SEO is a very dirty word for many small businesses. To many, it’s a mystical thing that can wait. In reality, there is no time like the present to start optimizing since it can take 60 to 90 days to see results, depending on the search engine.
SEO stands for search engine optimization. It involves performing research to find keywords or key phrases that the target audience is searching for and including them in all web content. It involves consciously getting into the client’s head and working hashtags around what they’re thinking.
Fortunately, there are a few ways to do this. The most reliable is ideal client research. This involves finding people who are the ideal client and interviewing them on what they want/need. They will use the phrases they put into a search engine during their own research. As a bonus, content can be tailored to their desires for more effective content as well.
If ideal client research is not possible, there is an alternative. There are a number of websites out there that will take a word and spit related words back out. Most people use them to generate hashtags. It’s important to check whether people are actually searching those terms though. Double checking terms in Google AdWords* for frequency is a reliable method. After all, every hashtag counts.
Placing SEO in different locations helps rankings. First, it can appear in the actual body of the message, whether it’s a social media post or a blog post. On a blog, it can also appear in the tags/content labels and meta description (what people see after they put a term into a search engine) of the page. On a social media post, it can appear as hashtags. Another location to place SEO is in the alternative text of images.
Overall, SEO is not the big scary item it’s made out to be. It’s something to learn, just like everything else in a business. It may require some tinkering, and it requires patience to see results. It’s worth the perceived hassle though when more people find the company without having to spend a dime.
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