DIY Search Engine Optimization
Yes, we promise you can do it. Here is our step by step guide for successful & organic SEO.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has the power to propel your small business to new heights. Contrary to popular belief, mastering SEO doesn't have to be an intimidating task.
In fact, with the right guidance, you can implement effective SEO strategies yourself. SEO stands for search engine optimization—an integral component of any successful marketing strategy. It revolves around enhancing your website's visibility in search engine results, particularly on platforms like Google. By consistently incorporating SEO into your marketing efforts, you can significantly boost your online presence and climb higher in search rankings, ultimately capturing the attention of your target audience. Discover our invaluable tips and tricks for achieving DIY Search Engine Optimization success below.
-Basic Knowledge-
SEO = Search Engine Optimization
The goal of putting time into your SEO, is to be seen on internet search engines like Google. The more you put into your SEO integration, the easier you will be found by potential viewers, and clients.
There are ways to pay for a higher ranking in Google, but with the knowledge, you can do this yourself in an organic way.
SEO building takes time, so be patient! A little work into SEO on a daily basis will set you up for success in the long run.
-SEO Boosters-
Pinterest: Creating a Pinterest page with images linked to your website is a great way to boost your SEO. Not only because another site is “mentioning” you, but because you will get traffic from your uploaded pins. Make sure to add your keywords(more on keywords below) and your website link to each pin.
Reviews: Google loves human reviews from: Google Business, Yelp, and Facebook. I highly recommend asking for reviews from your clients, attendees, or customers. Obviously, five-star reviews are better for SEO than 1 star.
Referrals: When you are mentioned on another website, blog, etc. Google highly appreciates this. Your website link and name of business will need to be included. This is a difficult item to achieve, so Google responds very positively to this.
Blog Posts: Updating your blog 1x per week with relevant information, keywords and phrases is a great way to get Google’s attention. Because Google is “crawling” your website daily for new information regarding what you are promoting, the new blog information will serve as a trusted source.
Google Maps: If you are a business, even if you work from home - I suggest adding your location to Google Maps. This is just another verification for Google to see that you are real, and should be seen by more individuals!
-SEO Killers-
Too Slow: Make sure that the photos, videos, and other large files you upload to your site are as small as they can be! You can check the speed of your site by going to tools.pingdom.com If you are over 30kb/second your site is TOO SLOW.
Changing the URL of your website
Disabling comments and sharing icons
-Keywords/Phrases--
Google will “crawl” websites on a daily basis looking for keywords/phrases.
Google knows when you are trying to “fool” SEO by making a list of your keywords and will not promote you for that. Make sure that your keywords are placed organically in a sentence on your website. (IE: Perspektiiv Design Co. is a creative studio in Portland, Oregon. NOT: Perspektiiv, Portland, Graphic Design, etc.)
What is your business, cause, or event known for? Keywords/phrases make it easy for Google to understand what you are promoting. I suggest coming up with a list of 30 keywords that your target market might search to find you and using this as a starting point. (IE: Graphic Design, Logo Designer Portland, Brand Designer Portland, Website Design, Oregon, Local Creative Agency, etc.)
The keywords should contain what you do, what you offer, and where you are offering it.
-Best Website Hosts for SEO-
Squarespace and Wordpress are the best websites to use for SEO integration. Why? They are big businesses, so their code is CLEAN. Google will pull keywords and phrases from cleaner code easier than navigating through hiccups that the host might have.
Most hosts now have SEO integration as apart of the back end of the site. Research how to best implement SEO for different website hosts online. They are all a bit different!
-Photos-
The internet reads websites through typed words, not photos.
To integrate your photos as apart of your SEO practice, here are a few tips to make sure that Google sees them.
Name your Photo Files before you upload them to your website (IE: Alison Lebofsky, Creative Director of Perspektiiv Design Co. in Portland, Oregon)
Add photo descriptions of the photos to their title once they have been uploaded to your website.
If done correctly, the photos will also show up on Google Images under searched key words/phrases.