Search engine optimization is the one service that companies today cannot afford to take for granted. Search engine rankings can make or break a business. This is the reason why many companies seek the service of search engine optimization companies. If you are not familiar with search engine optimization and its importance to your business, here are four reasons why you should hire a search engine optimization company.

First, one simply cannot ignore Google rankings. Lego bricks were used by Google as storage compartment for their 10 4GB hard drives which were for testing Page Rank algorithm. This was when the company was no more than a research problem. Today, any business that is not listed in Google has no chance of getting ahead of the competition. In fact, if a company is not listed in Google it loses a significant segment of its market since the majority of internet users use Google in their searches. Moreover, high search engine rankings, particularly in Google, makes consumers easily find a company or product. With higher search engine rankings, the company will have more website visitors.

Second, search engine optimization is better than advertising or other marketing initiatives. For example, when you compare outbound leads with search engine optimization generated leads, search engine optimization generated leads are significantly more effective. Search engine optimization generated leads have 14.6 percent close rate while, the close rate of outbound leads is only 1.7 percent . Outbound leads are television ads, billboard ads, commercials, fliers and other traditional advertisements. SEO therefore is more effective than traditional advertisements. This is why many advertising and marketing initiatives today are launched online or have their online versions. Moreover, search engine optimization is even better than online advertisements because, when it comes to sponsored results, about 80 percent of users ignore them. Instead, they choose organic results.

Third, social media is another thing that any business cannot afford to ignore. Social networking sites play significant role in the way consumers buy products and services. In fact, even Google knows the importance of social media. For example, it was in 2009 when Google first tweeted. The company tweeted a binary code which means Im feeling lucky. Similarly, presence and the right content in social networking sites can significantly drive consumers to choose a particular product.

Fourth, the mobile user market is growing bigger. When you consider the use of mobile devices, such as smart phones and tablets, it is estimated that as of 2012 about 70 million users of mobile devices use their devices in shopping products. With search engine optimization, websites would be able to have sites that are optimized for mobile devices. They will also have the right content to drive the users to choose their products over their competitors. SEO therefore covers both traditional internet use and mobile internet use. This allows the business to cover both markets.