This article was originally published on August 28, 2017, and updated on September 8, 2021.
We say it a lot at GoDaddy, but it still bears repeating. You can have the most beautiful and relevant website, but if it’s not optimized — and optimized correctly — it might as well not exist. Wondering what makes GoDaddy SEO Services different? Let us explain how our success is more than just talk.
The importance of SEO
Think back to the last time you bought something online. Did you go to the Internet to research it first? If you did, you’re in good company, because 81% of consumers search online before buying. And when you were researching, did you click on page two of the search engine result page to continue reading? Chances are you stayed on the first page. Again, you wouldn’t be alone. Fewer than 10% of Google searchers ever look at page two.
The vast majority of searchers stay on the first page. A handful go to page two, but very few make it beyond that.
Page one of the search engine ranking pages (we call them “SERPs”) is where all the eyeballs are. It’s packed with searchers and people competing for searcher attention. There can easily be thousands—sometimes even millions—of people competing for any given keyword! This means that very few websites get to page one by accident anymore. It takes a lot of work and continual improvement to get your site to the top and keep it there. This work is called “search engine optimization,” or “SEO” for short.
SEO: A path to business growth
The good news? Quality SEO work is well within reach of anyone who’s willing to invest in it, and it’s an investment that never stops paying you back. Optimizing your site for the search engines increases your rankings. And when your rankings go up, your traffic almost always gets a boost too. This will bring in more leads and eventually more customers. It can take months for all these benefits to materialize, but almost everyone who sticks with it will see it’s the best way to go.
From rankings to revenue!
So how do you find quality SEO that pays you back? Here are a few lessons we've learned doing search engine optimization for our customers.
Getting to page one
To reach the Holy Grail of page one, you have two options: pay-per-click or organic SEO.
Pay per click (PPC, also called “cost per click” or “CPC”) is the search engine pay-to-play model. You select the keyword you want to rank for, write a little ad copy around it, and pay money to place that ad at the top of the search engine rankings pages. It will appear prominently on the page a lot like an organic listing, but will usually contain shading and/or copy that sets it apart as an ad, like this:
PPC can be fine option for certain keywords, but often you’ll end up paying more than you actually make back. And the moment you stop forking over the money to the search engines, your keyword falls off page one...along with your investment.
While PPC can be beneficial, keep in mind that less than 10% of consumers actually click on the paid ad they see at the top of a Google search.
That's why we recommend small businesses get organic SEO work done on your website. Between 70-80% of people ignore paid search results, choosing to only click on organic search results. That means rolling up your sleeves and making site changes that will help it get found by Google. This is a better long-term solution for getting found online, and it’s a lot more cost-effective than PPC.
A word of caution: Many believe that organic SEO is as easy as sprinkling your page with search terms.
The truth is Google and other search engines are way too smart for that.
They have a well-worked-out system with hundreds of ways to evaluate site quality and trustworthiness. These sites rank higher.
To be successful at organic SEO, you have to know the system, which requires consistent study, and then have website technical knowledge to implement them. It’s a tall order, we know.
That’s why so many businesses—especially ones that don’t have a marketing team budget —are turning to GoDaddy to optimize their websites. Rest assured we have a team of experts who eat, live and breathe SEO. We've gotten tens of thousands of websites on the first page of Google.
More 80% of our customers see first-page results for their targeted keywords within 6 months when they choose the recommended plan and allow on-site optimization.
Why our SEO works better than others
We put a lot into our SEO Services, focusing on five unique qualities that make it really work:
1. We’re affordable
For a long time, SEO services were something that only big companies with deep pockets could afford. We’ve changed all of that. We’ve created super-efficient SEO completion software that distills our giant SEO workload into individual tasks. Then, almost like an assembly line, the software pushes each task to the correct human expert who completes it.
With our software and systems, we efficiently decrease time, effort, and cost needed for normal SEO service and still make sure it’s completed by experts. It’s an innovative way to reduce the price without sacrificing quality
2. We have more experience at small-business SEO than almost anyone
When it comes to SEO, GoDaddy is one of the most established companies with a worldwide customer base.
Chances are we've helped businesses like yours.
We think you'd have a hard time finding another company with experience in as many markets, industries, and geographies.
3. Data drives all our decisions (and we have a ton of data)
Because we’re the largest small-business SEO provider in the world, we have access to one of the biggest collections of SEO data. It’s updated daily, giving us an accurate picture of the best tactics for getting small businesses on page one. Often our data confirms that current, trending SEO tactics are correct. Other times it tells us that they don’t work and to go in another direction.
Either way, our clients will always have access to the most current and effective SEO strategies.
4. We show you our work
With so many rules, SEO can be mysterious and confusing and is notoriously hard to measure and report. That’s why at GoDaddy, we show you everything we do. From key metrics such as rankings and traffic to the day-to-day tasks we complete, everything is visible and charted every week. Your SEO progress will be crystal clear.
5. Our service is second to none
Our team is comprised of skilled SEO technicians who know your business by name and give a personal touch to every bit of work they do. Our clients also have access to a team of SEO service specialists who can answer questions and concerns over the phone.
We get results — take it from our customers
John Custie Music, a provider of private music lessons located in Mt. Sinai, New York, wanted to increase its customer base and revenue in 2019.
Before starting a campaign with GoDaddy, 58% of John Custie Music's organic traffic came from Japan, China and Russia. A hyper-localized SEO campaign was implemented to help reach nearby customers with a higher intent to buy. With the top SEO tasks of link building, local listing creating and optimization, custom copy for website services page, and Google Analytics implementation, the SEO services team got to work.
Not only did their organic traffic increase by 53% year over year, the quality of traffic improved, too. Rather than being found by people overseas, 84% of searchers now come directly from New York City and Long Island.
Mokihana Pest Control, located in Lihue, Hawaii, came to GoDaddy with the hopes of staying relevant and competitive. In January 2021, the SEO services team set out with the tasks of link building, menu edits, content creation for an "eco-friendly" page, creating and optimization of 65 local listings, and Google Analytics implementation.
To stand out from the competition, new content was strategically developed and implemented to highlight Mokihana Pet Control's commitment to eco-friendly pest control.
Five keywords hit the first page of Google results in just three months, with three keywords ranking No. 1.
The moment of truth: Can your business rank higher on Google? We suspect you're reading this because you think it can. Call us today at 480-366-3344 to learn more about our SEO Services and what we can do for your business.
