Most people don’t realize that they can do their own search engine optimization. But launching a business is tough enough as it is — why spend thousands of dollars on a consultant when you can handle it yourself?
The truth is, SEO is a lot more than simply adding some keywords and meta tags to your site. Luckily, there are plenty of free SEO tips for entrepreneurs that will help your business get found in search engines.
It takes work, but with the right resources and a little bit of guidance, you can boost your organic traffic in no time flat!
| Key Takeaways |
|---|
| 1. Prioritize keyword research to target relevant search terms. |
| 2. Optimize on-page elements like titles, meta descriptions, and headings. |
| 3. Create high-quality, engaging content that addresses user intent. |
| 4. Ensure your website is mobile-responsive for better user experience. |
| 5. Build authoritative backlinks from reputable sources. |
| 6. Utilize schema markup to enhance search engine visibility. |
| 7. Improve website speed and performance for better rankings. |
| 8. Use descriptive and relevant alt text for images. |
| 9. Regularly update and refresh your content for relevancy. |
| 10. Invest in a secure and HTTPS-enabled website. |
1. Take Time To Create Strong Titles
The first thing you should do is create a title that is short, descriptive and includes the keywords relevant to your page.
You can include up to 70 characters in your title. This may sound like a lot, but don’t go crazy here – Google will truncate titles if they are too long anyway!
Keep in mind that Google also looks for keyword distribution across websites on their own pages as well as other pages around the internet that link back to yours.
So if a site has many links from other sites with titles containing keywords (like our blog), we want those links because it gives us an indication of what people are searching for when they visit our site.
This will help us convert them into customers by showing up higher in search results than competitors who aren’t utilizing these strategies effectively enough on their own sites yet (or at all).
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2. Fine-Tune Your On-Page Search Engine Optimization
On-page SEO is an important factor in getting your website ranked. It is about optimizing your website for search engines, so that they can easily find relevant content and display it on their search results page.
The primary focus of on-page SEO is to make sure you’re using descriptive titles, meta descriptions, and heading tags that accurately describe the content on your webpages.
This will help Google understand what each page of your website has to offer so that its algorithm can better serve up relevant results when users search for something related to what you have written about in those pages’.
3. Optimize Your Web Page Images
Use alt text for each image. Alt text (also known as alternative text) is the HTML code that describes an image to search engines, so that it can be found in a search engine result page. You may have heard the term “Alt Tags” before, which is another name for alt text.
Include keywords in your alt text where appropriate. Images with descriptive and keyword-rich descriptions will be more likely to show up on page one of search results than those without them!
Name your files appropriately and remember that file names should include relevant keywords too!
Use the correct file format: JPEGs are best for photos while PNGs work well when you want crisp lines on icons or images with flat colors like logos or simple illustrations.
GIFs are best used only if there’s lots of animation involved otherwise they’ll slow down load times significantly because they’re usually larger files than either JPEGs or PNGs with fewer colors (256 vs 16 million).
Keep file sizes reasonable: The ideal size range is between 50KB – 100KB per image depending on its purpose (e-commerce product photos usually don’t need high resolution images because most people won’t zoom into them anyway).
If you do need high resolution versions of your images then make sure that these are easily accessible via links from within each web page instead of embedding them directly into HTML code itself.
Since this would make loading times longer unnecessarily due to multiple downloads from different domains.
4. Test And Optimize Your Site For Mobile Devices
Mobile-friendly websites are a must. In 2017, Google announced that they would be indexing mobile sites separately from desktop versions.
That means if your website isn’t mobile-friendly and doesn’t load correctly on phones and tablets then you could be missing out on half of all web users!
Here are some tips to optimize your site for mobile devices:
- Use a responsive design
- Make sure your mobile site is fast (see our guide here)
- Use a mobile-friendly URL structure (i.e., don’t use long URLs that take forever to type into smaller screens)
- Use a mobile-friendly font size (i.e., don’t make text too small or large)
- Make sure links are easy to click with one hand while holding onto something else like brunch with friends – this means no tiny links!
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5. Create And Maintain A Campaign-Specific Landing Page
The quick, high-level takeaway is that you should create a landing page for each campaign. Landing pages are a good way to capture leads, but they’re also great for driving traffic to another site.
For example, if you were running a campaign to sell tickets to an upcoming concert and wanted people looking for information about the band playing at the show (e.g., “The Foo Fighters”) as well as general ticket sales information (e.g., “Tickets on sale Friday!”).
You could create two different landing pages: one specifically focused on ticket sales and another one focused more broadly on everything else related to this particular concert experience (e.g., “Come see The Foo Fighters with us!”).
6. Create And Maintain A Blog
Blogging is a great way to build trust and authority, build links, build traffic and brand awareness. It’s also an effective way to gain valuable insights about your customers.
There are several ways you can use blogging to help achieve your business goals:
Create a blog where you share your knowledge on products, services or industry trends. This helps increase your credibility in the eyes of search engines as well as potential customers who might be looking for someone like you online.
