A brand new website or an existing website that has no SEO strategy is going to struggle to compete against its more established competitors.
SEO (search engine optimization) is all about giving search engines clues that your website is relevant to its users. If your website has been optimized with SEO, it’s more likely to appear in the first few results of a search query. This means your website will benefit from more visitors and ultimately more conversions for your business.
We all have to start from somewhere, so don’t panic if your website isn’t currently ranking highly on search engines yet. However, you will need to address the issue by creating a strategy if your positioning is to change.
Here are our top tips for starting from scratch to get the ball rolling.
1. Find relevant keywords
Keywords aren’t the be-all and end-all of SEO, but they will form a large part of your efforts. When you’re starting with a brand new website, you’re not going to have any keywords implemented into your content. Therefore, it’s your job to find as many keywords as possible that relate to your products, services and, if applicable, your location too.
As well as using SEO software to identify keywords, the key is to get in the minds of your customers. If you were them, what would you be typing into Google to find what you have to offer? For example, “car repair Seattle”, or “easy recipes for busy parents”. Hone in on your niche, and find all the keywords that best reflect it.
2. Add a blog to your website
If there’s one thing Google likes to see when deciding who will rank top on its results pages, it’s fresh content. Rewriting your entire website every week is hardly feasible, and could also ruin any SEO efforts you make by removing potentially great keywords. Instead, an easy solution that all website owners can implement is to add a blog to their site.
A blog on your website is going to benefit you in several ways. From an SEO standpoint, it will give you further opportunities to hone in on relevant keywords. You can even create posts featuring the most Googled questions about your products, services, or industry as a whole. This is a great way to point users in the direction of your business as a possible solution to their problems.
Blogs can also be posted on social media, and with the right titles and hashtags, this will give your SEO strategy even more impetus. Blogs are also a great way to continually add information to your website, without having an overload of individual pages that may otherwise be unnecessary.
3. Hire an SEO expert
Nobody knows everything in this world, and given how important SEO is to make sure search engine users are presented with your website, why leave it to chance? It can take a long time to fully master the skills necessary, let alone have the time to implement them properly.
If you lack the time or knowledge to whip up an amazing strategy, especially if your business relies on the success of your website, then consider hiring a professional who will make light work of your SEO instead.
To sum up
It can feel pretty daunting when you’re starting anything from scratch, let alone your SEO strategy which the success of your website hinges on. The best advice to remember is that a thorough approach always pays off since there are no shortcuts that can replace the research and implementation needed.
The good news is that there are plenty of experts that can point you in the right direction. Many business owners also choose to outsource their SEO, as this not only frees up their time but will allow for aspects such as reports to be generated too. However, you choose to approach your new SEO strategy, make sure you take the time to find the best method for you and keep up to speed with the latest industry advice so that you don’t fall behind.
