In the past, SEO was considered optional, or at the very least, more important for newer businesses without substantial referral business. Over the past five years that has changed; small business owners know they need SEO. The thought of not being on page one of Google’s search results keeps most small business owners up at night as they need a steady stream of new customers to keep the lights on.
The biggest challenge facing most small business owners is understanding which strategies to implement as the internet is replete with how-to articles showcasing the latest SEO trends and fads. We recommend that you ignore the vast majority of articles positioning individual tactics as a solution to all your search presence challenges. Small business owners who typically refrain from following a disjointed strategy in other areas of their business will make an exception when it comes to SEO because of the dynamic nature of Google’s ever-changing algorithm.
We ask that you maintain your discipline and not lurch wildly when it comes to optimizing your company’s website. We will review three tips that will work for you over the long haul and produce the kind of results you’ve always wanted.
Tip 1: User intent
Google’s primary mission is to understand the search intent of each search engine user and translate their intent into relevant search results. If Google failed to deliver relevant search results for their users, searchers would quickly turn to other search engines like Yahoo or Bing as well as Amazon and Facebook. If you implement any of the tips in this article, make sure you implement this tip.
The most important thing that you can do is create content that Google views as a valuable resource to show users on their search engine. For example, if you are a dry cleaner you may want to create a blog or video demonstrating how to remove a troublesome cherry pie stain. Equally important is to show up for what we call category searches.
Category searches are typically keywords that include the service you offer and the city in which your business is located. In our dry cleaner example, a typical category search could be “dry cleaner Clearwater” or “dry cleaner in Clearwater.” To understand the kinds of keywords people type in to reach websites in your business category, we recommend that you check your AdWords account if you are running one, use tools such as SEMRush.com and ahrefs.com, and lastly, check Search Console to view keyword phrases searchers used to find your website.
Now that you have completed keyword research, understand which keywords carry searcher intent, we recommend that you create keyword-rich content to help attract users to your website. – Read more
