Search engine optimisation (SEO) is a crucial function of digital marketing. But its value can be overlooked by companies focusing on quick wins or other aspects of marketing. This is when teams or agencies sometimes need to prove the value of SEO to stakeholders, explaining why it holds a key place in the marketing mix.
1. Align SEO goals with business objectives
To clearly show the role of SEO, you need to align these goals with the company’s broader strategy. If the focus is to drive sales, then explaining how higher SEO rankings can lead to increased site traffic and, in turn, more conversions shows the connection between the two.
2. Highlight the ROI of SEO
Showcasing return on investment is a sure way to gain buy-in from business leaders, but this can be tricky to do in the short term, as SEO requires investment and a long-term strategy before it yields results. However, when it does, it can often outperform paid channels. Understanding this is important, and a way to show this over time is to track key metrics like organic traffic growth (compared to paid or referral traffic), lead generation or sales and cost savings. These can help to make the ROI more tangible.
3. Showcase competitive advantage
Part of running a successful business is keeping up with your competitors to ensure you don’t fall behind, something that is just as important when it comes to SEO strategies. Performing competitor analysis can be a useful way to show how other companies are utilising SEO and demonstrating where your company needs to improve, as well as your successes. For instance, you can show the difference in rankings for top industry keywords, showing clearly the gap between good and poor search marketing investment.
4. Use data to tell a story
Analytics is an important tool to help prove the impact of SEO. Google Analytics, Google Search Console, or other platforms that you use for search marketing can showcase interesting data insights that don’t lie. Research some key metrics like your website traffic, keyword rankings, click-through rate (CTR) and conversions from organic visitors and put them in a presentation. Even better if you can show a link between optimisation work on your site, and an increase in these results.
5. Emphasize the long-term success of SEO
As we’ve mentioned, SEO creates lasting value, unlike some other search marketing methods. Highlighting how SEO work has led to measurable improvements for your company over time is a persuasive way to prove its value. This could be something small, like an evergreen webpage that continues to drive traffic, or results from an old SEO campaign that is still picked up by the media. This helps to position SEO in a unique way which delivers success long after budgets have been paused.
By showcasing ROI, competitive advantages, and long-term benefits, you’ll turn SEO sceptics into advocates. If you need a hand with your search marketing or would like to consult on a strategy, get in touch with our team today.
