A Guide to Using SEO for Your Business
Starting a business is an extremely exciting time. You have a quality idea and are ready to show the world; however, how are you going to ensure the world will see it? The line between what is a pro and a con when it comes to shopping in the internet age is incredibly thin as we now have access to products from all over the world but, being a business, how do you stand out when search pages are so saturated? Well, that’s where Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) comes into play.
SEO is the generation of traffic to your website through search engines like Google. It is an extremely important aspect for a lot of businesses and is considered, by some, as the lifeblood of websites.
Where SEO is an incredibly effective tool, it is not the simple flicking of a switch. It has to be a consistent part of a company’s ongoing marketing, and for businesses that want to build on their online presence, it is not an option but an absolute necessity. There is also, ironically, an overwhelming amount of information online regarding SEO and so for some businesses it is incredibly difficult knowing where to begin.
Some organisations reach out to Global Performance Marketing Agencies such as YouYaa for assistance, whereas others prefer to do it themselves. If you are the latter, then below is a simple guide on how to use SEO for your business.
Be Prepared to Monitor SEO Impact
It’s all well and good putting different SEO practices into play but none of them are going to mean anything if you are not prepared to monitor the impact your SEO has. There are many tools available to businesses which allow for the easy monitoring of their website. This means that once new SEO optimised content is published, you will be able to see how effective that content is in driving traffic to your site. Understanding this data will impact what practices you keep and what practices you change or disregard entirely.
Some of the most effective tools available are:
Google Analytics
If you are a new business trying to establish an online presence, setting up Google Analytics should be a top priority. It’s flexible, free and powerful as it allows you to track exactly how many people are visiting your website, what took them there and what they looked at. It also allows you to track sales, understand what interests your audience the most and what drives customers away.
Google Search Console
Google Search Console is an extremely effective tool that tells you all about your site’s performance in search results. This advice will assist with what you can include in future posts on your site to ensure that you are showing up in as many relevant search results as possible.
Bing Webmaster
Yes, you read that right, Bing! Though in the UK Google is the most dominant search engine, there are still millions and millions of searches done using Microsoft technology every day and this utilises Bing frequently. Similar to the above, Bing Webmaster provides you with free information relating to what searches are most prominently bringing up your site.
Researching Keywords for SEO Optimisation
Keyword research is a very important part of SEO Optimisation. Every time you search for something on Google or Bing, you will be using specific keywords and it’s those keywords you should be frequenting on your website.
Knowing what audience you are attempting to reach is an extremely powerful advantage. Once you have an arsenal of keywords, then you are able to use them in order to fill your website with SEO optimised content.
Provide a Home for All Topics
Something that can be incredibly useful when it comes to creating content for your website is thinking of each topic you want to cover and then creating a home for it on your website.
When creating a home for each topic, expand what it is into a list of keywords that people may search when looking for it. Do this by putting yourself in the shoes of your audience. What do you think they are looking for? When you have an idea, create content on your site that uses those keywords, then monitor how successful that content is in creating an audience by using your analytics tools.
Discover What Words Your Site Is Already Searched For
To expand what people can search for when looking for you, you should work out what words people can already use to find you. There are many free third-party tools such as SEMrush that will give you a snapshot of the keywords that your site is visible for. This will give you an idea on what other words you can try creating content on, rather than chasing after searches that you already rank for.
Expand Keyword Targets with Related Content
Once you know what keywords you are ranking for, search them and then look on Google to see what the related search terms are. This will give you an idea as to whether or not there are more terms that you can try to incorporate onto your website or into blog posts that will broaden your audience.
Check Out Your Competition
Another quick and very valuable tactic is to see what your competitors are ranking for. Use some of the above resources to check your own rankings but instead, put in a competitor’s domain, this will allow you to see what terms and traffic they are ranking for and if these include any keywords that you could be using.
You should note that just because a competitor is ranking high for a specific word, this doesn’t mean that you should definitely try to target it. Ensure that it is relevant to your site and the audience you are trying to reach before you incorporate it.
Conclusion
Getting started using SEO is a daunting process and it’s no wonder that so many organisations choose to contact marketing companies for help with it; however, moving forward, you should consider the two most important factors when it comes to SEO, which are creating the right content and being able to assess whether you are creating the right content.
Make it regular practice to check your SEO and ensure you are ranking for your targeted keywords, whilst exploring whether there are any other keywords you could use to further your reach. Also, ensure that your site is user friendly and quick as these elements will ensure customer retention after they’ve been on your site.