DIY SEO Guide: Essential SEO Tips for Small Business Owners
For small business owners, maximizing results with minimal resources is key. One potent method to boost website traffic and leads is through DIY SEO (Do It Yourself Search Engine Optimization). By understanding the fundamentals of SEO, you can enhance your website’s visibility without extensive investments. Let’s explore the core aspects of DIY SEO and its significance in driving leads for small businesses.
What is SEO?
SEO, short for search engine optimization, involves improving a website’s or individual web pages’ organic search rankings. When users search online, they encounter results on search engine results pages (SERPs). The URLs displayed prominently on page one are the outcomes of effective SEO practices.
The primary objective of SEO is to secure higher rankings on SERPs, which translates to increased website traffic. Achieving SEO success requires a combination of factors, including relevant content creation, technical optimizations, consistent content publishing, and data-driven adjustments.
SEO doesn’t yield instant results; it’s a gradual process. Yet, when executed effectively, it can serve as a steady stream of traffic and potential customers for your business.
Achieving a top-ranking position on Google can lead to substantial monthly traffic, depending on the keyword’s search volume. Maintaining these top positions ensures consistent traffic flow for weeks ahead.
To maximize the benefits of DIY SEO, establishing clear SEO goals is crucial. Let’s delve into how to set achievable goals tailored to your business’s current stage.
Setting Your SEO Goals
You may become frustrated with SEO and consider abandoning your efforts if you don’t establish goals first. Your SEO goals depend on your traffic and lead generation goals, your industry, and the audience you’re targeting.
For example, if your website is newer, it’s a smart idea to build consistent traffic first. Your goal framework may look like the following:
- Generate 400 visitors by X date.
- Publish three blog posts per week.
- Target 12 keywords with a combined monthly search volume (SV) of 2,000 or more.
However, by aiming for terms with SV above your goal, you enhance the likelihood of reaching your target faster.
If your goal is to cater to a specific audience segment, your goal framework might take a different shape:
- Research the top 10 ranking keywords of three competitors.
- Identify content overlaps and identify content topics that your competitors cover but you don’t.
- Create content that offers superior value and insight compared to your competitors.
Consider which metric holds the most significance for your business at present. Because you might not have a team focused solely on SEO yet, it’s important to make a simple plan that works over time.
Choosing SEO Platforms
Once you’ve defined your DIY SEO objectives, it’s essential to identify the SEO platforms that align with your goals. It’s good to use both free and paid SEO tools, but remember, the more you invest, the more you might get back in return.
Free SEO tools are great for checking things like H1 tags, meta descriptions, and keyword density on your website. They offer a basic look at your content, but they might not give you everything you need to keep improving your SEO over time.
Here are some noteworthy free SEO tools:
• Google Search Console: Provides insights into site crawl frequency, weekly clicks, site links, and URL errors.
- SEO Minion: Offers an overview of a webpage’s SEO strength.
• Keywords Everywhere: Suggests keywords based on the page you’re looking at.
- SEO META In 1 Click: Checks important things on your webpage like the meta description, title tags, links inside the page.
- CanIRank: Assesses your site’s potential to rank for specific keywords.
- Answer the Public: Generates SEO keyword suggestions by generalized questions from blogs and forums.
Investing in paid SEO tools can yield significant benefits if it fits within your budget. These platforms show which URLs are boosting SEO and where you can make them better.
Researching SEO Keywords
Equipped with the appropriate SEO tools, the next step is keyword research. When doing DIY SEO keyword research, don’t just aim for the most popular terms. Look for keywords that bring in the right readers and leads.
For example, if you run a dog training business, focusing on keywords like “beginner dog training” can help. These keywords relate directly to your niche, letting you create strong content that ranks well on Google.
Several tools can aid in discovering keywords for your website content:
- Google Keyword Planner
- Moz Keyword Explorer
- Ahrefs Keyword Explorer
- SEMrush Keyword Overview Tool
- Keywords Everywhere
- Spyfu
- Cognitive SEO
These tools provide key keyword data like monthly search volumes and competition, vital for planning your content strategy. As you uncover keywords aligned with your SEO objectives, maintain a record in a Google Sheet for easy reference.
Ignoring keyword research can hurt your SEO progress as a business owner, keeping you stuck with slow growth. Choosing the right keywords for your business can impact your website traffic, enough to know whether your growth is steady or stagnant.
