Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is a component of digital marketing that many business owners do not always take full advantage of.
Picture this: you’ve moved into a new town and you’re looking for a physiotherapist. What you’ll probably do is Google the words “physio clinic” or “physiotherapist near me” and look through a couple of the first options until you find one that you like.
So here’s the question. Why did those choices appear over all the other options? That in a nutshell is what SEO does. SEO is an ever-changing process that helps you improve the ranking, traffic, and conversion rates of your business online – and who doesn’t love being ranked on the first page of Google?
Without experience and some background knowledge, the whole world of SEO might be a little intimidating. That’s why WebMarketers is here to make everything a bit less intimidating. We’ll help you learn about the most important SEO tactics to boost your digital marketing strategy.
1. Keywords, Keywords, Keywords
As search engines have evolved, the importance of keywords has remained constant. Keywords are the heart of SEO. Whatever your online business may be, it’s important to understand the relevant keywords and terms that are associated with your business and industry.
There are tons of online tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, and even Google’s own keyword tool to help you research those specific keywords, identify their search volume and come up with unique variations that will be distributed throughout your site. Whether it’s for your website titles, meta-descriptions, headers, or sprinkled throughout your content, targeting and measuring keywords is a vital aspect of understanding how you rank compared to your competitors.
2. Focus on the User Experience
We’ve all been to a site that you can barely use, that’s hard to navigate, or one that just doesn’t load fast enough. It’s one thing to get people to your site, but it’s a whole other challenge to get people interested in what you’re selling.
User experience (UX) is important to create a good first impression of your business and website. Google’s crawlers use it to understand how people engage with your content. Easy navigation, short and easy-to-read content sections, and optimizing your site for mobile devices is an easy way to help maximize the conversion rate of people entering your site.
3. Set Up a Blog
Blogging is an extremely useful and effective way to rank for specific keywords and to engage with your website’s users. Just like the service pages and product pages on your site, a new blog post is another opportunity to target keywords and rank in search engine results pages (SERPs).
The most effective way to utilize blogging is by having a consistent blogging schedule and planning out keyword-based topics. Posting content regularly will also help you build authority and trust with website visitors.
4. Page Speed
Page speed ties in closely with the user experience, but deserves its own section because of how important it is. Things that will improve the speed of your site include:
- Compressing media files before uploading them to your site
- Minifying CSS, JavaScript, and HTML
- Enabling file compression
- Using browser HTTP caching
- Testing website performance regularly
Page speed is important because it influences a user’s experience, which can impact your customer conversion rate. Not only that but Google’s algorithms favour websites with good site speed scores.
5. Local SEO
Local SEO is a search engine optimization strategy that focuses on increasing the visibility/ranking of your business’s location. An effective local SEO strategy will help your business show for related search queries from customers in your area.
Location-based factors like having a well-structured Google My Business listing that shows all your relevant business information, a consistent influx of positive reviews, and a variety of business citation sources (Yelp, Facebook, Foursquare, etc.) will help optimize your website for local search results. If done correctly, you’ll be able to reach more people in your area, grow your business, and rank competitively.
6. Measure & Track Your Success
SEO isn’t a one-time quick fix for your website. It’s an ongoing strategy that takes lots of calculated time and effort. Therefore, it’s important to track relevant metrics in order to understand what’s working and what needs improvement.
Understanding how people find your business, engage with your site, and how many people are visiting daily is the foundation upon which you plan your next move. Every website should have Google Analytics and Google Search Console set up to track important traffic and performance metrics. Without tracking your success, you’re in the dark about your digital marketing strategy.
Boost Your Digital Marketing Strategy With WebMarketers
Ranking well can be difficult, especially if you’re not familiar with good SEO practices. That’s why working with a digital marketing agency is so beneficial.
As one of Ottawa’s leading digital marketing agencies, WebMarketers can help with all your digital marketing needs, from website design and email marketing to SEO and running ad campaigns. We are proud to offer comprehensive digital marketing services that can help your business rank well, convert, and create a brand that you can be proud of. Contact us today to learn more about our services!