As a Columbus business owner or part of an SMB team, you already know time is your biggest enemy. There’s only so much you can do in a day. Between managing operations and trying to show up at the Columbus Chamber (or Powell, Westerville, and every other local chamber), SEO can feel overwhelming fast.
And when too many things compete for your attention, the important work falls through the cracks. That’s usually when your competitors start showing up ahead of you… everywhere.
One thing should always remain on your priority list: creating content. And if you’re in B2B, SEO isn’t optional. Local SEO is just a variation of SEO but shares the same underlying principles.
If you’re chasing your next big win, here are five reasons SEO deserves a top spot on your business objectives.
1. Answer Engine Optimization
You’ve heard of ChatGPT, Perplexity, Copilot, and Gemini, right?
If you want the next generation of buyers to find you through these tools, you must understand how they pull answers.
Spoiler: They pull from search engines.
Therefore, if you aren’t ranking in search engine results pages, you definitely won’t appear in these AI-driven “answer engines.”
We know because we’ve done the legwork to get listed in Perplexity and ChatGPT’s answers. It took about six months to see results, but we’re now experiencing steady growth month over month. These small wins stack up fast.
People already use answer engines to find things like “top roofer in Hilliard” or “best chiropractor in Columbus.”
Local SEO will help you show up in those results.
2. It’s the Most Effective Way to Get Found Online
Businesses have lots of options to promote visibility, but not all of them are cost-effective. Let’s break a few down:
- PPC Advertising
- You can target the entire U.S. or narrow down your focus to Bexley, Ohio. With any advertising, you’ll pay twice: price per click and for a management fee. It works, but only if you’re willing to pay to play.
- Estimated: $3,500+ per month
- Social Media
- Organic growth on social is nearly dead. You first need a big audience before anything takes off, and consistent posting becomes a full-time job.
- Estimated: $2,500+ per month
- Email Marketing
- It’s a volume game. You’ll need software, lists, copy, and ongoing optimizations. Inboxes are smarter, making cold email harder and more resource-intensive.
- Estimated: $2,000+ per month
- Cold Calling
- It still works… but it’s not scalable and burns massive amounts of resources.
- Cost: $$$$ for pretty much a sales FTE
- SEO
- Always on. Always working. Hyper-targeted. Evergreen. You own the content and the traffic.
- Estimated: $2,100+ per month
From this list, email is the cheapest tactic, but you’ll eventually reach email saturation. On the other hand, SEO is the foundation of everything digital. And once you build it, buyers will find you on search and answers, transforming SEO into your inbound machine.
3. Your Competitors Are Doing It, Just Not Well
Small businesses struggle with SEO because it’s not a “set it and forget it” tactic. It requires strategy, setup, ongoing maintenance, research, writing, technical fixes, and constant improvements.
You can do it yourself, but if you do, expect hundreds of hours on top of your day job.
Alternatively, you can hire staff, including an SEO strategist and a copywriter. A solid team is worth it, but you’re looking at $100,000+ annually.
The smarter route? Hiring a nearby Columbus marketing agency that specializes in SEO for a fraction of the cost.
A good agency will handle the technical, on-page, and off-page pieces: all the things most businesses struggle to get right.
4. Better Content Results in Higher Conversion Rates
Here’s the thing: SEO isn’t just about traffic. It’s about keeping people engaged once they land on your site.
SEO helps you understand what your customers care about: events, trends, local happenings, and questions. You can then create engaging content by:
- Publishing new pages and optimizing existing ones
- Publishing new blog articles and optimizing existing ones
- Optimizing images
- Internal linking
- Cross-referencing related resources
Note that Google has shared multiple times that longer time on site results in higher conversion likelihood.
So the more valuable content you provide, the more you increase your chances of getting form fills, newsletter signups, or phone calls.
SEO gives your site the structure to make that happen.
5. A Better-Performing Website Converts More
Part of SEO includes your website’s overall performance.
Yes, Google has stated that speed isn’t a “major ranking factor,” but their own research contradicts this, showing that fast, easy-to-use websites convert better.
Slow, buggy websites turn customers away instantly:
- A 10-second mobile load time results in goodbye customers
- Broken layouts result in lost trust
- Forms that barely work result in no leads
If you’re using WordPress, be cautious. Plugin overload can tank performance fast.
If PageSpeed Insights shows red flags or your site just feels slow, reach out. We can help clean it up and optimize your site for today’s digital buyers.
The Bottom Line
SEO isn’t just another marketing tactic; it’s the foundation of your online presence in 2025 and beyond. If you’re a Columbus business looking to grow, build trust, and get found by real buyers, Local SEO needs to be your marketing priority.
If you want help improving your SEO, cleaning up your site, or boosting your local Columbus visibility, contact us at Uplancer. We’ll get you moving in the right direction.
