{"id":180,"date":"2017-10-26T15:21:17","date_gmt":"2017-10-26T15:21:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.originatemoredeals.com\/?p=180"},"modified":"2020-10-09T13:23:57","modified_gmt":"2020-10-09T13:23:57","slug":"why-search-engine-optimization-seo-is-important-for-lower-middle-market-investment-firms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.originatemoredeals.com\/index.php\/2017\/10\/26\/why-search-engine-optimization-seo-is-important-for-lower-middle-market-investment-firms\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is Important for Lower Middle Market Investment Firms"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"181\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.originatemoredeals.com\/index.php\/2017\/10\/26\/why-search-engine-optimization-seo-is-important-for-lower-middle-market-investment-firms\/glenn-carstens-peters-203007\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.originatemoredeals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/glenn-carstens-peters-203007.jpg?fit=4076%2C2712&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"4076,2712\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"glenn-carstens-peters-203007\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.originatemoredeals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/glenn-carstens-peters-203007.jpg?fit=1024%2C681&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-181\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.originatemoredeals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/glenn-carstens-peters-203007.jpg?resize=300%2C200\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.originatemoredeals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/glenn-carstens-peters-203007.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.originatemoredeals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/glenn-carstens-peters-203007.jpg?resize=768%2C511&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.originatemoredeals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/glenn-carstens-peters-203007.jpg?resize=1024%2C681&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.originatemoredeals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/glenn-carstens-peters-203007.jpg?w=2000 2000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.originatemoredeals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/glenn-carstens-peters-203007.jpg?w=3000 3000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Word-of-mouth referrals and direct sales pitches can be effective, but according to the Earnest Agency, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/freely.net\/marketing-statistics\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">81% of B2B purchase cycles<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> start with a web search. For your firm, the ability to stand out with natural search results may well be the tiny bump that determines if you close that next deal&#8211;or not. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re still not convinced, here are a few more stats for you:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/katieduncankd\/status\/579460234894319617\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">90% of buyers say \u201cthey\u2019ll find you\u201d <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">online<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">when they decide to find relevant investment firms.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A survey conducted by Axial found out that a whopping <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.axial.net\/forum\/online-strategies-survey\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">92% of business owners<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> conduct a basic internet search on a firm before they give them a call.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.slideshare.net\/NewsCred\/50-best-stats-presentation\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Up to 57%<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of B2B marketers say that SEO has the biggest impact on lead generation (over all other marketing tactics).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What can we learn from this data? SEO matters, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">especially<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for investment firms.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And we&#8217;re just scratching the surface. Let&#8217;s take a deeper dive into why you should focus more on SEO, as well as how you can make sure your efforts pay off.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why You Should Care<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Start with the basics: SEO\u2019s main purpose is to improve your ranking on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). SERPs determine your organic brand visibility and can make the difference between landing a client or closing a deal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consider this: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/chitika.com\/google-positioning-value\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">91.5% of searches never go past Page 1<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of Google. If you don\u2019t rank among the first 10 pages for a particular keyword, you\u2019ll lose out on a tremendous amount of awareness for your brand.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The higher up on page 1 you are, the better chance you have of getting business, pure and simple. High SEO rankings inspire confidence in your clients.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to Use SEO for the Most Impact<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re thinking SEO isn\u2019t a straightforward tactic, you\u2019re right. Like all effective marketing strategies, it&#8217;s a marathon, not a sprint. \u00a0In order to reap the sweet fruits of S<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">EO, your SERPs need to go up. To do that, you need to leverage several \u201chacks\u201d we\u2019ll discuss next.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Keywords<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first (and most important) of the hacks is knowing your target keywords. Why? SEO is about <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wordstream.com\/serp\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">improving your rank on the SERPs<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. But have you stopped to think what you\u2019re ranking for? <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your goal is to rank for what people are searching for on Google. Your search terms send a signal to the search engine algorithm to find the most relevant information (given the search keywords).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, let\u2019s say your firm is focused on middle-market industrial businesses. Your target keywords and keyword phrases would include terms like \u201cmiddle market industrials\u201d. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/article\/241758\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Simple enough, right?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The problem is, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">every other business in your space is trying to rank for those keywords as well<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So how do you know the right keywords to target? Luckily, there are a number of tools you can use. One of the best ones in the market is <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/adwords.google.com\/home\/tools\/keyword-planner\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Google\u2019s Keyword Planner<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. All you have to do is provide a keyword related to your services and the tool will automatically provide you a report on which keywords are related to the term and how popular each keyword is.