How to Improve your Small Business SEO with Keywords [3 Tips]
Ah, yes, the ever-elusive Google rankings. We all want it… that top page spot. The little number 1 means so much, doesn’t it? But how to get it? How do we make our SEO effective enough that we end up on page 1 and not stuck in the “dot, dot, dots”? Google is so tight lipped about their algorithms and on top of that, they continue to evolve. It can feel like a moving target.
Improving your SEO is one of the most important, if not the most important aspect of your website.
I’ll admit, I am a sucker for beautiful design. Simplicity, emotionally evocative images, unique user-experience, I love it all. If I had my way, I probably wouldn’t use any text on a website at all.
No one will ever see your beautiful website without SEO.
That’s the painful reality. Yes, if you’re a huge conglomerate like Coca Cola or McDonald’s, you can probably take a few more design risks and not rely on keywords. If you’re like the 99% of other small businesses trying to make it work, you have to be strategic about your SEO and keywords. This is where we come in — We have three tips that will help boost your SEO ranking so you can aim for that top page spot.
Research
Like most small businesses, you probably started with a business plan. Well, the same goes with your SEO planning. You can’t throw out a bunch of content assuming you’ll get hits. The words that may make most logical sense to you may not be something anyone is searching for. So, do your research and make a plan. Run your keywords through some tests. Try the google keyword planner, or a paid service like HubSpot. You’re looking for low competition and high searches. Don’t try to compete with the Coca Colas and McDonalds; find your sweet spot and go with it!
Consistency
Most likely, this is where most small businesses fail. It’s frustrating to put energy into a project and not see immediate results, especially when we’re all so busy. Unfortunately, there is really no secret sauce. As with anything worth doing, you must work hard on your keywords. SEO ranking is no difference. Schedule your posts and commit to them. You must keep on top of it or nothing will change. One three week sprint of posts won’t cut it. I suggest you make a content calendar to keep accountable.
Patience
Which leads me to the final point… you’re going to need patience. Blah, I hate when people say this kind of stuff but it’s true. Like I said, there is no overnight change. Google forces rankings to be organic and authentic. Posting “keyword rich” posts that resemble those spam emails about Nigerian princes and their Western Union checks are not going to help you. In fact, you may get “punished” by Google for trying that method. So, here’s what you don’t want to hear… you’ll probably start seeing results after about a year. Yes, a year (ugh!). However, once you make your commitment to a weekly or monthly plan it won’t seem overwhelming. If you commit one hour a week to your SEO and keyword analysis, this time next year, you could find yourself much higher up on the pages (and others will too).
If you’re not looking to invest the time and energy into the process, reach out to us. We can come up with a plan to suit your SEO and keyword analysis needs and goals.
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