If you want to get started with SEO, but you don’t want to shell out big bucks to hire an expert, then read this post. Not only will I go over a few basic SEO “tricks”, but I’ll also share a few invaluable resources with you to set you on the right path.
4 SEO Basics
1. Start A Blog
It doesn’t matter what service or product you’re selling, if you want to rank higher on Google, Bing, etc., then you’re going to want to start writing content. If you’re selling auto parts, then start a blog about how to actually use your products to fix vehicles or post some reviews on some of the new products. Fixing the vehicles would also make for some great video content.
You can do the same for services. You can write knowledge base articles on how to use the services you’re selling. Let’s say you’ve got a web hosting business. You could write some content on how to use your cPanel dashboard or WHMCS. If you can’t think of any great content, you can write about someone else’s relevant article, just make sure you’re linking back to them and giving them credit for it. The real point I’m trying to get across is this: pump out lots of content. Do try to make your content as relevant and valuable as possible though.
2. Write Good Titles And Headers
You’re going to want a good title for your blog posts or articles. There are a number of hints and tips you can find all over the internet to create great titles, so I won’t go too far into the specifics. The most important thing you’ll want is something that’s eye-catching. If potential readers or buyers see your post somewhere, you want to make sure they can’t help but click on it. This is an area where I still have a long way to go to perfect it (among other things).
Also, make sure that you’re using appropriate sized headers on your pages. There needs to be a structure to your web pages that makes sense. Try not to use more than one H1, and only use H2s where appropriate, for actual subsections.
3. Post To Social Media
Another crucial aspect of improving your site’s SEO is to post to social media. You can post about all the new goings-on with your business, new products, new services, etc. You’ll also want to post your blog posts to your social media. You just want to get as much in front of potential and repeat customers as possible. Make sure they can’t avoid or forget your name or your business’s name. Sear it into their brains. You’ll want to post at least a couple times a day to each of your accounts.
When I was talking about the auto parts earlier and making video content about fixing the vehicles with the parts that are sold, those would make great posts to YouTube. Not all businesses are going to be great at YouTube though. It might just not be for your company. When choosing which social media companies to utilize, you have to think about your business and which ones would fit. Some businesses aren’t going to be a match made in heaven with YouTube, or Instagram, or Snap-Chat, while others are going to be perfect for them. It’s just all about knowing your business and where your strengths are going to lie.
The two I would definitely recommend are Facebook and Twitter, because they’re super flexible. You can post articles, pictures, status updates, and much more. Another one you might consider is LinkedIn. Lots of people are suggesting it these days, and it’s another flexible option. Just don’t spread yourself too thin. If you’re a one-man team, then I wouldn’t take on more than a couple.
4. Use Appropriate Markup And Styling
When building your website, if you do it yourself, make sure you include description meta tags for your web pages. You’re also going to want to include images and alternative text for those images. Some of the more important things you can include in your markup are links, internal and external. Link your pages to other relevant content on your website and links to relevant content on other websites.
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4 SEO Resources
1. HubSpot Academy
If you’re trying to learn more about SEO, one of the places I’d look first is HubSpot Academy. They have at least 8 SEO courses you can take absolutely free. That’s hours of content at zero cost to you. They also have a TON of marketing content too.
2. Moz’s SEO Guide
Another great source for learning all about the SEO game is Moz. They have an awesome Ultimate Guide To SEO Meta Tags that you should take a look at if you’re creating your own web site or you’re already managing your own. It has definitely helped me decide which tags are most important for increasing my ranking. There are a ton of them, so this will help you focus on the ones that really matter for you.
3. Kinsta SEO For WordPress
If you’ve got a WordPress website, then you’ll want to check out Kinsta’s blog. It’s my absolute favorite for WordPress tips and tricks. This includes SEO for your WordPress site. It’s a hosting company, so they have some of the best information on WordPress hosting as well, which has really been invaluable to me when I’ve used WordPress to build sites.
4. Miscellaneous
I could go on and on about some of the entrepreneurial sites out there that have some good SEO information on them, or the holy grail of SEO information straight from the horse’s mouth (Google), or The SEM Post’s great content on SEM and SEO, or YouTube’s healthy collection of videos on the subject, etcetera, etcetera. So, instead, I’ll leave it to the SEJ, another humongous treasure trove of SEO information. Here’s a great article from them on the top 25 SEO blogs. Enjoy.