Almost every business has a website today. However, not every business is getting the high-quality traffic they want. After all, you probably have your eyes set on the prize – getting on Google’s first page. This shouldn’t be your only goal though. There are other things SEO is about so you’re found by users.
Getting Listed
People are searching from many places aside from browser-based search engines – including YouTube, Yelp, and map apps. You must be on all of them. Fortunately, it’s free to sign up for them. It’s also important to get listed on Google My Business so you’re found on maps and Google can understand your relevance to local customers. As a local business owner, this is something you should use to your benefit. Signing up for Google My Business and all the other free business listing sites you can find helps with targeting those who matter, ensuring you get in front of the right customers and help improve your positioning in the SERPs so you’ll get more organic traffic.
Writing Evergreen Content
While you probably already understand the importance of creating honest content that’s relevant and helpful to your customers, you may not realize the importance of keeping this content up-to-date. One way of doing this is by removing specific dates from your articles when possible. For instance, simply changing wording from “May 2018” to “this year” makes your post timeless. Then every 6 – 12 months you should update your posts. This is important because while Google typically notices your new posts and URLs within a few weeks, studies show that the web pages that receive the most organic traffic are those that are three years old. Updating your posts and using the term “this year” make your content evergreen.
Using YouTube to Your Advantage
It’s great if you’re already posting YouTube videos, but if you aren’t, it’s time to start doing so. As you create these videos, focus on addressing the most relevant issues and solving your users’ problems in an interesting way. This is important for SEO because many people are now including the word “video” in their searches.
Using the Right Tools to Target Keywords
There are many great SEO tools available today (e.g. Moz, SEMRush, Ahrefs), but most of them are quite costly. Fortunately, there are some free tools you can use – some you may even be using already. For instance, your Google Ads account has a Keyword Planner you can use to calculate keywords’ search volume. Doing so will help you prioritize your content and get inspiration for new content too. This is because you’ll know what people are searching for in relation to your business.
Remember, SEO is more than just keywords. You should also use Google’s other tools that come with Google Ads when you’re planning on what type of evergreen content you want to create. Doing so will help prevent you from drowning in a sea of outdated blog posts.
You should also use other channels (e.g. YouTube) for boosting your brand’s exposure. Your goal should be to become an expert in your field. Make sure wherever your content is found, you have a link back to your website.
Fortunately, SEO is only one of the many ways in which you can get organic traffic today. While keywords are important, you must think outside the box if you want your business to be truly optimized. Since there’s only so much time in the day, you’ll probably find yourself in need of some help. When this happens, reach out to Local SEO Tampa. With all the years of experience they have on their side, you’ll be glad you did.