Given the prevalence of both mobile and PPC advertising, we are beginning to hear rumblings of SEO services no longer being relevant. As a company that specializes in SEO services in Salt Lake City and throughout Utah, we humbly disagree. Not only are SEO services still relevant, but they will also remain so in 2024 and beyond.
SEO’s relevance is rooted in the role search engines play in online activity. The fact is that search engines are not dead. Google alone continues to generate billions of searches every year. Those searches mean something. They mean that people still need help getting to where they are going online. That is the whole point of SEO.
More About SEO
Before going any further, a few basic reminders about SEO are important. For starters, ‘SEO’ is an acronym that stands for ‘search engine optimization’. Companies like ours utilize SEO tactics to help client websites perform better on Google, Bing, and other search engines.
Modern SEO strategies go beyond just search engine result pages, but how sites rank in organic searches remains the number one priority. That leads us to a very important statistic demonstrating how relevant SEO services still are.
More Than Half of All Website Traffic
The first piece of evidence suggesting that SEO services will still be relevant in 2024 rests in the following statistic: 53% of all website traffic originates from organic searches on Google and other search engines. Yes, you read that correctly.
While it may be that we all have that short list of favorite websites we go directly to without using a search engine, more than half of all website traffic is the result of organic search. Think about your own web surfing habits. How often does a search precede you visiting a particular website? If you are a typical web user, it is slightly more than half the time.
SEO Focuses Heavily on Content
One thing to remember is that SEO focuses heavily on website content. One of the main goals for SEO is to help search engine algorithms understand content so that it can be properly ranked for organic searches. Therefore, the old adage that says ‘content is king’ is as true today as it was 20 years ago.
Understanding this fundamental principle makes it easier to understand why companies like ours place so much emphasis on content creation. More specifically, we tend to emphasize blogging, guest posting, and creating keyword-rich page content.
Blogging alone can make an enormous difference. How much of a difference? Data suggests that businesses with active blogs see 55% more traffic as a result. This doesn’t surprise us. Well-written blogs that are relevant and keyword-rich make search engine algorithms extremely happy.
Right and Wrong Ways to Do It
At this stage, we should point out that there are right and wrong ways to address SEO. Our industry has what are known as ‘white hat’ and ‘black hat’ practices. White hat practices are those SEO strategies Google and its competitors approve of. Black hat practices are just the opposite. They are neither approved nor tolerated by the major search engines.
In addition, there are best practices that enhance SEO’s abilities to do what it does. Utilizing said best practices can accomplish things that are beyond the reach of PPC and mobile marketing.
SEO has absolutely changed over the last twenty years. But change does not equate to irrelevance. We will continue offering SEO services in Salt Lake City and beyond because what we do is still relevant. It will be as relevant in 2024 as it is today.
