From allowing you to gain a better understanding of your competitors to ensuring that your personal information is kept well away from any prying eyes, there is a whole host of reasons why a VPN can improve your approach to search engine marketing.
As a search engine marketer, it’s safe to say that the internet underpins everything that you do. Whether it’s launching a new social media marketing campaign or performing an overhaul of your SEO strategy, there are many important factors that can determine how well your website ranks on search engines.
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An increasingly competitive market is a clear marker of just how important it is to perfect your search engine marketing approach. To put things into perspective, Internet Live Stats states that in excess of 40,000 searches are performed every second using the world’s largest search engine – Google. This can be roughly translated to the following:
- Five billion searches per day
- Two trillion searches each year
As the years go by, these numbers will only continue to increase as the number of web pages on the internet continuously grows. For that reason, it’s clear that anyone working in the online marketing sector needs to stay ahead of the game in order to beat the competition and ensure that a spot on the coveted front page on Google remains within reach.
With that in mind, it’s important to mention that those in the online marketing industry often face a flurry of challenges, whether it’s having trouble researching the competition, fending off online data thieves, or not being able to access the sites that you need to. Thankfully, there is a perfect solution to each of these problems – a VPN.
But, just what exactly is a VPN? How can it benefit your approach to search engine marketing? These might well be some of the questions that you want answering. Luckily, the following article will provide all of the essential information – here’s what you need to know.
What is a VPN?
Otherwise referred to as a Virtual Private Network, a VPN is primarily used as a tool to achieve online security and privacy. It does that by ensuring the protection of your data through encrypted web traffic, which flows through a remote data server to secure your data.
Initially, you may not be convinced that a VPN has any relation to your job as a search engine marketer. But, we’re here to tell you that using one most definitely has the potential to take your online marketing approach to a whole new level. The next section will delve deeper into this.
Benefits of a VPN for search engine marketers
So, how exactly does a VPN relate to SEO? This section will answer that very question for you as we take a closer look at the benefits of a VPN in your search engine marketing approach.
1. Anonymous browsing
In an age where instances of government surveillance and cybercrime are on the rise, it’s clear that you’ll need to take the appropriate steps to avoid having your personal information end up in the wrong hands.
A VPN is the perfect solution to this in that your true location can be masked and your internet activity cannot be viewed by any prying eyes. This is done through the encryption of your data, masking of your IP address, and the hiding of your true location. As a result, you can benefit from enhanced online safety and anonymity.
2. Bypass internet censorship and geo-restrictions
As the years have gone by, internet censorship has become increasingly strict in certain parts of the world. China is often considered to be one of the worst culprits, with several widely-used websites and services such as Netflix, WhatsApp, and Google Maps banned within the country as they have been deemed ‘dangerous’ for citizens of China.
Geo-restrictions are another method in which your access to certain websites or services can be blocked based on your geographical location. This means that if you’d like to research a website from another country for instance, you might be blocked from doing so if geo-blocking practices are in place.
Thankfully, you can make internet censorship or geo-restrictions a thing of the past by utilizing a VPN service. You have the ability to do this by connecting to a server based in a relevant country, after which you’ll be able to enjoy unrestricted access regardless of where you are based in the world.
3. Enhanced security of your private information
It’s hard to deny that instances of cybercrime are on the rise. After all, it’s now arguably easier than ever for online criminals to get their hands on personal information, with the techniques they use becoming ever-more sophisticated by the day. This presents a cause for concern for businesses and consumers alike in that the prevention of data leaks is a task that is easier said than done.
Thankfully, a VPN is the perfect way to fend off any would-be data thieves with clever techniques such as IP-address masking, military-grade encryption protocols, and many other security features, which allow you to conduct your life online without having to worry about your information getting into the wrong hands.
4. Gain a better understanding of local SEO
Perhaps you are based in an entirely different location to the area that you’d like to target. If that’s the case, then you’ll find that a VPN can help you considerably. For instance, you might be based in the US but would like to understand the local SEO of an area within Japan. This is where a VPN serves a purpose in that you can trick Google into believing that you are actually based within Japan once you have used the VPN to connect to a server based in that particular country.
This effectively means that you have the ability to perform a search just as a local person would, which ensures that you can perform your research on the local market you are hoping to target. In the long run, this means that your marketing approach can be adjusted accordingly and in time it will help you to obtain hits from that particular location and hopefully stay ahead of the competition by viewing the local ads that they are using, in addition to the SEO tactics they are utilizing in order to reach a certain local audience.
5. Better remote working capabilities
Remote working is something that an ever-increasing number of employers are beginning to favour ahead of traditional hiring. Whether it’s to improve staff productivity or taking on board an extra pair of hands to help out with a certain task, there are many reasons why remote working is utilized.
In spite of this, there are many risks involved when it comes to carrying out digital marketing on a remote basis. For instance, there are security concerns when connected to an open WiFi network. While it’s hard to deny that they are convenient when out and about, it’s important to remember that public networks often don’t require a password, and so this leaves you vulnerable to becoming a victim of an attack by an opportunist data thief.
Thankfully, utilizing a VPN ensures that even when you are connected to an open network, you can avoid any leaks of private data through the encryption of your connection and the ability to browse the web safely and anonymously.
6. Simplify the process of researching competitors
Failing to keep an eye on what your competitors are doing is a sure-fire way to bring your success to a grinding halt. So, if you’d like to prevent this from happening, you will need to take the precautionary measures to stay ahead of the competition.
This is where a VPN can be an incredibly useful tool, as you’ll not only be able to anonymously browse the websites of your competitors, you’ll also have the ability to avoid targeted ads. In turn, this means that you can effectively determine the advertising methods that your competitors are using.
Final Thoughts
To conclude, it would be appropriate to suggest that many people fail to realize the benefits a VPN can have in terms of search engine marketing. But, as you’ll now be aware, there are many ways in which it can take your SEM approach to a whole new level.
One thing to take into account is that not all VPNs are created equal. So, it really pays to do your research beforehand so you can choose a VPN service that not only meets your needs, but ranks highly in terms of security, doesn’t keep any logs of your internet activity, and puts your privacy first.
Once you’ve taken these factors into account, you’ll be happy to know that investing in a VPN service doesn’t have to break the bank, with a whole host of affordable, reliable, and effective choices such as NordVPN, TorGuard, and PrivateVPN available from as little as $2.99 a month.
Alex Mitchell is an experienced cybersecurity enthusiast from VPNpro team who is fighting against hackers, malware, ransomware data leaks and breaches – testing VPNs, antivirus software, different proxies to find most efficient ways to improve online protection and privacy.