5 Surprisingly Easy Ways to Improve SEO
Many of us have heard the term “SEO” but aren’t sure what it means. We only know, this is important to our company and we need more of it. The acronym SEO stands for search engine optimization. Rather than having “more” SEO, we actually want to improve SEO. Improving our SEO means our company is more easily found in web searches and that we have a good reputation with search engines, making them more willing to help us show up near the top of search results. Here are some simple ways to improve your overall SEO. While it is best to do all of them, even doing one of the following can help improve your rank.
1. Create consistency between reviews and listing sites
To improve your reputation with search engines, it is important that you have consistency between sites. An easy acronym to help you remember what to look for is NAP which stands for Name Address Phone number. The first step to creating consistency is to make a list of any website your business is listed on. This can include Google Plus, Yelp, Facebook, and more. Once you have the list created, visit each site and make note of how your name, address, and phone appear. After you have collected this information, you will be able to see which listings are incorrect and need to be changed. Update those listings and voila, you are on the road to improving your SEO.
2. Increase inbound links
An important component to improve SEO is creating a system of links. Basically, whenever another business posts your URL on their website, search engines see you as more credible. Within your social and business networks, it is easy to mutually improve your search engine optimization by linking to your business partners and asking them to link back to you.
3. Improve keyword density
Keyword density is important for helping search engines understand the topic of your website and its pages. There are many ways to improve the keyword density of your site but all of these methods start with the same thing. The initial step to improving keyword density is to simply identify what you want to talk about. If you run an eye clinic, it is important to talk about eyes. When creating web content, try to think what the end user might be searching for and that will help you decide what to focus on. It is important to identify which keywords should appear on which pages. Having those keywords appear multiple times on their respective pages will vastly improve your SEO.
4. Curate your social media presence
Similar to creating listing consistency like in number one, it is important that your social media presence is consistent as well. Make a list of all the social networks you use for your business and how you use them. Take a look at what content is performing well and try to identify why that content is performing well. Though each social network may serve different audiences, it is important that your brand is represented consistently to each audience. As you think about what to post on LinkedIn versus Facebook, consider what those audiences will be most interested in and the type of content that will be most relevant to them. It is important to find a happy medium between catering to your audience and having a consistent brand message.
5. Focus on content marketing to continually improve SEO
This is the most time consuming of the five tips but can also be the most valuable. Content marketing is a fancy way of saying, you need to constantly be creating blogs or other content for your website. Search engines will find your business more reputable if you are constantly posting current information than if you build your website and don’t touch it for two years. Blogs don’t have to be long and should focus on information your audience may find helpful. Remember to keep each blog keyword dense to focus on the topic at hand.
There you have it. Five simple steps that will jumpstart your SEO today. For more information about improving your company’s SEO and what Matt Jensen Marketing can do to help, contact us today.