If you’re like most people, the thought of tackling your own SEO on your website and marketing materials sounds scary, at the very least. SEO is not like fixing a car or performing surgery–it’s a critical practice that makes your website discoverable to the people who need you. While experts like to focus on many pieces of the puzzle, believe it or not, the basics are easy enough for anyone to tackle.
What Is SEO?
Search Engine Optimization, aka SEO, is the process of improving your website’s visibility by using the particular words (also known as ‘keywords’) your customers will be searching for when they go to a search platform.
Suppose your website focuses on helping people create native pollinator gardens in different regions of the United States. In that case, you want to find gardeners in the market for those exact things, not someone looking for lasagna recipes. Effective SEO ensures that the words’ native garden,’ pollinators, ‘DIY,’ and ‘United States’ are featured prominently and often on your website.
Yes, it’s literally that simple. So why are so many people afraid of it?
Finding and Using the Right SEO Keywords Takes Advanced Knowledge
You know your business better than anyone, so you know what words your customers search for. Those familiar words will naturally surface throughout your website in service pages, product descriptions, and blog posts.
When you create valuable and thoughtful content on your site, those words will register with the search engine bots and help you rank higher on search results.
The places to optimize your SEO on your website:
- Page titles
- Meta descriptions
- Subheadings
- Website content, such as blogs
- Images
- URL’s
- Link anchor text
- Social Media
- External business directories
SEO Is Complex and Needs to Be Constantly Updated
Let’s be transparent: Search Engine Optimization is not a one-and-done task. Like any other facet of business, you need to monitor your site’s performance and search engine ranking at least once a quarter to ensure you’re making the most of what you have.
Search engines like Google give you the tools and reporting you need to see where your site is under-performing so you can handle those tweaks independently.
Learning SEO Is Expensive and Time-Consuming
That is not true at all! Information to help beginners learn SEO is everywhere, from YouTube videos to blog posts. Many free SEO courses covering various topics are available online for business owners of every level. If you prefer to have your learning in one place, there are tons of great SEO books to explore and use as a reference for site revisions.
You’ve Got This!
Search Engine Optimization may sound like a monster in the closet, but it’s accessible and quickly learned by beginners and CEOs alike. This valuable skill in your toolkit will give you the confidence to manage and grow your website like a professional from the start.