If they see that you are an expert in this area, they will feel more comfortable paying for your services than someone who doesn’t have any experience in it at all!
7. Create An SEO Keywords List
If you’re an entrepreneur looking to get your website found, the first thing you need to do is create an SEO keywords list.
This list should include all the different words and phrases that people might use when looking for something like what your company does.
It doesn’t matter if it’s one word or two-word phrases – the point is to give search engines as many different ways as possible of describing what it is you’re offering them (and more importantly, potential customers).
The best way of doing this is by using Google’s Adwords Keyword Planner tool:
8. Make Your Content Scannable With HTML Subheads, Bulleted Lists And Boldface Type
Headings, subheadings and bulleted lists are the surest way to make your content scannable.
Headings (HTML tags , , ).
These are the most important heading tags you can use on your site: they help search engines understand what the main points of your article are, which means they’ll be able to serve up links to it in their search results based on those topics.
They also make it easy for visitors to find what they need at a glance without having to read through the whole page.
Subheadings (HTML tags , ). Subheadings should be used sparingly the more frequently you break up text with them, the more varied its tone becomes and therefore harder for people reading it offline or on mobile devices where screen real estate is at a premium.
However if you’re writing long articles then using two levels of subheading would be an appropriate way of breaking up sections within them without making readers lose their place so easily!
Bulleted lists (HTML tags , )
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9. Leverage Rich Snippets
Rich snippets are snippets of text that show up in search results. They can be a summary, image, video or even a review.
It’s important to note that rich snippets don’t actually impact your ranking in search results they simply provide additional information about the page to searchers.
However, there is evidence that shows that rich snippets can increase click-through rate on your website which could help increase your rankings over time.
10. Increase Your Link Juice With Internal Links
An internal link is a hyperlink that connects one page on your website to another page on your website. Internal links can be text links, image links, or video embeds.
The goal of an internal link is to help search engines understand what every piece of content on your site is about and how it relates to other pieces of content.
For example:
You have three pages: A, B, and C. Page A talks about the benefits of using an eCommerce platform for selling products online;
Page B describes different types of eCommerce platforms; Page C talks about the different ways people can pay for products using those eCommerce platforms.
It would be helpful to link between these three pages so that Google knows how they’re related (eCommerce platforms are important for selling products) and which pieces of information are most relevant (customers should pay with payment processors).
11. Use External Links To Increase Trust
You can increase trust by linking to other sites, and it’s a quick and easy way to add some authority points to your own site.
Just be sure that you don’t go overboard with it not only will you look spammy, but Google might think your site has been hacked or bought by a link network. You know, because links are so hard to come by these days and all!
If the content on the linked page is relevant and useful (and not just filler), then this is another great way to boost your rankings in search results.
12. Link To Authority Sites When Possible
You want to link to authority sites as much as possible. This means that you should aim to:
Link to a variety of sites. Some of these will be blogs, while others will be eCommerce stores, software companies and more. But they all have one thing in common: they’re reputable brands with an active online presence and loyal following.
Look for authority sites that are relevant to your content for example, if you’re writing about how Uber works, linking out to an article on their recent launch would make sense; likewise if you were discussing their driver rating system or pricing structure (or anything else).
Make sure there’s also relevance between the topic of your site and what the link is about so if you’re offering SEO services for restaurants.
But write about ways consumers can save money at fast food chains like McDonald’s or KFC (which might not exactly be related), it’s probably not a good idea!
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13. Promote Your Website In The Right Ways (And Avoid Black Hat Seo Techniques)
Avoid spammy link building. This is a big one. In the past, people would buy links from other websites or use automated software to get tons of backlinks to their site.
This was called “black hat SEO” and it was extremely frowned upon because it caused Google to penalize your site for having too many external links and not enough internal ones.
Avoid duplicate content on your website (and off). Duplicate content is when you have two pages with similar information.
So Google sees that as duplicate content and will consider both pages as 1 page in its eyes when ranking them against each other which means that neither one will rank very high!
Don’t use keyword stuffing in your webpages or blog posts as well: if any article has been keyword stuffed.
Then Google will likely be able to tell due to its algorithm being highly advanced; therefore it’s best practice not do anything like this at all since it doesn’t benefit anyone at all – only harms them!
14. Keep An Eye On Your Competitors’ Strategies, Too!
Knowing how your competitors are succeeding is a great place to start with SEO. You can use this information to create content that is more relevant and effective, and ultimately get more traffic on your website.
Keep an eye on the following:
What are they doing? Are they using different keywords or linking out to different sites? How often do they update their blog? Are there any patterns that emerge from their content strategy?
These questions will help you understand what type of content your target audience responds best to and provides some insight into where you should focus your efforts in terms of optimizing for search engines.
Where are they getting found online? Pay attention not only to what’s being talked about most, but also where people seem interested in finding more information about it.
This may indicate opportunities for long-tail keyword optimization (more on this later) or even social media marketing/link building tactics (e.g., guest blogging).
