In recent years, more and more businesses, especially small and mid sized companies, have felt the need for proper search engine optimization (SEO) services. In fact, when asked how important SEO services are for the success of their businesses, more than fifty percent small business owners said, “very important.”
In case, you are still sitting on the fence trying to decide whether or not you should invest in search engine optimization or focus on traditional advertising platforms, here are a few points for you to take a look at that SEO guarantees for your website:
- Better user experience
- Seamless integration of online and offline services
- Stronger brand awareness
- Optimal reach
- Improved potential for conversion
- Clearer customer insight
- Well informed business decisions
- Improved return on investment
Now that you know, how important search engine optimization is for your business, you must learn how best to implement the same to get the best results. Of course, you can leverage affordable SEO services for SMBs, but a few tips can help you ensure that you are doing all that you can to boost your business’ search engine rankings.
Technical setup: You need to make sure that the technical structure of your website is the best it can be, especially if you are using a custom built website. Pay attention to factors like sitemap, folder structure, and HTML readability. While the visual appeal is vital to capture visitors’ interest, you also need to perfect the technical details as the search engines look at your site from a very different perspective than visitors. Be particular about making the site easily navigable.
Keyword planning: You need to have a strong keyword strategy. The best way to find the right keywords for your content is to think from users’ point of view. Which two or three words/phrases would a user put in a search engine if they had to find your site quickly? You can also use Google Keyword Planner to get a realistic idea of the reach and effectiveness of the keywords you are using.
Meta title and meta tag description: These are the two things that show up on search engine results pages (SERPs) when a user searches for keywords relevant to your content. Note that this title and description are the very first things that notify the user about our business. So make them attractive and use relevant keywords if possible. Omit the ellipses as they make the description seem incomplete. Ideally, the meta tag description should be of 160 characters (with space). Make each one count.
Blog section: You cannot possibly say everything there is to say about your business on the website alone. There will always be stories that you would want to share with your target audience and your experiences that you would want your loyal clients to know about. Maintain a blog section on your website for all these. Share updates, opinions, tips, ideas, reviews and any information that is relevant and unique. Your blogs will help to establish you as a niche expert. Besides, when you link your blog to other sites, you are creating channels for organic traffic. Share these blogs on your social media profiles to for increased reach and more traffic.
Social media marketing (SMM): Today’s consumers are highly social. They are online practically round the clock on some social networking channel or the other. By investing your time and effort n social media marketing, you not only increase the reach of your business significantly but also get a chance to converse your audience directly. By addressing any issue, feedback and comment instantly, you show your audience that you, as a brand, actually care about them. Including your website’s link on your profile will inevitably result in significant increase in your site’s traffic inflow. Every time your content is liked or shared on social media, your reach increases. Most importantly, search engines consider these social networking sites as authentic sources of traffic. Thus, popularity on social media can give your SEO efforts a huge boost.
Note that SEO tips are just the tip of the iceberg. Search engine optimization is an expansive domain, and new things are added every day. Besides, trends and practices keep changing in the SEO world regularly. So do your research and keep updating yourself. It is also a great idea to go for local SEO in case your business is based in a particular area/town/city.
Remember that SEO is no magic and will not work overnight. You must wait at least a couple of months to see tangible results. Always take a look at what your competitors are doing and implement newer strategies when needed. With time, you will see considerable improvement in your conversions and will be able to enjoy desired return over investment (ROI).