Hiring an SEO company can be just out of reach for some entrepreneurs so you may need to take a DIY approach. Search engine optimisation may seem like a difficult thing to get your head round, but it’s really just a case of focussing your time amplifying the core search signals Google is looking for. Read these SEO tips for small businesses and learn how to increase your rankings, simply by following SEO best practices:
1. Ensure your website looks great and is designed for your visitors
Your website needs to be informative and easy to navigate. Good content marketing and fact accuracy is absolutely key and will lower your bounce rate – titles, text and descriptions must all be consistent and deliver the same message. Rich content, videos, games and other interactive media, makes your site instantly more attractive to your audience and search engines alike. The performance of your website will also help your Google rankings – does the site work properly and load at a good speed?
2. Use Google Search Console and Google Analytics
These tools will give you excellent feedback on how your site is performing. Firstly, it’s important to know the difference between the two. Put simply, Search Console shows you what your website looks like to Google and the queries you’re being returned for and Google Analytics gives you a picture of how many people are visiting your site and what they’re doing when they get there. Using both of these allows you to optimise your keywords and analyse how well your website is working and what areas you can improve.
3. Research your keywords
When it comes to keywords, never assume. Research is vital. The Google AdWords Keyword Planner is great for this, amongst other tools – many people associate AdWords with PPC campaigns but you can utilise this tool to find the best keywords for your industry. Try to find relevant terms with high average search volumes and low competition – generally speaking these are your optimum keywords.
4. Don’t be tempted to start ‘keyword stuffing’
Your website is looking great, your Google rankings are starting to go up and you’re getting the hang of Google Analytics and Search Console. It would be easy to just stuff a bunch of keywords into your website to improve your ranking, right? Wrong. Google will know what you’re doing and they won’t like it. Search engines are looking for high quality content and functionality, so prioritising keywords over producing great content will do your site more harm than good.
5. Focus on your blog
Nurture your blog and you could have your very own SEO machine. This is a pretty simple case of good content marketing, regularly create fresh and unique articles and engage with peers in your niche to promote it.
If you use WordPress, a good SEO plug-in will help you optimise the on-page aspects of your post. Yoast have a great one that tells you exactly where to put your keywords and how to construct your Meta content; it even has a traffic light system that will signal the quality of your SEO content. Couple this with keyword research and you’re well on your way to upping your Google rankings.
Follow SEO advice for the ultimate conversion rate optimisation – if you want visitors to reach your site then this is an important art to learn. Keep your eye on the ball – always follow best practices, obey the rules and you will see results.
