3 SEO tips for startups

Startups take up a unique space on the business landscape of today and are faced with challenges that other business models don’t have to worry about. Brand impact needs to be fast, and with limited financial backing and a bootstrap mentality, the wrong step can set you back in ways that can be difficult to recover from. This can lead to many startups taking a variety of potentially harmful SEO shortcuts, and when Google’s punishments can be so severe, it is simply good business sense not to fall foul of black hat practices. SEO often takes time to create an impact, and startups need to achieve results without large scale resources – so you need to make sure you get search engine optimization right from the get-go. 

Hosting Decisions

Your startup needs a website, and that means you need to give serious thought to your hosting options. Many startups stick to using website building platforms like WordPress or Wix, but this isn’t the best option for all brands. The quality of your hosting service will have a direct impact on some key elements of your website -in particular, your loading speeds. When page loading time is such an important factor for SEO, you need to make sure that you choose the hosting service that will give your audience the speed they need, no matter how they are viewing your site.

Easy Site Navigation

One of the triggers that Google uses to determine the value of your site is the amount of time that users stay on your pages. If you have a high number of page views but people only stay on a page for a few seconds, you are not going to convince Google or other search engines that you are a valuable resource. Make sure that your landing pages are designed with value in mind, and ensure that you build a natural pathway for site visitors to follow deeper into your website. Navigation is a core component of SEO, and many startups neglect to pay attention to it.

Content Marketing

As one of the key elements of inbound marketing, the right content can transform the online visibility of a startup. The content that you create will be what gets people to your pages in the first place, so it’s crucial to get right. While valuable content can vary, there are a variety of additional inbound marketing tactics to make use of as well. If your marketing skills are lacking and you’d rather focus on lead generation or making sales, then consider making use of an inbound marketing service, with firms like Angelfish Marketing offering a broad range of services that can have a dramatic impact on your SEO and your conversion rates at the same time.

SEO is more than something that you need to pay vague attention to. The modern consumer has access to a vast wealth of information, products and services, and you need to be able to leverage yourself into a position where you can be found more easily and start selling. For startups with a limited budget, SEO is the key to getting more brand awareness and a firmer footing from which to grow your brand into something that spans the globe.