For some small business owners, the idea of SEO sounds absolutely dreadful. That’s why many tend to outsource for this kind of help.
But, what about those who are just getting on their feet? Or, perhaps the ones who want to save a little on their budget?
Luckily, there are plenty of solutions for low cost SEO small business owners shouldn’t miss out on. Also, they’re easy enough so you don’t have to be some kind of search engine aficionado to understand.
For those who lack experience, we’re here to help out. Let’s get your SEO strategy off the ground with these 5 cost-effective solutions.
1. Let Your Customers Do the Talking
Unfortunately, your customers aren’t always going to search for you how you want them to. You may consider yourself more of a meadery, while your customers are searching for the best bar.
But, you need to focus on how customers are searching for you to obtain higher rankings. You can’t just take a stab at what you think customers should look up.
Instead, you need a clear strategy. Talk to them, if possible. Send out surveys. Use a pop-up on your site. You need to find out what they’re looking up when searching the web.
To do this, we recommend asking them how they would describe your product. How do they classify your business? How would they explain you to a friend?
Once you know this, you have to structure your content around it. This research is practically a cheat sheet to their search habits.
So, you have to use it accordingly. Use the exact lingo they’re using. Also, create topics that relate to the answers they gave.
2. Make Some Contacts
One thing Google looks for is that your site is linked to credible sources. So, you should aim for your site to be linked by other relevant sites in your industry.
This may sound all “easier said than done”, but it’s not as hard as you may think.
First, do your research. See what publications, blogs, and other sites are popular and credible in your field.
Then, gather author’s names and email addresses so you can send them a personalized note. Explain who you are and ask them to review your company on their site.
Send them a free trial or let them come in for a demo. However makes the most sense for your company, get a product in their hands.
Another strategy for low cost SEO small business owners could do is to reverse this process. Give a testimonial on your site for a service or product you love.
Oftentimes, sites will feature testimonials, especially on the homepage. This an easy way to get a link back to your site.
3. Get Social
You may have strayed away from these tools for a while now. But, it’s important that your company has an account and regularly posts on social media.
Google monitors the impressions you get through the various channels. They take note of likes, comments, shares, views, replies, retweets, etc.
Not only that, but it analyzes whether or not you engage back. It prefers sites that maintain active contact and have positive reviews.
Like the above low cost SEO strategy, small business owners essentially need to invest their time. It may not make sense for you to have a handle on all platforms, but, this where customer research comes into play again.
You have to understand where your audience is at. Furthermore, you have to understand how they engage with brands online.
Are they prone to respond to certain topics over others? To optimize your time and effort, this research should be your first step. But, it needs to be ongoing.
4. Consistency (and Quality) Is Key
It’s not enough to merely put out content. Heck, it’s not even enough to put out quality content from time to time.
To maximize efforts for low cost SEO, small business owners need to put out ongoing quality content. You’ll fall by the wayside if you just sprinkle in a post or two each month.
Instead, aim to publish at least two posts each week. Yes, content creation takes time. But, it’s your biggest resource for achieving higher search engine rankings.
Remember that you can’t just throw something out there and expect it to stick. Your posts need to be highly relevant and readable to the audience.
For one, Google can sniff out a black-hat post almost as easy as it can pull up the weather. It’s not going to let a post that’s meant for SEO juice slide through.
Even if it were to slip through into the Google ranks, your customers won’t read it. Think of your own search experiences.
Are you more apt to click on a site that appears spammy and promotional with tons of links? Or, are you going to go to the one that answers your question in a less overbearing manner? It’s not rocket science.
5. Responsive Design
The last tip we will leave you with is this: make sure your site is usable on all platforms. Why? Because over half of searches are done through mobile devices or tablets.
Many will even abandon their shopping carts if the site is too difficult to navigate through. By not optimizing your site for mobile use, you could be missing sales.
So, you want to make sure your site is set to “responsive design”. This means that the page will automatically adapt to whatever platform it’s used on.
This different from “mobile friendly” design, in that it has much fewer glitches. Responsive design can adapt better to high-resolution devices.
Also, it saves you from having to design multiple interfaces for different devices. It takes much less time and money to set up.
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