When properly done, search engine optimization can help take your business to the next level. Defined by MOZ.com as “the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search engine results,” SEO is definitely a crucial part of an effective online marketing strategy.
If you’re a small business owner hoping to boost your presence online, there are actually simple things you can do to achieve that. Here are some basic techniques to help you out:
1. Invest in a good website
The first step is to get your own website. This is absolutely a must, especially if you’re hoping to distinguish your business from your competitors. A good website can help legitimize your brand as people will find it easier to trust you if they know they can find you online.
Of course, having a well-designed site should also be one of your priorities. Nothing drives away first-time visitors faster than a messy website so make sure that yours is attractive, organized, and user-friendly at the same time. That way, you can encourage potential customers to explore and stay a little longer as they learn more about your products and services.
2. Write quality content
In a 1996 essay, Bill Gates coined the term “content is king” – and it has since been the golden rule on internet marketing. In fact, having quality content is a crucial part of a good SEO campaign to this day.
Fact: A neatly designed business website will not be enough to attract people if it is filled with dead pages, wrong information, and grammatical errors. Your content should be useful and engaging if you’re aiming to turn casual visitors into fans and customers.
Maintaining a blog and uploading fresh articles on a regular basis could also increase your search engine rankings. Not to mention that you will be establishing a positive reputation as an expert in your industry by publishing authoritative content.
3. Focus on relevant keywords
As you consistently post new content on your blog, it’s also vital that you target the right keywords – these play a big role in SEO.
Fast growing startups know this well. They are aware of user behavior and understand which specific short-tail and long-tail keywords people type online when looking for their products and services.
The goal is to optimize these keywords as you produce fresh content on your blog. Make sure that the keywords are used naturally and not just thrown in randomly for higher website rankings. Just remember that at the end of the day, you are mainly writing for your audience – not for search engines.
4. Do guests posts often
Aside from keeping your blog updated, you might also want to consider doing guest posts for established blogs. Simply put, guest posting is done by contributing content to other websites or blogs.
Doing this regularly can lead to numerous benefits such as improving awareness for your brand, attracting new website traffic, and building quality backlinks. You’ll be surprised by how this strategy can be one of the keys towards strengthening your business’s presence on the web.
Final notes
As Main Street ROI founder and chief operations officer Phil Frost beautifully summed it up:
“Successful SEO is not about tricking Google. It’s about PARTNERING with Google to provide the best search results for Google’s users.”
So yes, the overall goal is about more than simply driving your website to the top results. Primarily, you want to provide a great experience for your visitors as they browse through your site and content. More people will be likely to give your brand a shot if you’re doing your SEO campaign right.