How to Provide Value to Customers AND Get Higher Search-Engine Rankings
Simple SEO Tips for Your Business
In my last post, I discussed what you really need to know about SEO, or search engine optimization, for your business. It doesn’t need to be difficult. Basically, you need to provide your customers with valuable information, and the search engines will see this.
With this in mind, how do you provide value to your customers?
1. Conduct Research.
Before you start writing, figure out what your customers really want.
What’s currently keeping them up at night?
How can you provide solutions for them?
To get this information, check your Google Analytics.
Which of your website pages are people visiting the most and actually reading?
Look at your social media accounts and competitors’ online presence.
What are hot topics people are talking about the most?
What are their top complaints and questions?
If you still have no idea what to write about, ask your customers what they want! Send out a short and simple email survey or post some questions online.
Before you can write valuable content, you have to find out what your customers want to know… right now!
2. Write Interesting Content.
Take your research results and write a simple blog. The search engines love blogs, and they are easy to post and distribute quickly… at no charge.
If you don’t already have a blog section on your site, just create a web page where you post various articles. However, I highly suggest you have your tech person create a blog section for you on your website. It may cost a little bit to get this up and running, but it’s definitely worth it!
And if you are not trained in copywriting, follow these steps:
- Create Titles That Include Your Top Keywords.
What words do you want people to use to find this blog during an online search?
Use those words in your title. For example, if your keywords are “Boston’s Best Plumber,” your title might be “Find Boston’s Best Plumber In Seconds With These 7 Simple Steps.”
And under your main title, create a subtitle with completely different words and keyword phrases (ex.: Get Your Plumbing Issues Fixed Today And Save Hundreds With These Quick Tips). This provides an extra opportunity to get noticed online.
- Offer Benefits.
Help solve your customers’ problems and provide tips, insights, steps, or other information they can really use. Ask…
What’s in it for them?
Avoid sales jargon, the word “we” and talking about the features of your products and services. Instead, provide unique and interesting content that readers will want to share with others.
And to make your content more appealing and easy-to-read:
- Avoid stuffing your content with keywords;
- Use sub-headings to break content into sections; and
- Add appropriate images.
When finished writing, read your work aloud to see if it flows and makes sense.
- End with a Call-to-Action.
When people are done reading your blog, what do you want them to do next?
Guide them through the process you want them to take; offer a link to another article, an email to contact you, a sales landing page, or something else. And be sure to track this link to see how many people actually click on it. (You can use your Google Analytics for this or a free service like www.bitly.com).
Then, if you discover that a lot of people like your content, you’ll want to write more about that topic. If not, you can write something new that’s more appealing to your target market.
- Optimize with a Simple Plug-In.If you have a WordPress blog (https://wordpress.com), you can easily check to see if your blog is optimized for the search engines. There are numerous (free) plug-ins you can add to do this. One of the most popular is Yoast SEO (https://yoast.com/wordpress/plugins/seo/).Once installed, it tells you exactly what your blog needs to be fully optimized for the search engines. And it’s super simple to use.
3. Get Help.
Well, this sounds great… unless you are not a writer and simply don’t have time to follow the steps above. If that’s the case, hire a trained SEO copywriter.
And note that I say “copywriter” and not technical service.
Many small business owners hire a tech company to handle their SEO because they think it is strictly technical. But, if you want to rank in the search engines, you need valuable content, and most technicians are not great writers. Instead, you need to find a trained copywriter who understands SEO technology.
With this in mind, look for the following qualifications in your SEO copywriter:
- Experience writing great content with samples of high search-ranking results;
- Knowledge of the skills necessary to write “content that sells” in your particular industry;
- Expertise in the latest SEO updates with some knowledge of back-end coding to make appropriate changes as necessary; and
- A seasoned pro who meets deadlines, provides value and is a great addition to your team!
And note that a copywriter usually just writes content. But, an SEO content marketing strategist can conduct keyword research, develop a complete plan for all of your copy relative to your sales goals, write your content, test it, provide detailed results, and more.
Well, you might be thinking that you just can’t afford to hire good copywriter. But the question is… can you afford not to?
An experienced SEO copywriter or content marketing strategist can market your products and services effectively, build positive online buzz and help you get higher rankings and credibility you simply cannot buy through advertising.
Plus, they can give you a competitive edge.
After all, if your content appears at the top of the search rankings above others in your industry, guess who gets the clicks and site traffic?
Keep SEO Simple!
There is a lot of money to be made in search engine advertising so the buzz about the importance of SEO will continue.
But, you can break through the noise, and keep your SEO simple!
Focus on the needs of your target market and provide valuable and interesting information they will want to read and share with others. Avoid talking about your products and features, and give your customers unique benefits and solutions instead.
Use these simple, content guidelines to help your business stand out online. And if you need help, look for the appropriate SEO copywriting expert to help you meet your specific goals.
SEO is an important way to get your unique message out to potential customers at the right time. Start using it now, and watch your rankings and sales soar!
(This post was originally seen in Dan Kennedy’s No BS Insider Newsletter – May 2018)