Understanding how to get your website to rank on Google isn't just for the cheese-puff-stained forty something year old man who lives in his mother's basement anymore. For your total learning pleasure on search engine optimization, here's our take on 5 reasons that SEO is sexy, and how you can implement these principals into your business to help your website rank on Google and attract your dream client demographic online.

"SEO," "Search Engine Optimization," "Ranking on Google," "Pay Per Click"-- all these are terms thrown around among small business owners like it's an inside joke that only the cool kids are in on.

If you’re scratching your head going, "Wait, I don't actually understand how that works…" Don’t worry. You’re not alone. Also, today’s post is for you—the honest, down-to-earth business owner, juggling a million different roles and doing the best you can to build your brand. We wanted to emphasize the fact that SEO isn’t as complicated or confusing as you can imagine. In fact, if we had to categorize it, we’d be the first to say SEO is sexy. Here’s why--

How search engine optimization through content marketing is the Magic Mike of the marketing tactics—

1. It draws people to you

SEO is one of the most awesome forms of inbound marketing in 2019, all you have to do is make sure you’re part of that conversation—which, by the way, they’ve already started. 

Think about it. Your customer has essentially already said:  "Hey, I'm looking for service X. Can anyone help me with this?" You want to be there to the friendly voice that says, “Hey, welcome! We would absolutely love to be of service. Let's get started.”

Search engine optimizing your website through content marketing creates a highway for new business to come pouring in. Think about the last time you were making a purchase. Where did you go? Did you pick up that glossy local magazine and look for it based on who had a two-page spread? Did you look for ads in the Yellow Pages? Attend a viewing exhibit? Or did search for the product online? Most likely, you answered with the last one, and so did your customers. And all you really had to do was make sure that your site is search engine optimized to deliver relevant and helpful answers for their needs. 

2. It creates a sleek and provocative brand image

There are very few marketing tactics in 2019 that yield more ROI (read: Bang for buck!) than inbound marketing, which you can do by optimizing your brand presence online through content marketing. 

CRM Daily reports, "nearly half of the companies that implement inbound marketing efforts (search engine optimization included!) see a 25 percent greater return on investment (ROI) on those programs than companies that do not. The survey found that inbound marketing channels can deliver up to 30 times the campaign conversion rate of traditional outbound direct-mail campaigns." 

Quite simply, Inbound marketing is easier to track, has a higher ROI, and lower overall costs than outbound marketing.

It’s kind of like your go-to, little black dress. Imagine a perfectly designed body con that hugs your body in the right places so that your lines and angles are smoother and sleeker. That’s what SEO is. It’s the little black dress for your website that helps your brand be that much more alluring so you can confidently speak to your ideal customer, pique their interest, and keep them coming back for more. 

Good SEO strategies trim all the unnecessary bells and whistles off your site so that you can directly deliver something relevant and exciting for your audience. It’s straightforward, direct to the point, but strategic and effective. Sleek, efficient, to-the-point. And that’s sexy. 

3. It’s equal parts sexy and smart.

We're in 2019—a time where everybody’s Googles everything or just Asks Siri for the best places, products, vendors, and services. You’re literally in your customer’s pocket and SEO knows how to make the most out of it. 

With SEO, you have the opportunity to present and pitch your brand directly to your audience. Every time they search for something even remotely related to what you do, you can show them what you bring to the table. And that’s very exciting. Smart too—because you didn’t even have to shell out thousands of dollars for a giant billboard to make sure you’re top of mind. You just have to be smart about how you craft your content. 

4.  Get FLEXY with it — Let your website do the “flexing” for you.

Effective search engine optimization gives you the chance to flex and show off your product and services to your customers by speaking their language, building rapport, and doing the brunt of your "selling" for you. 

On your website, you have every opportunity to flex and tell the world about your product, what you love about it, how you started it, and everything in between. The world is your oyster here. Why WOULDN'T you invest in amping up this platform that the majority of your prospective customers use to find your services? 

Your website is your make or break, love-it-or-leave-it moment to shine. But remember,  a gorgeous website is just one part of it.  It's the content and the strategy behind that content that will define your website’s real substance, make it irresistible, and make your products and services compelling for your customers. 

5. It will keep them coming back for more

Over time, as your audience continues to find value from the content you create and publish, there’s no reason why you won’t be top of mind when it’s time to pull the trigger on a purchase. Plus, because they know you, believe you, and trust in everything you have say and give, they’ll keep coming back for more. This can only be done though, if you put effort behind the content you make. And we don’t mean simply typing out your thoughts and publishing something just for the sake of doing so. We mean researching keywords, building content anchored on these search terms, learning tactics and techniques designed to make your content more visible, just to name a few. 

When you have a plan and a clear strategy behind your SEO efforts, you’re building content that offers real value and relevance to your audience. This lets you build and nurture a real relationship between customers that will keep them coming back for more—and there’s nothing sexier than a brand that’s confident in what they have to offer.