Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing a website so that it performs well in organic search. Ranking highly for search terms which are known as keywords increases the visibility of a website and leads to a higher number of visitors to the actual website.
Put more simply, SEO will allow you to connect with those searching for your product or service and help turn them into customers.
As a business owner you need to have a plan in place to promote your business and obtain new clients. SEO should be a part of that plan and here are just a few of the reasons why:
- Leads generated from SEO close at an average of 15% which is 12% higher than the conversion rate for outbound leads.
- In a recent survey by Hubspot only 9% of businesses using inbound marketing with SEO failed to see an ROI. If it works for 91% or businesses, it is very likely to work for you too.
- Blogging is a leading source of leads and traffic for businesses when they are properly optimized for search. SEO will make sure you blog posts get found and drive traffic.
SEO is unarguably one of the best ways to connect with targeted consumers and share your offer. Implementing an effective SEO strategy is not straightforward or easy though, especially with all of the recent updates to Google’s SEO ranking algorithm. For those of you willing to take a risk and tackle SEO on your own, here are some tips to get you started.
Figuring Out How Your Customers Search
Before you can optimize your website, you have to know what you are optimizing it for. The terms people use to search for what you offer are known as keywords. There are numerous methods for finding keywords but The Google Keyword Planner is free and easy to use, especially for a beginner. You can find terms by entering the URL of a competitor site into the landing page box. Here is what that will look like:
Implementing Keywords into Your Website
Once you have identified keywords that people are using to find products or services similar to yours you need to implement them into your website. If you have done this in the past you may have been told to include the exact keyword a certain number of times on each page.The page will look like this:
This used to be the best method but Google has improved their ability to understand the theme of a page. For this reason, you should include your primary keyword and other related terms to establish a clear page topic.
Reviewing and Improving On Page SEO Factors
Content is a very important part of your website but it is far from the only on page factor that will affect how well your website performs. When you design a site or have one designed for you, it is imperative that you make the site easy to navigate for users. You should have a clear hierarchy to your site and if you have multiple topics, it is important to maintain a proper silo structure. If you want to dive deeper into on page optimization, check out this on page SEO guide from Moz.
Spreading the Word about Your Content
You may have heard or been told “just write great content”. Great content is certainly a crucial element to building a website that converts but it is far from the only thing you need to do. Once you have built a great website and filled it with great resources, you need to tell people about it!
With over 6 websites online for every person on earth, you need to be ready to work if you want your site to standout.
With SEO, you want to tell people about your content that are likely to share or link to it. Building a list of people who have linked out to content similar to yours and asking them to link to your content is known as outreach link building. This is one of the easiest and more effective methods in use today. There are numerous methods you can use to build links some are better for local SEO while other link building methods are geared towards higher organic rankings. Check out my Complete Guide to Link Building to find the best methods currently in use.
Measuring Results
The best part of SEO and inbound marketing as a whole is the ability to track and refine the entire process. Numerous tools are available that allow you to keep tabs on your website, traffic sources, and user engagement. Google Analytics and Google Webmaster Tools are both free programs offered by Google that will allow you to keep track of your visitors and website. If you are not currently tracking your website, you should implement those two programs right away.
Moving Forward
If you still think you want to tackle the SEO for your website, remember to take the time to find out how people are searching. Use that information to write exceptional content and do not be afraid to let the world know about what you have to offer. In addition to SEO, you should also look into the other methods of inbound marketing such as social media or content marketing and how they may benefit your business.
We get basic SEO work done for you when we build your website, but can also provide on-going SEO services.