The 3 SEO Tips Every Business Owner Needs in Their Back Pocket
What’s SEO?
Okay, cut the crap. What’s SEO, and why won’t business people shut up about it?
Here’s the rub.
SEO stands for search engine optimization, and it’s basically a set of standards search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo use to grade your site for user-friendliness, quality, and credibility.
The better the user experience, quality, and credibility of your site, the higher in search results pages it’ll rank.
And the money’s in the ranking, baby.
56% of people will search for a services, products, and information through a search engine. How do I know? I just searched for that statistic on a search engine.
Essentially, search engines have one goal: Connecting the searcher with the information they’re seeking, and that’s a game we can play to get our stuff in front of more eyeballs more often so we can reel in more business.
Why Does SEO Matter?
If your business exists somewhere in the vast, terrifying galaxy of the internet as a website, you have a sliver of digital landscape that’s all yours. Please for the love of Raisinettes in my movie theater popcorn, don’t ignore the only part internet you own!
Your website is your first impression, digital storefront, 24/7 salesperson, and brand ambassador. It’s essential your site not only embodies your brand but is a treat to visit and does its job with ease.
What’s a website’s job? Taking visitors by the hand and leading them to click, book, or buy.
Even if you’ve managed to build a solid following on social media and you glean most of your business from third party platforms, first of all, high-five. But understand that none of us are immune to the whims of third party platforms. At any time, any of us could get banned (even randomly) or suffer algorithm changes that throw our whole strategy out the window.
On the other hand, no one can take your website from you (theoretically). It’s a piece of the internet pie you control. Giving it a fighting chance to come up in search results is a surefire way to ensure that even if Instagram bursts into flames tomorrow, your dream people will still have a sustainable way to find you.
How do we do this? By optimizing your SEO.
This looks like doing everything in your power to make it a snap for Google to know what you’re about, what you offer, and which searchers to connect you with (aka: your dream audience).
The 3 SEO Tips You Need to Know
Upgrade your website copy
What: Website copy refers to the actual words on your website — your headers and text. This includes your homepage, About page, services page, etc. but also spans across your FAQs, 404 Pages, the whole nine yards. Anywhere you read words on a site, it’s copy.
Why: Google relies on the physical words of a webpage to quickly clock what a page is about, who it’s for, and if it’s relevant to the searcher it’s trying to help. How do you speak Google’s language so it puts you in front of more eyeballs? By making your website easy to navigate, easy to understand, and packing it with the copy-driven punch that resonates with your dream people.
How: Put yourself into the shoes of a visitor. Click around your site as if you know nothing about you, your business, or your services or products, and ask yourself these questions:
Is there a relatable pain point this business addresses?
Is the solution to that pain clearly spelled out?
Does the homepage tell me within 3 seconds what this business offers, who it’s for, and the results I can expect from working with them?
Does the flow of the copy stir intrigue, egg me on to learn more, and leave the impression that this brand empathizes with me specifically?
Am I left with questions?
Do I have a clear next step?
Running through each page of your site like you’ve never seen it before will help identify user gaps and confusing copy. Go a step further and ask a friend to give their unfiltered experience on your site for further improvement.
In all, Google rewards sites that are user-friendly and easy to understand. The less brain power you make visitors burn trying to understand your site, the more likely they are to stay (and click, book, or buy).
Don’t lose another lead to confusing website copy.
Click below to take visitors from “just browsing” to “sold” with a Website Copy Glow-Up.
2. Provide quality content
What: Quality content = helpful, relevant, and well-packaged content that’s easy for a reader to understand and apply.
Content can be in the form of a downloadable resource, guide, blog post, or social media post. It not only covers a topic but breaks it down, elaborates, offers additional or outside resources, and presents a clear next step at the end.
Why: Search engines are suckers for high-quality content that covers topics and questions your dream audience cares about.
This is the bread and butter of SEO and a brand’s opportunity to be generous with their knowledge.
Providing top-notch content on topics closest to the heart of your audience is not only a way to showcase your expertise, but it also builds trust with your audience. When your dream lead Googles a question or issue and they stumble upon your beautifully packaged freebie that solves their problem - ba-da-bing! They start to get the hint, “Wow, my problem is solved. This business knows a thing or two!”
Trust points ACTIVATED.
How: A blog! A blog, a blog, a blog.
One more time: A blog!
An active blog hosted on your site is a tried-and-true way to show search engines you’re a business with answers. And what do searchers want most? Answers, insights, how-to’s, guides. They want help!
Be the source of that help, and Google will reward you with eyeballs.
Is there a question clients are constantly asking you? Write a post going in-depth about it.
Is there something important to your niche that’s not talked about enough? Share your perspective.
Is there a part of your process you can reveal that would give a window into what it’s like to work with you? Give a little tidbit preview.
Search engines love an enthusiastic, consistent, and high-quality contributor. Be that contributor!
3. Guest post
What: Guest posting is writing a story for another person’s online publication, blog, or website with a byline that includes your business bio and is hyperlinked back to your site.
Why: Why would you want to write for someone else’s site? Because it’s an SEO goldmine.
The more other websites link to yours, the more attractive your site looks in the eyes of the search engine bots. When someone links to your site, it’s counted as a “backlink.”
Backlinks are a sign to search engines that you’re providing value elsewhere and a third party site is vouching for you by publishing it.
The more backlinks, the more digital authority you’re building. The more authority you’re building, the more search engines will like you and rank your content in search results.
How: Start brainstorming publications, blogs, and websites your dream audience reads. This likely could be content you’re consuming yourself.
See if they allow guest writers, and if they do, conduct a little research to see what topics they’ve already covered in your niche.
Got a story you could contribute that falls in line with your expertise, their audience, and your dream people? Send a pitch and follow up two or three times if you hear no response.
Here’s a pitch template to get started:
Hi (editor’s name),
I'm a (what you do) who helps (your dream audience) because (your why). I just read (recent related article from their publication), and I have to say, (personal thoughts).
I wanted to thank you for covering this topic, as well as share a story idea that would contribute to this conversation further and resonate with your audience.
X Ways to Do Y / How to ___ / Why __ is ___ / etc.
In this article, I’d dive into (main point). Examples would include (example, example, example). This article will leave your readers with (describe result).
If you’d like more information, don’t hesitate to let me know. Thank you so much for consideration, and I look forward to hearing from you!
Sign off
If your pitch is accepted, great! Get writing.
When you submit your completed article, be sure to include a 2-3 sentence blurb about who you are, who you serve, and where people can connect (hyperlinking your website for that juicy backlink), requesting the hyperlinked version of the bio be included in the published piece.
Here’s a bio template to get started:
“(Your name) is a (specific title) who helps (niche) achieve (result). They believe (your why). When they’re not (personal human detail) they're (blurb about hobbies, quirks, or interests). Explore their work (hyperlink to website) and connect here (hyperlink to social media channel).”
Harnessing the power of guest posting will not only increase your site’s trustworthiness among search engines, but it also gets your ideas in front of more eyes — and those eyes could belong to your dream people!
Improving your SEO is how you take a step up from just hoping people stumble upon your site and content. It’s an opportunity to optimize one of your only pieces of digital property, build your authority, and get more of the eyes you want on you and your business.