Online business is currently booming, with 2.14 billion people engaging in online shopping in 2021, it is projected that eCommerce sales will reach almost $5 trillion. Given those numbers, having a well-curated online presence has the potential to grow your customer base exponentially, making the internet the best thing to happen to business since sliced bread. The problem is in a market so crowded how do you make your business stand out? Fortunately, there are a few internet whizzes out there who can help you plan and implement an effective SEO strategy to send you skyrocketing to the top of the google results page, and here’s how:
Distribute Keywords Strategically
Keywords are the foundation of an effective SEO strategy, so understanding current keyword best practices is imperative to the success of your business. For example, you might think using as many relevant keywords as often as possible would drive traffic to your website; however, this practice, also known as keyword stuffing, is counterproductive. Not only does keyword stuffing decrease the readability and credibility of your webpage, but search engines actually penalize keyword stuffing now. So, the keyword here, pun intended, is strategically. Choose keywords that are relevant and natural. The easiest way to do this is to think about what customers are searching for. For example, local searches with the keyword “near me” have increased 150% more than non-local searches. So, if you owned a hair salon and were looking to bring in some new regular clients you may use the keyword “hair salon near me”.
Additionally, to make your job easier, you can also use a search monitoring tool – it supports unlimited keyword monitoring from any geographic location, channel, and hour that helps to identify opportunity keywords for improving your visibility and rank on Google Search Engine Result Pages.
Construct a Google My Business Profile
Continuing with the local search example, searching “hair salon near me” on Google brings up a curated list of businesses all with photos, hours, contact information and more. This is a feature of Google called Google My Business and it provides everything consumers want to know about you in one easy click. It can even give the customer GPS directions right to your front door. Gone are the days of printing out lengthy MapQuest pages, now customers can find you by simply typing google maps Utah. This is great news for your business because customers like convenience, 8 out of 10 customers say that the ability to shop quickly and easily is a key factor in deciding where to buy. Furthermore, according to google integrating content into one place has increased organic traffic to participating businesses by 64%. Completing your business profile also provides insight into how well your keyword strategy is working by recording what keywords customers are using to find you. This gives you the ability to consult with your digital marketing team and make necessary tweaks in real-time.
Use Descriptive Add-ons and Text
Now you know the importance of the text content of your webpage, but the visual component is equally important. On average it only takes a person 50 milliseconds to judge a webpage, quicker than the blink of an eye. With this in mind, incorporating high-quality images is vital. Images boost your SEO through alt text or text descriptions of visual aids that allow SEO crawlers to locate and define the images. Once again referencing the hair salon example you may include sample photos of your work. When writing the alt text, you should use descriptive keywords. For example, the description “woman with long brown hair” is not nearly as engaging as “woman with shag cut and feathered bangs and a vibrant caramel balayage”.
Cyberspace is the business frontier, flush with opportunity but the unfamiliar terrain and bustle of competitors can make navigating the new territory seem impossible. Fortunately, with the guidance of a professional digital marketing team, it’s easy to map out your objectives and stake your claim. With a carefully planned course and a few valuable keywords, you’ll be golden in no time.