Search engine optimization has been the buzzword du jour for the last few years, but with Googles constantly changing algorithm, your small business may be struggling to keep up. SEO is crucial for virtually every website. Unless you run a blog of family photos thats just for your parents back home, then you need to optimize your website for inbounding marketing. Effective SEO establishes you as a reputable authority in your given industry and allows you to pull in reputable visitors. Higher rankings equal more money, which leads to even more business and a better reputation both online and offline.
Whether your small business is struggling to improve search engine ranking or simply overwhelmed by all the so-called expert advice floating in cyberspace, its easy to feel like youre drowning in a sea of SEO, SERP, CPC and PPC alphabet soup. Dont give up! Step away from the keyword stuffing and use these best practices to refocus your SEO efforts:
1. Be original
While this sounds like pretty straightforward advice, original content creation can be challenging especially if youre constantly cranking out blog posts, case studies and white papers. But thanks to Googles algorithm changes, content is king. In order for your small businesss website to rank highly, it needs to have original, informative and fresh content. If your websites content is stagnating, consider hiring a freelance writer who specializes in your industry to breathe a little life into your websites content.
2. Be Social
Social media mentions matter. Googles new algorithm places greater importance on social traffic than ever before. Repackage your content into smaller atomized pieces so it can easily be shared. For example, after posting a link to your latest whitepaper, take key findings from the paper and tweet a different finding each day, with a link back to your website. Shorter pieces of information with interesting factoids are more likely to be re-tweeted, which not only drives traffic back to your website, but also increases your social media mentions. This signals to Google that the content on your website is fresh, original and relevant, which increases your page rank.
3. Be smart
Sure, worrying about magical keyword densities or creating an intricate network of backlinks may be a waste of time, but some older SEO strategies are still important. For example, while no one would stuff a website with keywords, you should still include a few keywords within your content. To do so effectively, weave these words in naturally (if they dont fit, dont include them) and use long-tail keyword phrases. Individuals naturally search using phrases, and by including one or two that are relevant to your topic and your target audience, youre more likely to be connected with highly qualified business leads.
4. Be effective
Last but not least, be sure that your website works. When creating content, for example, its easy to get lost in the rush to churn out more and better blog posts and forget about the value that they offer a reader. The same goes for your content pages. Do your landing pages connect visitors with relevant information, or are you sending your highly qualified inbound marketing prospects to a generic home page? Do all your text links work, or are broken links leaving prospective customers stranded?
Every few months, click through your website as if you were a customer visiting it for the first time. Identify problem areas, whether its a broken link or a poorly worded drop-down menu, and get these fixed. These issues may seem small, but they hold your site back from being effective, which ultimately hurts your overall Google page rank.
Summary
In many ways, Google's new search engine algorithm updates make it easier for small businesses to compete with the big buys. You don't need to pay tons of money to high-dollar SEO consultants to get found by potential buyers. If you create great content that resonates with your target audience, you will be rewarded with traffic to your website. Make sure that they have a great experience when they get there and you're well on your way to driving revenue growth with your website.