10 steps to completing your own SEO.
We’ve had numerous requests from businesses looking to carry out their own SEO in-house
We think this is a particularly useful way for our customers to spend their time during lockdown, while significantly reducing their costs.
That’s why our SEO guru Adam has compiled this 10-step plan.
1) Install Google Analytics onto your website
SEO without data is useless. Google Analytics is a free tool which will show you how many visits each page on your website gets, how long visits last and where your visitors come from. You need this information to track how you’re performing and to inform you where there are problems and opportunities.
2) Install Google Search Console
Another free tool from Google. Search Console tells you if there are technical problems on your site which are stopping it from being ranked by Google. It also shows you which search terms people are using to find your site and how well you rank for them. Search Console is a great source of ideas for new content and to improve existing content.
3) Set up Google my Business
When anyone types into Google [name of your business] or '[your business] near me', then you need to appear on the map which appears in the results. Google My Business is how you generate this visibility, and it’s free! Be sure to include images, as much detail as you can and ask customers to leave comments. And always reply to comments quickly and professionally, whether they’re good or bad.
4) Decide what you want to be found for
What are the questions, terms and phrases which people type into Google that should bring up your business as a page one result? If you run a dental practice it might be 'dentist near me', 'dentist in [town]', etc. Only when you have that list can you start to optimise your website so that Google ranks you for those terms.
5) Which pages are already doing well?
Now you have Google Analytics installed, use it to identify your most popular pages. These are the easiest ones to optimise with SEO. Optimisation can include checking you've covered everything about a subject, that your ’titles and tags’ are properly set and that the page is easy to get to from the home page and not tucked away. You might also discover that you could rank for associated keywords. For example, if you rank well for 'puppy food', there’s a good chance you could also rank well for 'puppy flea treatment'.
6) Which pages are not visited?
Google Analytics and Search Console can be used to show you which of your website pages don’t attract any traffic. Usually, this is for one of three reasons:
- Your content isn’t relevant to your website. For example, if you’ve written about goldfish food on a site that’s about sound insulation Google won’t display it because it won’t see you as an ‘authority’ on the subject.
- If you’ve written about something which nobody is searching for, you will not get organic visitors to that page. We see so many posts such as 'our new stock has arrived in store’ or ‘This month’s best client’ that don’t bring traffic because nobody is searching for that.
- There is not enough content on the page. If you write a couple of hundred words on a subject it won’t be enough for Google to decide what the page is about so it won’t rank. Aim to write 750-1250 words for most subjects and don’t stray off-topic!
7) Keyword research
Find out what your customers are actually typing into Google and create some content that answers their questions. Use this free tool: neilpatel.com/ubersuggest/, or this one: answerthepublic.com to type in your main phrase or term and you’ll receive lots of suggestions on what you should be writing about. For example, type ‘puppies’ in and you’ll see that searches include 'how puppies sleep', ‘will puppies stop biting', and 'which puppies shed the least'. All of these could be articles on your puppy website which will bring you traffic.
8) Structure your posts
Make sure the phrase you want to rank for is at the start of your title, e.g. Which Puppies Shed the Least - Every Breed Ranked. You should also make sure the phrase appears within the first paragraph or two of the content. Finally, do NOT stuff your phrase or question throughout the article. This is old-school SEO and Google will penalise you for it. Just write naturally and comprehensively about your topic.
9) Make your site easy-to-use
When people land on your homepage, it should be very clear what your business is about and the action you would like them to take. Before any visitor needs to scroll or click they should see a headline, a line or two succinctly describing your offer and a button with a request on it (known as a call to action, or CTA). Common CTAs include shop here, download your free guide, book an appointment, watch our video, etc.
10) Keep your website fast
It doesn’t need to be lightning speed but equally, your website shouldn’t lag behind your competitors’ sites – online shoppers are impatient! The simplest change that usually speeds up a website is to reduce the size of the images. Use a plug-in like short pixel to do this easily and at low cost.
Want to take things further? If you’re looking for expert support, our SEO marketing agency can help you implement these strategies and drive measurable results through tailored SEO services.