When In Doubt, Know SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the lifeblood of all blogs. Without the appropriate knowledge of this portion of any online content, a digital strategy fades into nothing. The reason why is simple: search engines are the main gateway to your website. But a proper approach to SEO is more than just using the right keywords; it's also about ensuring that your business stands out against the competition. Anyone with a smartphone and access to Wi-Fi can set up a website with an SEO strategy. What you, the small business owner with online ambitions, need to do is understand these SEO nuances and use them to your advantage.
You should use Google as your main “search route” for for sake of accessibility; also, you want to create things that people want to see. Yes, it may seem obvious to the casual observer. But one could really lose track of how many websites were designed exclusively around pandering to the search engines. This is a generally self-destructive strategy, no matter the short-term gains.
Know the value of each of your keywords. The values can fluctuate, mainly when it comes to whatever momentary memes floating around. But unless something major happens, these values stay consistent. Tools like Google Trends and Wordtracker Scout are a great help in recognizing where your business can attract the necessary attention. From there, you can guess which keywords to use for your SEO and which ones to avoid. Use them, and you will be moving in the right direction. For something like consulting, use terms like “strategy”, “management” and “goals-oriented planning”.
Write some blog posts related to your business. Of course, the important thing is to write them well. This goes beyond using Grammarly to figure out the obvious spelling and grammatical issues. This is about ensuring that the posts created are honest, on-topic and engaging reads. If possible, hire a writer who has at least six months of blogging experience. You will still have the final say on what gets published or not, but you'll also have someone with the necessary skills to keep moving forward.
Observe and note how people are getting to your websites. On most website designers, the analytics have their own separate page accessible to you. Usually, you will be able to see how many people are going to your website, where they are from, and how they got there. Make sure you are aware of these statistics and plan your SEO strategy accordingly. If people are coming straight from a search engine or social media, use your top three keywords consistently in future posts. If they are coming from a related website, see what SEO keywords they use and line them up. If even a small subset of readers is coming from outside the country, look into the possibility of making your keywords truly global.
Last but not least, don't force keywords for the sake of clicks. In the age of instant fact-checking and demands for authenticity, most users can smell a rat very quickly. So if your keywords are meant to capitalize on a trend or a meme, it will end with a whimper. That trend will pass through next year, that meme will be dead by the end of the month, and your business blog will be stuck with an embarrassing relic of the moment. And for future blogs that discuss SEO, your post will be one of the many examples of how the concept is misunderstood - both in theory and practice.
