SEO (Search Engine Optimization) might be a confusing, even scary term for small business owners. Of course with any other area of your business it’s best to start with a professional. I mean, you (probably) wouldn’t fight your own legal battle or fix your company’s AC system. Right? You will get the best results Consulting an SEO Specialist because we have the education and experience that most people don’t. But that doesn’t mean you’re stuck if you don’t have a huge marketing budget.
Do it yourself SEO
The question this article is answering is: How Do You Do SEO for a Website?. The implication is doing SEO for yourself and what are the steps a business owner can take to optimize the SEO of your website? That being said, this article will not get into all the facets (200+ ranking factors) Google looks at when assigning a rank for any particular site and keyword combination.
Basic Steps to do it yourself SEO
Here are some high level things you can do to improve your SEO:
- Always start with Keyword Research
You know what your business provides but do you know wha tyour potential customers are actually searching? Start with Ubersuggest and enter the term(s) you think you want to rank for. From there you’ll get a list of similar terms with search volume and competition. It’s tempting to go after the largest search volume, but in most cases it’s better to start with lower competition. - Write content related to the keywords you found in step 1. Now that you know what people are searching for it’s time to fill that need. Tell people about your service, how your unique, and any other details related to that keyword. 300 words is the bare minimum per page but I recommend at least 500 if not 1,000 or more. Add related pictures, videos, links to supporting sites.
- Write content (again). Now it’s time to add supporting pages with more related content. Typically this comes in form of a blog. Think of questions people might ask that use those terms. These blog posts shouldn’t focus on the same exact keyword you used in the previous step. These posts should be related in some way. Typically this comes in form of “10 best ways to…” Similar to your main keyword focused content, add photos, videos, links to external sites, but there’s one very important addition. Interlinking – add a link from this post to your keyword page and use anchor text that matches or closely matches that keyword. You can potentially interlink to a few pages but not more then 3 for an average sized post.
- Lastly, add your site to Google Search Console, Google My Business and Google Analytics. These services are free and will give you valuable insight into your current SEO optimization. You’ll get a wealth of information such as technical errors, traffic patterns, what keywords people are actually typing in or saying that get to your site, etc.
Need some Help?
We’re always available to give you free advice. Just give our Dallas SEO Consultants a call or chat and we’ll give you a wealth of information that you can work with to improve your site’s rankings. Yes. It’s really free…