Search Engine Optimization has been around for a while. Yet, many business owners still question whether or not investing in SEO is really worth it.

The answer, of course, is yes. Investing in SEO is a key piece of your digital marketing and a great way to help grow your business. You can think of SEO as a long-term investment for your business – the effort you put into it now will gain value over time.

Here are 3 more reasons why SEO is a smart investment for your business.

1. SEO is Here to Stay

What’s the first thing you do when you’re considering purchasing a product or service? For most people, the answer is do research online.

Google processes over 3.5 billion searches each day, and that number keeps on growing. People rarely make buying decisions without searching Google first. They want to see reviews on products and services and know they’re getting the best deal.

If your website doesn’t rank in Google’s search results, then you’re missing out on a valuable and important opportunity to get your business in front of potential customers. The internet is here to stay, and therefore, so is SEO.

2. Mobile Makes Local SEO Even More Important for Small Businesses

It’s no secret that mobile search has officially surpassed desktop, which means that more people than ever before are searching on the go. This has created a great opportunity for small businesses to compete with their larger counterparts.

For example, if someone is on vacation in your area and they want to go out for dinner. They can now search "restaurants near me" right on their mobile browser and be given a list of top local results. For smaller businesses, this creates an opportunity to rank above some of the bigger, chain restaurants and gives them an opportunity to get a new customer.

By investing in local SEO, you’re getting your business in front of people in your area who not only want to purchase your product or service, but want to do so quickly.

3. Your Competition is Doing It

The bottom line is while some businesses are questioning whether they should invest in SEO, others are not.

As more and more businesses start investing in SEO it becomes even more important to make sure you keep up. If your website is already ranking high in Google, that’s great. But, it means you need to keep investing to ensure it stays there.

If you haven’t started investing in SEO, then you have an opportunity to start building equity in your website and applying strong strategies that can increase traffic and help outrank your competition.

Rankings are changing all the time. But, in order to win the race, you have to actually enter.