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Target Location<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The second thing you can do to help you improve your business ranking is considering your target location. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most likely, your goal isn&#8217;t to reach <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">everyone <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">with an internet connection (and, if it is, best of luck). You should really aim for a specific demographic. Often, users don\u2019t want to look for every \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.saratogainvestmentcorp.com\/articles\/9-alternatives-to-venture-capital-you-need-to-consider\/\">middle market<\/a> industrials\u201d focused investment firm on the internet. Instead, their searches are generally limited in some way&#8211;usually by physical constraints like geography and proximity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2016\/11\/11\/why-local-matters-even-for-national-advertisers\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Still, even if you\u2019re a nationally focused firm, you need to be thinking local<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. People have different needs in different parts of the country (or world) and will search different things. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, you\u2019re bound to rank higher for \u201cinvestment bankers in Chicago\u201d than you would for \u201cinvestment bankers in the US.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Update your website<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SEO doesn\u2019t work in isolation. It&#8217;s part of the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginejournal.com\/the-current-state-of-the-content-marketing-ecosystem-infographic\/180492\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">content marketing ecosystem<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. At the core of that ecosystem is your website.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It makes sense when you think about it. It\u2019s the first digital impression most of your potential deal sources will get of your firm. This will give them their first insights into your credibility as an entity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A good question to ask yourself is: would you trust your website? Does it look professional? Does it look good on mobile?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/library\/google\/google-penguin-update\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Google frequently changes their rules<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> when it comes to SEO. In the spirit of ensuring the user gets the most relevant and credible information, the rules\/algorithms require your website to meet certain standards with every new update. So, regularly checking and updating your website along these rules to make sure you don\u2019t miss out on anything. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You also need to create great content. As mentioned, SEO won\u2019t work unless it\u2019s working alongside a number of other tactics. After they land on a well-optimized website, search engines want to make sure that users find high-quality information. That\u2019s why you need a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.kissmetrics.com\/seo-is-content-marketing\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">blog that\u2019s regularly updated with high-quality content<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s also worth mentioning the influence of social media in SEO. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginejournal.com\/social-media-seo\/196185\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here\u2019s more on that<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Getting Started<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Knowing the basics of SEO is one thing. Implementing what you learn is another challenge altogether. But don\u2019t let it frustrate you. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We narrowed the process to 3 simple questions. Once you have these answered, you\u2019re on your way achieving a robust SEO strategy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhat are my objectives?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginejournal.com\/5-targets-set-beginning-seo-campaign\/166717\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">how to set objectives for an SEO campaign<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWho\u2019s my audience?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019ll need to understand your audience better and in the online marketing context. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/moz.com\/blog\/the-8step-seo-strategy-step-1-define-your-target-audience-and-their-needs\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here\u2019s how<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cHow will I measure success?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Based on your objective, what did you achieve? Here\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/moz.com\/beginners-guide-to-seo\/measuring-and-tracking-success\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">how to measure SEO success effectively<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These question will help you stay on track, target the right people, and know how much you\u2019re getting from your campaigns.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Word-of-mouth referrals and direct sales pitches can be effective, but according to the Earnest Agency, 81% of B2B purchase cycles start with a web search. For your firm, the ability to stand out with natural search results may well be the tiny bump that determines if you close that next deal&#8211;or not. \u00a0 If you\u2019re [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":181,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6,4],"tags":[11,18,13,12,16,17,14,15],"class_list":["post-180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basic-bd-principles","category-bd_hacks","tag-bd","tag-bdc","tag-biz-dev","tag-business-development","tag-investment","tag-investment-firms","tag-leads","tag-seo","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8gb0U-2U","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.originatemoredeals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/glenn-carstens-peters-203007.jpg?fit=4076%2C2712&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.originatemoredeals.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.originatemoredeals.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.originatemoredeals.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.originatemoredeals.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.originatemoredeals.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.originatemoredeals.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":385,"href":"https:\/\/www.originatemoredeals.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180\/revisions\/385"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.originatemoredeals.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.originatemoredeals.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.originatemoredeals.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.originatemoredeals.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}