By Andrew Oziemblo, Founder & CEO of Chicago SEO Geeks, the digital marketing & SEO agency helping businesses achieve long-term growth goals.

It does not matter whether you run a cake shop, a clothing store, an accounting firm, or a consultancy business; you need SEO. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation. It involves a number of different tactics that are designed to make your website as visible as possible on search engine result pages. After all, statistics show that most people do not look beyond the first page of Google (News - Alert) results. With that being said, continue reading to discover ten compelling reasons why you need SEO now more than ever before.

1. Organic search is the primary source of traffic to your website - There is only one place to begin, and this is with the fact that organic search makes up a massive part of getting people to your website and ultimately converting them into paying customers. You may have designed the most beautiful website out there, but if no one can see it, what’s the point? As most marketing professionals know, Google owns a larger chunk of the search market when compared with competitors like Bing and Yahoo. However, this is not to say that all search engines do not add to how visible your brand is. They do; it’s just that Google owns the majority of the market share, and so their guidelines are the most important to follow.
2. It is quantifiable - Another reason why SEO is important is that it is quantifiable. You can measure almost anything if you have the right analytics and tracking. You will be able to assess your efforts so that you can make continual improvements.
3. It is a long-term strategy - SEO can make a considerable impact within the first year of your strategy being implemented. However, SEO is about the long haul. It is a strategy that is designed for continual improvements and gains. This means you need to follow changes and trends closely, as it is certainly not an area of marketing that is going to remain stagnant. The more time and effort you can contribute to it, the better.
4. SEO is relatively cheap - Of course, you could spend a fortune on SEO, just like you could on any marketing strategy! However, in the grand scheme of things, SEO is relatively cheap. Plus, the pay-off will be considerable in terms of the benefits to your brand and your bottom line. You can view SEO as a true business investment, as opposed to being a significant company cost.
5. New opportunities arise from SEO - High-quality SEO is always going to bring new opportunities to your brand. This is because you are going to submersing your marketing team into everything relating to your brand. The better your brand is understood, the more opportunities that will arise. Not only this but the more that your marketing team explores different SEO techniques and connections, the more opportunities that will come to light.
6. SEO best practices are updated all of the time - The way that the world of search engine marketing evolves means that you are going to need to monitor changes all of the time if you are to stay ahead of the competition, and hopefully, remain on Page 1. If you are proactive and you monitor major algorithm changes, this is always going to benefit your business. After all, Google makes thousands of algorithm changes per annum, and so it will be very difficult to come back if you fall far behind.
7. SEO has an impact on the buying cycle - Customers will do their research. This is one of the biggest advantages that the Internet has brought to buyers today. It gives them the opportunity to find out everything they need to know about a product or service before purchasing. This is something you can leverage. You should use SEO tactics so that you can relay your messaging for the importance of what you have to offer the customer, groundbreaking services or products, and good deals. This is going to have a positive impact on the buying cycle when done correctly.
8. Local SEO increases traffic, engagement, and conversions - There is no denying that local SEO has become an incredibly important part of SME success today. This is the process of optimising your digital properties for a certain vicinity, enabling people to find you quickly and easily. This enables you to target customers in a specific area, which is important for local businesses, as you will be able to promote engagement on a local level. There are many ways that this can be done; from local reviews to optimising your Google My Business listing.
9. Good SEO enhances user experience - Everyone wants maximum visibility and better organic rankings. However, very few people recognise that optimal user experience plays a huge role in this. Google now favours a positive user experience when putting together their rankings. For example, if your website is quick to load, this will have a positive impact on your search engine ranking. Not only this but Google will consider the experience your mobile website offers as well.
10. SEO builds credibility and trust - Last but not least, SEO helps to build trust and credibility. There are a lot of different elements that go into establishing authority regarding Google and other search engines. This includes optimised on-page elements and content, machine-learning signals, positive user behaviour, and quality backlink profiles. It is important to recognise, though, that building authority and trust is not something that can be achieved overnight. This is going to take commitment, effort, and patience too.

As you can see, there are many different reasons why SEO is critical. If you do not have an SEO strategy in place at the moment, you need to enlist the help of experts who can help you to perfect this.