Trying to improve your small business’ SEO but hitting a brick wall? Here are some industry secrets that you might not know, that could make a huge difference for your brand’s website and SEO.
Old “Hacks” Don’t Work Anymore
When SEO was still a relatively new area of digital marketing, marketers were quick to find all kinds of ways to “cheat” the algorithm. They figured out how to pay for bots to view their web pages and generated spam comments. This worked for a while, as SEO rankings were based on sheer number of comments and number of website visitors.
However, the algorithm is smarter now. Many of the quick fixes or old-school ways you’ve heard of to boost SEO fast don’t fly anymore. Quality is much more important than quantity in most cases. Google is much better at identifying bots and purchased traffic than they used to be. So if your first thought was just to buy your way to better SEO with the help of bots or spam accounts, think again.
SEO Won’t Change Overnight
Search engine optimization takes time. Anyone who promises to get you drastic results instantly is probably lying. So don’t get discouraged if you’re not seeing quick results. Keep following SEO best practices, putting in time and effort, and you will eventually see improvements that will make it all worthwhile.
There’s No Special Sauce
This is another misconception, and a lie you don’t want to fall for. There isn’t just one thing that can take your SEO from bad to good. Search engine optimization includes many different pieces. No one single aspect of it will be enough to drive your entire SEO strategy. So basically, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Spread your focus across linking, copy, website design, and more to have the best chance of SEO success.
Not All Links Are Created Equal
Let’s get into the nitty gritty a little bit more. Much of the above is pretty high-level, overall strategic insights. But we’ve got some specifics to talk about too. First: Links. Most people who are familiar with SEO know that links are important part of your website’s search rankings. But it’s not as simple as that. Not all links are created equal: Some will help your site more than others.
Remember, the algorithm has gotten smart. The sheer number of backlinks that direct people to your webpage isn’t enough to be impressive anymore. The links need to be relevant, they need to be from quality sources, and they need to provide value to your website visitors. So don’t just focus on increasing links: Focus on getting the right ones.
Think Outside The Box With Keywords
Another specific area to cover: Keywords. A huge part of any SEO strategy is choosing the keywords you want your site to rank highly for. There are a number of factors that play into this decision. One that isn’t talked about enough is that you don’t want to aim too high. If you own a small business, competing with major international corporations for broad keywords will likely be a waste of your time, money, and effort. Small business SEO is all about focusing on your niche, targeting local keywords, and targeting specific keywords to really help you hone in on your ideal audience. You’ll be able to capture more market share with SEO by focusing on attainable and relevant keywords.
So the secret’s out. SEO can be a challenge, but these keys make is just a little bit easier. And if you want assistance with your SEO from digital marketing experts, contact BYK Digital Marketing for a free audit and consultation. BYK is a marketing Swiss army knife, ready to help you with all your digital marketing needs from SEO to branding to community management and everything in between!
