There are almost 40,000 search inquiries typed into Google each second. These add up to 1.2 trillion searches annually, or 3.5 billion searched in a day.

If your business’s traffic is generated online via search engines like Google, then you, my friend, have fierce competition to deal with. As there is a myriad of searches conducted each second, you need to make sure that your SEO game is solid or else your chance of making it to the first page of Google is going to be considered slim.

This is crucial because good SEO is the bridge that connects potential customers to your business and aids in generating leads.

Although the inception of SEO significantly transformed the entire landscape of digital marketing and revolutionized the way marketers planned marketing endeavors, after all these years, a question arises: does SEO still work?

Read on to learn if this digital marketing strategy is still as effective as it used to be and what role organic search plays in its success.

What is SEO?

For people who do not know what SEO is:

SEO is an acronym for Search Engine Optimization, which is the practice of enhancing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website or webpage through organic or unpaid search engine results.

To learn more about what SEO is, head to our blog section for an ultimate SEO guide.

Does SEO Still Work?

Is SEO still worth it? Is investing in SEO a viable strategy in 2002? Does SEO still work? Is SEO dead?

As a digital marketing firm, these are some of the questions we face now and then and for a good reason. In the past couple of years, with the launch of Google algorithm updates like Hummingbird, Panda, etc., and due to the changes in Google search result page (SERP) – these questions make more sense than ever.

So, if you want to know if SEO is still a lucrative investment in 2020 and beyond, the short answer is: Yes!

But there is one thing that you need to keep in mind; obsolete SEO techniques and strategies that, once used to produce marvelous results, simply do not work anymore.

You would be surprised to learn that many well-established firms with enormous budgets like Ehow.com and J.C. Penny have taken a huge hit in organic traffic. This is because SEO has drastically evolved and now requires much more than having great content.

Regardless of anything, SEO is still as important or even more than ever before. It is one of the most powerful digital marketing strategies to drive long-term results. You just need to make sure you get rid of all outdated SEO techniques that can actively destroy your rankings.

What Does SEO Do?

SEO primarily helps businesses to:

• Make it easier for search engines like Google to understand and index their content. The better a website looks to the search engine, the more chances you’ll have at getting your post or website recommended to relevant search engine users.
• SEO helps brands capture organic or unpaid traffic, which is a critical component of any business’s success.
• SEO helps a website rank on search engine result pages (SERP) due to which it receives higher visibility and improved chances of generating leads.
• SEO aids in achieving higher conversion rates. The good ranking of a website on any search engine would eventually allure customers to close the deal with that particular website. The more visibility your website has, the higher are the chances of receiving a sale.
• SEO works brilliantly in building brand credibility. Ranking on the first page of a search engine gives the impression that your company is one of the industry’s top players. It exhibits that you’re popular, and numerous users have searched for you.

What is Organic Search in SEO?

Organic search refers to unpaid or natural search results, which are based on the relevancy of a user’s search query, domain authority, links, and other organic ranking factors. Unlike PPC (pay per click) in which paid, search results are populated via an auction system.

Organic search cannot be influenced by paid advertising, and the results are ranked according to the relevancy of the search query. Thus, organic search results do not involve adverts but can contain search snippets such as images, maps, knowledge graphs, or articles.

Additionally, it contains all those search results that are generated by a search engines’ unique algorithm. The algorithm is established by the search engine operator and can differ from one provider to the other. For example, the search result pages of Google, Yahoo, or Bing can not necessarily produce the same results for a given search query.

How to Improve Organic Search?

The following are a few popular methods to improve organic search:

Tip #1: Identify & Eliminate Non-Performing Content

Non-performing content refers to content that fails to help a website realize its marketing objectives – typically driving organic traffic, winning referrals from other sites, or receiving conversions. Moreover, apart from not doing any good, it may even hurt your chances of receiving search traffic.

That is because non-performing content consumes crawl budget – the way search engines decide which pages and the number of pages of a website to crawl- which is limited. Therefore, if your website has a lot of incompetent content, search engines would get caught up in crawling the ineffective material and eventually abandon the site before crawling the good stuff.

Therefore, it is essential that you identify and eliminate non-performing content to allow search engines to crawl your website’s most important pages and posts.

Tip #2: Find New Keyword Opportunities

Even the sturdiest keyword strategy has a few gaps in it. New and relevant keywords keep emerging all the time. Moreover, adding new product features gives birth to new keyword opportunities. That said, do not just accede a gap-filled keyword strategy.

Because missed keyword opportunities can stump organic traffic growth and eventually give competitors an advantage, identifying prospects and building them into keyword strategy iterations would increase both brand visibility and search traffic.

Tip #3: Optimize for Higher CTR

Ranking on the first page of a search engine result is only half the battle of organic search traffic; you also need to convince users to click on your website instead of competitors.

Optimizing for CTR (click-through rate) provides a double benefit:

1. You can entice users to stay away from other competing sites and attract them onto your own and increase organic traffic.

2. You will be able to send positive signals to search engines as Google prioritizes high CTR websites in search results.

SEO for Financial Advisors

At Pendragon Consulting LLC, we understand that no two financial advisors or consultants are alike. Therefore, we use those differentiating factors unique to your brand to tailor our marketing solution as per your needs. The use of SEO for marketing financial advisors cannot be a one-size-fits-all strategy; it needs to be carefully curated to answer your individual marketing needs. If you’re left wondering “Does SEO still work?”, the answer is a resounding YES.

Why Choose Us?

We, at Pendragon Consulting LLC, offer a wide range of digital marketing services to ensure you have access to various marketing channels that can help you enhance your visibility and build brand recognition among your existing and potential clientele. Our team of professionals is well-versed in the rules and regulations governing social media and digital marketing for financial advisors and stands ready to assist you on your path to increasing visibility and bringing in new clients. When it comes to SEO for financial advisors, we’ve got you covered. Get in touch today to receive a FREE SEO audit of your website: hello@pendragoncostg.wpenginepowered.com.