There are literally billions of websites on the internet at this very moment. If you own one of those websites, perhaps for your brand or business, you need to know how to master SEO if you want to generate real traffic.
The good news? Creating SEO plans, and even an entire digital marketing strategy, isn’t as hard as it seems on paper. As long as you know what your goals are, you should be able to reach them all in-house.
Below we’ve broken down 7 tips for creating an SEO strategy for your brand or business today. So, keep on reading if you want to know everything that there is to know about how SEO works in 2021.
1. Understand How SEO Works
One of the biggest SEO tips that all small business owners need to know has to do with simply understanding how SEO works. After all, without basic knowledge of SEO, you’re not going to be able to get positive results, especially if you’re handling your SEO needs in-house.
The good news? At its core, the concept of SEO is quite simple.
Remember, search engines like Google only want to refer their users to websites that answer their questions and offer a good user experience. If you make sure that your website does both of those things, you should be able to check almost all SEO boxes yourself.
2. Know What Your Niche Requires
It’s important to remember that no two niches are the same. That means that marketing for sports bloggers is going to be different than marketing for insurance agents, for example.
That’s why it’s so important to know what your niche is and what you need to do within that niche SEO-wise to find success. And if you don’t know the answer to both of those questions, investing in the help of an SEO professional is more than a good idea.
3. Master Keyword Research
If you’re looking to improve your website’s SEO rankings, you first need to start by doing tons of keyword research. This keyword research will help you find keywords that are low in competition but high in search volume, making your job much easier going forward.
Of course, creating content around those keywords, even if it’s just pages on your website, can help you rank higher on search engines. That can, in return, lead to you generating tons of real traffic, which of course is the overall goal here.
4. Master Competitor Research
Let’s be honest. Regardless of what niche you’re in, odds are there are more than a few brands or businesses that are already thriving within that niche.
Doing some competitor research on those brands and businesses will allow you to figure out what you need to do to be successful yourself. Now, this doesn’t mean that you simply need to copy what works for those bigger brands or businesses in your niche.
In fact, the opposite is most likely true. So, if you can, try to find ideas for content that your competitors aren’t creating. Then, perform keyword research around those ideas so you can make sure everything that you make is SEO-friendly.
5. Focus on Mobile-Friendliness
In a few years, nearly 60% of all web traffic is going to come from mobile devices. That means that if you want to future-proof your brand or business, mobile-friendliness needs to be at the top of your priority list.
With that in mind, if you don’t have one already, go ahead and purchase and install a responsive web design theme for your website. That way you can ensure that your website looks and functions well on all devices, thus offering a positive user experience across the board.
6. Sign up for Google My Business
Do you operate a local business that needs to generate attention from customers and clients in your area to operate? If so, you need to make sure that you’ve signed up for Google My Business today.
Google My Business is free to use and will help you get your business listed locally on Google. That way, when people look for businesses that are both in your niche and your area, your business will pop up in that search.
A pro tip? Once you’ve gotten listed on Google My Business, encourage customers and clients to leave Google reviews for you. That will help boost your business’s ranking and make it that much easier to gain more business via the web.
7. Find Ways to Promote Your Website Online
A huge piece of the SEO puzzle has to do with how much attention your website is getting online. And while generating quality backlinks yourself is quite difficult, you can get good results if you promote your site online the right way.
Thinks like message boards, social media apps, and even comment sections on other websites are all great places to share relevant links to your content. Just be sure to avoid coming across as spammy, as it can do more harm for your brand than good.
Need More Help Creating SEO Plans?
As you can see, creating SEO plans for your brand or business takes a great deal of work. You need to know what your goals are, as well as how to reach them if you want to get positive results in-house.
With that in mind, if you’re still overwhelmed by the concept of SEO, investing in the help of an SEO expert is very much recommended.
Need to improve your SEO rankings? Still not quite sure how to do so? Check back with our blog daily!