

So, if you’re ready to take advantage of the opportunities that digital transformation presents, keep reading to find out how SEO can help you achieve your goals.

SEO is Changing

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the practice of optimizing your website and online content to rank higher in search engine results pages and increase visibility.

The goal is to increase organic traffic to your website, which comes from search engines and is not paid for with online advertising.

The above definition is not entirely incorrect, but it is also not completely accurate.

Because there is no way to rank higher in search engines (manipulation), everything happens automatically (organically/naturally) and there is no trick to do.  

If you’re an SEO practitioner, you might be surprised by this statement. Let’s examine what this means by looking closely at what optimization are done in SEO.

Optimization Based on Google Essentials

What does SEO do, exactly?

Does it involve researching keywords, inserting keywords into an article, or building links through PBNs (private blog networks)?

Is this how we can rank higher in search engine results?

Before we dive deeper, let’s first refer to Google’s latest blog.

Those seeking success in Google Search should be looking to produce original, high-quality, people-first content demonstrating qualities E-E-A-T.
Source: Google Search Central Blog

SEO optimization usually starts with keywords, doesn’t it?

The rumor is that we need to search for specific keywords and then insert them into our article with a density of 1%.

We must not forget to put keywords in the first paragraph, anchor text, URL, meta title, meta description, and more.

But it’s actually just a rumor. Here’s the fact:

The truth is that keyword is not the main issue. What we need to do is to be natural and focus on the users.

This is especially true now that Google has applied natural language processing (NLP) models, such as BERT, to search, and an improved version called MUM.

Nowadays, optimization requires more of a combination of product and brand management focused on users.

For example, improving core web vitals SEO is not just about having a fast website; it’s also about enhancing user experience.

Forbes provides another reference that shows changes in SEO.

The conversation has shifted from keywords and content length to user experience and visitor engagement.
Source: Forbes – 15 Trends And Changes In SEO

Besides, with billions of keywords used to search each day, it’s definitely ineffective to focus solely on specific keywords.

It would be more effective to let the Google algorithm decide what’s best, and for us to focus on delivering the best user experience.

This is a similar approach to how Google runs its search engine anyway.

All Businesses Need SEO

As we’ve learned, SEO today is essentially about product and brand management.

Just imagine what would happen if a website doesn’t have product and brand management. It would inevitably fail.

Some may think that organic traffic isn’t everything and that we can still get traffic from social media or paid advertising.

This is true, which is why we previously mentioned that the goal of SEO is to increase organic traffic, well, it’s not entirely accurate.

If you try to get traffic to a website that is not SEO-friendly, you’ll likely face some challenges.

This can lead to dissatisfied audiences, high bounce rates, poor engagement, and ultimately, poor results.

Conclusion

Having a strong online presence is essential for businesses in the digital age, and optimizing their website with SEO is a crucial aspect of this.

SEO involves producing high-quality content that prioritizes user experience and engagement, rather than just focusing on specific keywords.

In today’s digital landscape, SEO is more about product and brand management, and businesses must succeed and solve challenges such as dissatisfied audiences, high bounce rates, poor engagement, and ultimately, poor results.