Optimizing Your Core Pages for Buying Intent
When diving into SEO, the initial focus should be on optimizing your core pages, especially those with buying intent. Begin with your homepage, then move on to enhancing your main service or product pages.
To effectively optimize your core pages, pay close attention to the following elements:
- Title tag: Craft a concise title of 50-65 characters, prioritize your main keyword placement.
- Meta description: Write a compelling description of 100-155 characters, incorporate various keyword variations to entice clicks.
- H1 header: Create a unique keyword-focused headline, separate from the homepage keyword phrase.
- Website content: Ensure each core page contains substantial content of 500-1,000 words, integrating relevant keyword variations naturally throughout.
If you’re unsure how to locate your title tag and meta description, refer to available resources for guidance.
Here are a couple of helpful strategies:
- Utilize tools like Ahrefs.com to identify your core pages’ current rankings and make targeted improvements.
- If your pages aren’t ranking yet, check out competitors’ title tags for ideas and adjust your strategy.
Creating a Content Calendar for Research Intent
After you optimize your main pages, start blogging regularly to connect with potential customers in the research stage. If your website doesn’t have a blog yet, consider following a simple guide to start one for your small business.
After keyword research, create a blog content calendar to plan what content to publish and when. Consistency is crucial in SEO, so aim to publish content regularly, ideally twice a week or more.
Search engines notice when you don’t publish regularly. It shows your website is not being active which can hurt your SEO.
Keep your content calendar straightforward, including the following details:
- Blog post title
- Target keyword(s)
- Draft due date
- Publication date
- Author
- Most recent optimization date
- URL/content rank
- URL/content traffic
When creating your calendar, plan content several months in advance, incorporate a mix of evergreen and seasonal topics.
Creating High-Quality Content
The subsequent step involves generating content that adds genuine value and utility to your audience. Answering your audience’s questions and concerns in your content, can lead to more inquiries or purchases.
The quality of your content not only resonates with your audience but also reflects your comprehension of Google’s preferences. Well-organized, clear, and comprehensive content is more easily understood by Google’s algorithms.
When crafting SEO content, prioritize the perspective of your readers. Search engine algorithms matter, but if your content isn’t helpful to your audience, it won’t have much impact. Your content is for people, not just search engines.
Here are additional tips to enhance the quality, depth, and conversion potential of your content:
- Analyze the top three Google results for the keyword you’re targeting. Identify the questions or issues addressed in their content that yours may overlook. Enhance your content’s depth and breadth to match or surpass competitors.
- Ensure your content is easily scannable, incorporate logical subheadings and, if applicable, a Table of Contents. These features encourage reader engagement.
- Incorporate internal links to relevant resources, blog posts, images, and embedded videos within your content. Modern readers expect interactive experiences and comprehensive insights when seeking answers online.
Monitoring Your Advancement
After completing the substantial task of content creation, it’s vital to track your progress. Upon publishing a new blog post, mark it as completed in your calendar. Allow a week or two for it to gain ranking traction, then document its current position and traffic in your spreadsheet.
Tracking your progress enables you to discern which SEO tactics are effective and which ones require adjustments. Accumulate data over time provides valuable insights into areas where you may consider scaling up your content creation efforts.
Mastering Basic Technical SEO Skills
The final component of DIY SEO mastery lies in acquiring basic technical SEO proficiency. Here are the items to focus on:
- XML sitemap: Your sitemap serves as a comprehensive list of all pages on your website. We advise submitting your XML sitemap to Search Console for enhanced visibility.
- 404s/broken pages: Identify the broken pages.
- 301s/redirected pages: Use 301 redirects to smoothly go to old pages to their updated versions and avoid broken links.
- URL structure: Your URL structure beyond the “.com” domain conveys your website’s SEO-friendliness to Google.
- Orphaned pages: Pages existing on your site but not accessible via navigation require linkage or inclusion in menus.
Take your time to understand these terms and their implications for your website. The crucial aspect is to acknowledge these factors and devise a plan to rectify issues as they arise.
Haystayk dedicates itself to empower small business owners with the knowledge for success in the digital landscape. Our DIY SEO Guide provides essential tips will help you enhance your online presence and attract more customers. With Haystayk’s support, small business owners can navigate the world of SEO with confidence, knowing they have a trusted partner to help them thrive.
