Guest Article
If you’re a business owner ready to make a big splash in the online world, then you need to know a thing or two about SEO. Maybe you already know that SEO is good for your website because it can get your business more leads. But there’s a few key details you need to understand if you want to maximize your SEO efforts. Otherwise, you might be disappointed when you don’t get the awesome benefits you originally expected.
I’ll make this quick and simple so you can get started on it today.
1. SEO stands for search engine optimization
When people say they’re doing SEO, they’re just saying that they’re optimizing their website so they can be better found in search engines. This might mean writing high-quality blog posts, doing guest posts for backlinks, or sharing their content on social media. As SEO is a comprehensive concept, many different tasks can contribute towards actually doing it.
But don’t let that fact scare you, just read on to get the main idea behind it.
2. SEO is a long-term strategy
The first thing you need to understand about SEO is that it won’t do anything for your business overnight. The fact is, it could take weeks or even months before you see any results.
Over time and with consistent effort, you’ll see small, incremental results when you implement SEO practices. And over time, it’ll add up. Eventually you’ll get a steady stream of traffic, and you’ll be able to convert that traffic into leads for your business.
3. SEO is an ongoing-process
Since SEO is a long-term strategy, you’re going to need to keep working on it and making adjustments during the process. That’s right, you can’t just set up a self-operating system. You (or somebody you hire) will need to write new blog posts, update your website’s copy, write guest posts, and more, over the entirety of your website’s lifetime.
But don’t worry, you can manage the SEO process yourself. But it’ll take some time and consistency to ingrain the process into your blogging habits, so consider delegating the work to a professional writer/SEO expert so you can focus on your business instead.
4. SEO is done both on-site and off-site
On-site SEO is the first thing that springs to mind when you think of an SEO strategy, which is stuff like writing blog posts and adding different menu pages (like an “about” page) to your website. But that’s just one part of the puzzle. The other part is what you do on social media and other blogs in your industry.
After all, you can’t build a successful website if you have no connections with other people. That’s why any SEO strategy will incorporate things like connecting with influencers on social media and on their blogs as well. It’s no different than running your business, having the right connections can put your business in front of the right eyes. This in turn leads to more traffic and – hopefully – more leads as well.
5. SEO is all about relevance and quality
SEO isn’t about keyword-stuffing anymore. The truth is that SEO has become all about making great content for users to consume. Your content needs to be good enough that people want to comment on and even link to it. Google uses this social proof to help determine your Google rankings, so the more shares/comments you can get, the better off you are in Google.
So don’t think you can write shoddy blog posts and rank better, you need to put in a real effort to get real results. Your website is a marketing tool after all, make it one worthy of your business.
Don’t wait to start on your website’s SEO
You need to get started today since SEO is a long-term process. Try to start small though: think of blog post ideas, find good keywords to rank for, or find a good place to guest post at. SEO can be overwhelming at first, so don’t over think it and just get started with whatever sounds easiest.
“Seo Diagram Means Optimized For Search Engines” courtesy of Stuart Miles / www.freedigitalphotos.net
About the Author: Ericson Ay Mires is a freelance writer and content strategist. He specializes in small-business blogging and creates content that gets more traffic, social shares, authority, and leads for small-business owners everywhere.
The post What You Need to Know About SEO as a Small Business Owner appeared first on Succeed As Your Own Boss.