Nailing your SEO is the key to being seen online. If your website isn’t optimised properly for search then your customers aren’t going to be able to find you which isn’t great for making sales!
The world of SEO is constantly changing, so even if you think you’ve got it under control, that could be false. You have to ensure you’re keeping an eye on the new rules, strategies and best practices.
With many companies having struggled in various sectors over the past year (thanks to COVID-19) being seen is more vital than ever. Belts have been tightened and you may not be in the position to hire an SEO wizard. With that being said, here are some tips for the things you need to know about SEO to effectively sell online.
Actions Speak Louder Than (Key)words
Of course, SEO does centre around the keywords you’re using. These can help with traffic and allow you to see how well your website is performing. However, it’s also so much more than that. It’s also about high-quality content, standing out and customer service funnels.
If you don’t have a good strategy then your site is going to be buried on page 24 of the search engine. If you’re looking to branch out from being a regional company or you’re looking to go digital, then SEO is crucial. It’s how modern companies survive.
Start with the content on your website. Does it immediately inform the viewer of what you’re about? You should aim to establish the five 5 Ws of Who? What? When? Where? Why? To answer all of their questions and hold their attention. You know what you sell because you created the business or have worked there for 15 years. New visitors won’t know all of that.
Examine your time metrics. How long are people staying on your site? If the scores are low, then consider rejigging your content.
The digital world is all about speed and simplicity that doesn’t come at the expense of quality. Does your site load quickly? Do all of the buttons work? Is the customer support section easy to find? Always come back to and prioritise the customer experience. See your sight from their eyes. How would you navigate a new site and what would get you to hang around?
Increasing the session time and drawing in more visitors will automatically boost your website higher in search rankings. It creates a cycle of higher rankings bringing in more traffic and creating sales for you. Repeat.
Finding The Perfect Fit
Whilst you can rely on the more technically minded amongst your team or the SEO online experts to work on optimising pages with keywords or building backlinks, you can start with what you can control.
Don’t be afraid to:
- Try different things. Not getting many enquiries on your site’s contact form? Try moving it to a different place or giving it its own slot in the navigation bar. Play around with the order of the pages and the accessibility of your menu.
- Ask. If you don’t know where to start, sending out surveys to current customers or getting your team to test user experience is a great way to get trusted feedback.
Get Content With Your Content
Did you know Google ranks sites by how well that search result has satisfied a visitor’s search intention?
We all know from personal experience how ruthless we can be when we’re desperately in search of an answer, product or service. If your website doesn’t appear to have all the answers within the first few seconds on that site…CLOSE TAB! The less time people are spending on your site, the less impressive your SEO score.
In employing some of these tactics, you’re sure to see more people visiting your site. With more eyes comes the need to amp up the quality of your content. No pressure! The higher the quality of your content is, the more time people will spend with you.
Videos are great for this. If you can get someone to sit still and tune into a video you have on your homepage, you can retain them for a much longer period of time. To Google, this looks like you’re satisfied with your find and that in showing you that site they’ve answered your need. The result is a higher ranking in the search results.
Look at your website through the eyes of your crazed self looking for answers. Make what they’re looking for easy to find and always be upgrading your user experience to make a professional first impression.
Finding The Right Balance
There are multiple ways to conduct your SEO online strategy. Many go for the easy grab and some even play the long game. The answer is all in finding the right balance between the two to sustain your site and get a solid SEO ranking.
You should aim for the winning combination is low keyword difficulty, low competition and high search volume.
Compare the performance of the keywords you’re using often as these could change depending on trends, the news or even national holidays (think Christmas or the January Sales).
Shorter keywords will have more eyes looking at them, but that means more competition to elbow out of the way for the top spot. Longer keywords will see of that competition but…is anybody searching for that?
I know when I Google something I’m using the simplest and least amount of words possible to get the most accurate results with no faff. Again, try and find the balance.
The main takeaway from all of this is that it’s always going to be an ongoing process and it needs to be closely monitored. Sadly, it’s not as easy as throwing in some keywords and hoping for the best. Give your website’s ranking the best chance by taking on board these tips and updating your features and content regularly. Remember, a higher SEO performance will see more traffic which will translate into more sales for you.
