We often see a lot of small businesses that are intimidated by search engine optimization (SEO). Indeed, with all the information out there about best practices, it can definitely seem daunting as to where to start. But it doesn’t have to be super complicated for you as a business owner. A lot of SEO is really about setting up processes and paying attention to little things that you can do. In this blog post, we’ll discuss six areas that you can focus on right now to boost your SEO and improve your online presence.
No. 1: Use High-Value Keywords in Your Page Title, Headlines, Body Text, and Your URLs
The first step to any successful SEO strategy is to conduct thorough keyword research. Keywords are the search terms that people use to find content on search engines. Figure out what keywords are relevant to you (high-value) and understand the keyword volume for different terms. You can do this for free by using the Keyword Planner tool that comes with any Google Ads account (which you can access with a Gmail account). Go to: ads.google.com and sign in. Then you can go to Tools & Settings>Keyword Planner. You can get search volumes for the entire U.S., or by your specific city/geographic area.
Google will give you search volumes on your keyword terms as well as suggested, related terms. This can help to form your “topic model” that you can use on any page to optimize for search. When you craft your page title, your URL, and your main H1 headline, make sure to use the main keyword or keywords here, as well as in the body text of the page. That provides Google the biggest signal about what your page is about. For secondary headlines (H2 and H3), you can certainly repeat the main keyword or use other keywords from your topic model – the relevant terms that may be related to your main keyword(s). For example, if you have a page about Lebron James (main keyword), a robust page would have related topic-model elements such as: “all-time NBA scoring leader,” “greatest of all time/GOAT” (no it’s not Michael Jordan), “Los Angeles Lakers,” “Cleveland Cavaliers,” “Miami Heat,” “4-time NBA champion”, “Akron, OH” (where James grew up).
No. 2: Typographically Emphasize Your Keywords
To make your keywords stand out and help search engines to recognize their importance, you can emphasize them typographically on the page. For instance, you can bold select keywords, put them in italics or bullets, make them link text, or use other techniques to make them more prominent on the page. One thing we often see businesses do is hyperlink words such as “More” or “Click Here,” which does little to help the SEO of a page. Instead, when you use link text (either linking to another place on the page, to another page of your website, or to an external site), make sure it employs high-value keywords or related topic model words, which can help flag such terms for search engines.
By doing this, you can help both search engines and users to understand what your content is about and how it is relevant to their search queries.
No. 3: Optimize Your Website for Mobile Devices
In today’s mobile-first world, it’s essential that your website is optimized for mobile devices. In fact, Google now uses mobile-first indexing, which means that it crawls and indexes the mobile version of a website first before the desktop version.
By now, all websites should employ some form of a responsive or adaptive design that automatically adjusts the layout of your website to fit the screen size of the device that it’s being viewed on. But just because you use a responsive layout doesn’t mean the page is necessarily optimized for mobile. It’s critical to make sure that the user experience is also “good” on any device – that content is visible and up high on any page and is not hidden by various controls where you have to click to see it. And perhaps the biggest thing: Make sure any website loads fast. You can do this by optimizing images, minimizing the use of pop-ups, and asking your developer to streamline your CSS/JavaScript. You can check the page speed of any website by going to Google’s PageSpeed Insights.
No. 4: Build Quality Backlinks and Cross-Links
Backlinks are links from other websites that point to your website. They are an important factor in SEO because they signal to search engines that other websites consider your content to be valuable and trustworthy. To build quality backlinks, you can start by creating high-quality, shareable content that people will want to link to. This can include blog posts, infographics, and videos that provide value to your target audience. When individuals discover valuable content, they will often link to it on their own (from their own websites or company sites or even Intranets of company sites).
You can also reach out to other websites in your industry and ask if they would be willing to link to your content. This is often done through email outreach campaigns or figuring out sites that already be mentioning you or your products and services but has not yet linked to your site.
One thing: It’s important to note that not all backlinks are created equal. Quality backlinks come from authoritative websites that have high domain authority and are relevant to your industry. Low-quality backlinks from spammy or irrelevant websites can actually harm your SEO and result in a penalty from search engines.
Lastly, cross-linking to other pages on your website is a key aspect of SEO and part of what we look at when we do our SEO Audits for companies. In general, all the major pages of your website should have at least 5 other internal pages linking to them. Think of it this way: If you don’t link to it, why should Google rank it? That’s where blogging is especially important. Blogging, as mentioned above, can help you as a business create valuable content that can rank in its own right (as others link to a particular blog.) But blogs also serve another purpose – to allow you to cross-link to your products/services pages. Just make sure to have a process in place as you develop any new blog.
No. 5: Use Social Media to Boost Your SEO
Social media can be a powerful tool for boosting your SEO and driving traffic to your website. By sharing your content on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, you can reach a wider audience and encourage them to engage with your content.
Social media can also help to build brand awareness and increase the visibility of your business in search results. When people search for your business on Google, your social media profiles are likely to appear at the top of the SERPs. By optimizing your social media profiles with relevant keywords and information about your business, you can increase the likelihood that people will click through to your website.
In addition, while links from social platforms are not a direct ranking factor (they’re generally not considered a backlink or an inbound link), they can indirectly help to boost your visibility and the likelihood that those who discover your content in social may link to it on their own.
No. 6: Optimize Your Google My Business Listing
Google My Business (GMB) is a free tool that allows you to manage your business’s online presence across Google, including in search results and Google Maps. Optimizing your GMB listing can help to improve your local SEO and increase your visibility in local search results. Indeed, if your business serves a local community, it’s probably one of the most important tools you can use, as your listing will show up on the map of local results and will appear anytime someone searches for the name of your business as well.
To optimize your GMB listing, start by claiming and verifying your listing. You can then ensure that your business information, including your name, address, and phone number, is accurate and consistent across all online platforms. You can also add photos and videos to your listing. One of the most important things you can also do: Encourage your customers to leave reviews. The more (greater volume of) reviews you have the higher you can potentially rank in a local area, though the geographic location is a key aspect of any ranking.
Another way to optimize your GMB listing is to regularly post updates and announcements about your business, such as new products, services, or promotions. This can help to keep your customers informed and engaged with your business, while also providing valuable information to search engines.
Conclusion
We know SEO can seem daunting but with the right approach, we think you can make big strides as a business, even without knowing all the fundamentals. If you still need help, don’t hesitate to contact us at Marketing Nice Guys. We provide services such as an SEO Audit, SEO Management and Consulting, and SEO training, depending on the company need. Contact us today for a free consultation and we’ll be happy to discuss how we can help.
