The world of SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, can be a bit tricky to navigate – if not confusing.
A lot of people tend to delegate SEO off to a company or freelancers. And that’s probably a good idea for the most part.
However, if you’re on a budget that might not always be possible.
Just like everything else the SEO process can be broken down and, in this case, presented in a bite sized form that is easy to act upon.
Here’s how you can apply SEO to your business today.
Make a list and check it twice
How would you search for your business on Google? List three or four niche phrases/terms that you would enter in Googles search bar to try and look for your business (learn more about dental SEO, for example). Now increase the amount of brains at work by reaching out to your social circle (family, friends, co-workers, etc.) to do the same. Some phrases and terms will be repeated and the cream rises to the top. Now time to see if the rest of the world agrees.
On by one, type your list of terms and phrases into Google and write down the rank where your page appears. If you find yourself going past 9 pages of results to find your page, halt. Chances are, if you can’t find your site at this point, no one else will.
It is important to take note of the top results for each of the terms and results that you enter. Can you piggy back your site on theirs? Are the top results your competing with your business?
Choosing the top keywords to use in your SEO campaign relies on honesty. You have to be brutally honest and listen to the metrics presented to you. Drop the keywords that ranks your page lower and go with the terms/phrases that return your page higher. Remember that your competition is likely doing the same.
Take a look at your most successful keywords and run them through this filter:
Low Rank – Low Competition: The best starting point. Prioritise these terms on the outset. You should be getting immediate traction on these terms in the short run.
Low Rank – High Competition: A great opportunity to piggy back on other sites (especially more established sites). However, it could be more costly to compete with everyone in the long run unless your keywords are performing better.
Higher Rank: You are on the right track. Hedge against yourself and continue to track these keywords. This is your best and last line of defense, and should only be relied on if your lower ranking keywords perform poorly.
Ensure your text description is on point
The best way for search engines to find your website is through a text description. Your homepage or landing page should contain 2 or 3 of your chosen keywords. Then start tracking your search ranking. It is ok to obsess about it for a couple of days. Is it performing the way you want? If yes, then you have a winning formula. If no, then it’s start to experiment and swap out keywords with others.
Dedicate a page to the promotion of a keyword
Doing this not only boosts your ranking but it also demonstrates to your audience that you actually know what you’re talking about. Think of it as a slow, prolonged but educational sales pitch.
The keywords themselves should be mentioned no more than 3 times in your write up of 200-300 words. Remember that this page should still be enticing for the reader, so make it flow and easy to digest.
Hone the various factors of your page
Considered as the oldest trick in the book, optimising your titles, URL and descriptions is still a great way to boost your SEO rankings. When choosing the words to include in these, keep in mind the following:
-Does it correctly describe what I do, what I sell or what I want to promote?
-Is it attractive and eye catching?
-Does it give you the gist of the contents of the site?
-If you see description A and B side by side in an online result, which one would you choose?
Above all, make sure that the title, URL or description is unique, attractive and well formatted.
Be unique, be fresh, be frequent
Let’s face it, your goal is to build and grow an audience. They go to your website to see something new, whether that be a new product, video, article and information, in general. Stale, old and outdated content will do you no favors. The SEO landscape is very competitive these days; every update or new content allows you to climb or reinforce your ranking. On top of that very real fact, it will keep your audience happy.
Speed is what you need
Everyone, and we mean everyone, hates slow loading pages. Before proceeding, you should do whatever you can to improve your websites loading speed. Why do we harp on speed so much? Because it is crucial to your pages search result success.
Loading speed is affecting your ranking.
Faster websites allow you to convert more – essential for sites that rely on ad clicks and, in general, any website that sells.
Generates a greater amount of page views – think about it, the odds of someone abandoning skyrockets when they have to wait long periods of time to see the content they want.
So what can you do about it? Here are a couple of points on how to drastically increase your sites loading speed:
-Omit large images from your landing pages. If you think they are essential, move them to another page.
-Any superfluous Javascript files should be removed.
-To minimise http redirects, use sprites instead of small imaged.
-Changes hosts. Moving to a faster host with a better bandwidth or speeds will do wonders.
-A Content Delivery Network (CDN) Service can be the game changer you are looking for.
-Utilise Google PageSpeed tools.
Register
Navigate to Google Webmaster Tools and register your website immediately. Right now! Will it take a bit of work? Yes. Will you have to play by the establish rules and methods of Google? Yes. Does Google already know the contents of your site even if you don’t register? Yes.
So what do you have to lose? Google’s webmaster tool will go through your site and notify you of errors and oversights that need to be made or corrected. Make these changes, get validated and watch your ranking rise.
