What does “SEO” mean to you? For some, it’s a foreign term without significance. To others it simply stands for Search Engine Optimization (without a true understanding of what that means). But for some businesses, it’s been a life source for generating quality leads while fueling the digital success of their company.
If you think we’re here to tell you SEO is for every business, we’re not…in fact, there are many variables that go into successful SEO efforts.
It’s essential to determine if there’s a demand for your product or service online before deciding to venture down the path of digital marketing. If you’re uncertain about how to discover this, find a reputable digital marketing agency and they will help guide you through this process.
If you come to the conclusion that SEO is right for your business, it’s time to develop a strategy that is suitable for your situation. In this blog, we’ll go over the basic steps on how to produce an effective SEO marketing strategy.
Content Strategy
Believe it or not, SEO success is a lot like anything else in life; you must properly execute a strategy to see the desired results. But what does this strategy look like? Before you can know what to do from an SEO perspective, it’s important to get your ducks in a row. Having a poor content strategy can negate any possible SEO success. Think of it like going on a road trip. Most people would map out the path they are going to take before getting in the car to drive.
It’s the same concept for digital marketing and SEO. Online success is the destination, but you need to map out a plan to effectively get to where you want to go.
The content on your website needs to have a purpose and exemplify the mission of your business. You might be thinking, “what does this have to do with SEO?” Quite frankly, this is the very core of SEO. Gone are the days when all you had to do is plug in a few keywords to rank well in the eyes of Google.
Sure keywords are still an essential piece of the puzzle, but it’s not the only piece. Providing a seamless user experience on your website helps your SEO efforts. Google can tell when a user has a good or bad experience on your website, and your content strategy can make or break the way Google views your business.
Keyword Research
Discovering the right keywords is one of the founding principles of SEO. Using tools such as SEM Rush and Google Keyword Planner can help you conduct the necessary research to get started. Keyword research is an excellent way to discover if people are searching for your product or service online.
For example, if you do a localized search for “a/c repair” in one of these tools and find out an average of 10,000 people search for this every month, your service is definitely in high demand. But if you search the same term and only 80 people search for this every month, this means the demand is low in your area and you might not see the desired results from your SEO efforts.
Another factor to look at is the keyword difficulty. If the keyword difficulty is too high, chances are you aren’t going to rank for that term or it will take a long time to show up in search results, especially if your business is starting from scratch online. You want to try and stay in the medium-low difficulty range when selecting keywords to implement into your SEO strategy.
Keyword research has been around since the beginning of SEO, and it’s not going anywhere. Understanding how to properly conduct keyword research and implement these terms into your content will help you create an effective SEO marketing strategy.
Implementing a Variety of SEO Tactics
SEO has come a long way in the last 15, 10, and even 5 years. The more online competition in your industry increases, the more you need to invest in SEO. Every so often Google changes its mind and decides what it wants to prioritize. It’s up to you, the business owner, or your marketing team to stay up to date with these trends. Some of the fundamental SEO tactics include:
- Keyword research for your business and local competitors
- Backlinking to credible sites
- Fast loading time
- Functions on all devices
- Creating a good user experience
- Updating on-site content
- Creating and updating off-site content
- Creating long-form content
- Video content
While these aren’t all of the relevant SEO tactics out there, these are the foundation for modern-day SEO success. Google does make regular updates to its algorithm, but these updates generally have minor effects on websites. It’s not common for Google to make grand changes that alter the fundamentals of SEO. Saying that, however, it’s imperative to keep an eye out and conduct research to stay ahead of the game.
Stay Ahead of the Competition
Most business owners understand the importance of staying ahead of the competition. But trying to manage day-to-day operations while using up-to-date marketing tactics is nearly impossible.
Hiring someone internally or hiring a trusted marketing agency is essential when keeping up with competitors.
From an SEO marketing perspective, researching and implementing the latest trends can mean the difference between generating leads/sales and not. 53% percent of buyers do research before purchasing a product or service. Where are the majority of people that research? Google! By implementing the latest SEO marketing strategies into your business model, your company can stay relevant online for years to come.
Do You Have Questions?
SEO can be a bit overwhelming at times. Having a team in your corner that has your company’s best interest at heart can do wonders for you and your business. If you have any questions or concerns about SEO or digital marketing in general, we’d be happy to schedule a call and help any way we can.