15. Focus On Topics, Not Keywords
The first thing to know about keywords is that you should never, ever focus on them. It’s tempting to believe that if you can just get the right keyword in your title or meta description, then the world will come knocking at your door with a host of new customers.
But this isn’t how it works – not anymore.
Instead of focusing on specific keywords or phrases and trying to cram them into every corner of your website (where they may sound awkward), try thinking about what people would actually search for if they were looking for information like yours.
For example: If I wanted a good pair of headphones, I probably wouldn’t type “headphones” into Google – even though that’s exactly what I’d end up getting (a bunch of results with headphones in them). Instead, I’d probably search something more specific like “best wireless headphones.”
That’s why it’s so important not only to make sure no one else has used a particular phrase as their keyword but also because there are so many other variables involved when someone searches online for something than simply putting together words from left to right into an order.
Made sense out loud but came across completely different when typed out as text by someone else within view who had no idea where those keywords came from originally.
Which leads me back around again towards why content creators should only use tools such as WordTracker instead because these tools collect data from actual users who have searched using those exact phrases before without knowing where said terms originated originally!
16. Improve Dwell Time By Writing Longer Content Pieces That Answer All Of The Searcher’s Questions
Dwell time refers to how much time a visitor spends on your website. It’s one of the most important metrics for SEO and marketing teams because it tells you how engaged your visitors are with your content.
This metric is also an excellent way to measure the value that you’re creating for them and determine if people are finding what they need from you.
This is why longer content pieces can help you rank higher in search results, especially when those longer pieces answer all of a searcher’s questions.
Longer content means more words, which means better information for the users who visit your site and spend more time with it than they would otherwise have if there were fewer words available on-page (this includes things like blog posts, articles or other text-based resources).
17. Leverage Schema Microdata Markup Where Possible
Microdata is a way of adding semantic information to your content. This can be done by using the schema microdata attribute and its corresponding tags, in order to make the data you’re presenting more organized and easy for search engines to understand.
For example, if you own a local bakery that makes gourmet cupcakes, your site might include this business description:
Gourmet Cupcake Shop
We are a locally owned bakery specializing in crafting delicious custom-made cupcakes! Our recipes have been passed down through generations of our family.
As written here, Google will see that “gourmet” is describing what kind of shop it is (in this case, one that sells “customized” cupcakes).
But not how many different types of gourmet cupcakes there are on their menu or where they’re located. Using schema microdata adds another layer of meaning:
Name Of Your Business Address Here Contact Us.
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18. Optimize For Voice Search
Voice search is clearly growing in popularity. In fact, Google’s research shows that 50% of smartphone users are now conducting voice searches on their devices. This is a huge increase from 2016 when only 25% of voice searches were conducted.
Wondering what makes voice search different from traditional text-based searches? Here are some key differences:
Voice search is used more by people who aren’t used to typing. For example, if you’re standing in line at the grocery store and have only one hand free because your other hand is holding onto your kid or other items that need to be purchased.
You probably won’t want to type out something like “best organic dog treats for small dogs” into your phone. You’re likely going to say it out loud instead (assuming you have access to Wi-Fi).
People also use voice searches when they’re running late for an appointment and don’t have time to type out everything they need;
This could be anything from looking up directions on Google Maps while driving home from work using Apple CarPlay™ in their car or ordering food online while sprinting through airport security after missing their flight.
As mentioned above, these are all good reasons why entrepreneurs should optimize their websites for voice search!
Further Reading
Here are some additional resources to help you deepen your understanding of SEO strategies:
Crafting an Effective SEO Strategy Short Description: Learn how to develop a comprehensive SEO strategy that drives organic traffic and boosts your online visibility.
18 Quick SEO Tips for Beginners Short Description: New to SEO? Get started with these 18 quick tips that can set you on the path to optimizing your website for search engines.
6 Essential SEO Strategies to Incorporate in 2016 Short Description: Discover timeless SEO strategies that remain relevant, even as the digital landscape evolves.
FAQs
How do I create an effective SEO strategy?
An effective SEO strategy involves understanding your target audience, conducting keyword research, optimizing on-page content, building quality backlinks, and monitoring your progress over time.
What are some quick SEO tips for beginners?
For beginners, focus on optimizing your website’s meta tags, creating high-quality content, improving website speed, and ensuring mobile-friendliness.
What were the essential SEO strategies in 2016?
In 2016, essential SEO strategies included focusing on user experience, creating high-quality content, optimizing for mobile devices, building authoritative backlinks, and using schema markup.
How can I improve my website’s organic traffic?
To improve organic traffic, consistently publish valuable and relevant content, optimize your website’s technical aspects, target long-tail keywords, and engage in effective link building.
What role do backlinks play in SEO?
Backlinks, also known as inbound links, are crucial for SEO as they signal to search engines that your content is authoritative and valuable. Quality backlinks from reputable sources can significantly boost your website’s ranking in search results.
Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.