Search Engine Optimization better known simply as SEO is something that has baffled many a website owner or blogger. The desire to better their websites has driven many people to even hire the services of SEO agents. But what happens when one cannot stretch their budget to pay for such services? Is this the end for their SEO efforts?
One of the main goals of search engines is to be able to give people relevant information when they look for it. The websites that rank highly on the search engine results pages (SERPs) are the websites that the search engine considers as being the most relevant and most likely to help someone. It goes without saying, but assuming someone makes a search wanting to purchase something, they will click the first link/website 80% of the time. Hence those websites are likely to receive the most traffic which can ideally lead to more sales. This is why every business owner should be concerned about how optimized their own website is because a website not in page 1 of a Google is less likely to receive much traffic.
So now, onto the tips:
1. Blog about it!
Having a blog for the sake of having one is not what you want to do. Rather look into creating a blog that delivers informative and creative articles that will make your readers want to come back for more. The more people you have linking to your website the better. Search engines look and consider these links as well when they consider how popular and relevant your website is. This will help you to improve the referral traffic, visibility of your brand and keyword ranking.
2. Make use of keyword strategies.
Long-tail keyword strategies are important and do draw traffic so continue using them when writing your articles, but consider incorporating short tail keywords as well. This will serve you better in the long run. Based on your budget you can plan for the percentage of focus you should be giving to long tail and short tail.
An example of a long-tail keyword is ‘PCI compliant audit software’ as opposed to short tail keyword ‘audit software’. Learn to work with both when writing articles for your site.
3. Stay in touch and connect with your customers on social media
Engage and make use of the different social media widgets around, Twitter, Facebook and other platforms. As a small business you have the advantage of being able to maintain a personal touch with your customers and clients. Larger businesses tend to lose sight of this important element in their quest for simply having an online presence. Take time to engage with your following – it will make them feel more connected to your brand and identify with it.
Social platforms also allow you to have fun giveaways and contests for your customers, get them sharing and talking about your brand – that’s free advertising and marketing for you. Since Google picks social signal, it’s important to have an active presence in social media.
4. Don’t disregard local SEO
For many small business owners, local support is crucial and so being able to rank highly for local searches is important. More and more people search for businesses and services that are within reach and are within their community. Pushing for a wider reach online is noble but don’t forget that those closest and around your brand are the ones most likely to convert the most.
5. Make use of Schema markup
Schema markup is another fantastic way to aid your site. It will allow you to make your results more noticeable. Take and make use of every free tool you can find.
Conclusion
No website can increase its rank overnight on search engines, but incorporating these tips mentioned above on a day-to-day basis will help to better optimize your website/blog and with time one should be able to see results.
Make an effort to write an article every two to three days and post it on your website, answer client enquiries and promote your content with contests. Localize your searches and use relevant keywords, keep a track of your analytics, Google Analytics is a great place to start. Use these tips and watch the graph in your analytics changing positively with time.
