Are you looking to move your business online to expand your reach, but you don't know where to start?
If the answer is yes, you've come to the right place.
The recent COVID-19 pandemic has pushed most small businesses into the digital environment because of lockdowns introduced all over the globe. However, this transition has been challenging for many traditional business owners.
The good news is that building a prominent online presence doesn't have to be an impossible task.
In this article, we'll cover everything you need to know about the basics of SEO, content marketing, website creation, and other techniques that will make your site visible on Google.
Complete SEO Guide for Beginners
We put this guide together to guide you through the most important steps of creating a website for your business.
The information you'll find here is just the tip of the iceberg, so if you want to know more, you can contact a New York web design company for expert advice. Now, let's jump right into it.
1. Choose Your Website's Domain Name Wisely
You might think that getting a domain name that suits your brand and goals is easy, but you'd be wrong.
Google's algorithms are designed to scan the domain name to figure out what it's about. So instead of simply putting your business name as the domain, you should sit down and do some brainstorming first.
There are a few important rules to consider when picking a domain name. Here's a quick overview:
Choose a name that's relevant to your niche
The name should be catchy and easy to remember
It should include the main keyword you want to rank for
If you can't fit everything into one domain name, you shouldn't force things. Sometimes, using your company name for the domain name works great.
However, you might want to add a relevant keyword and your company name to help visitors better understand what you offer.
Let's say that you sell custom-printed T-shirts and that your company is called Black Swan. Something like www.blackswantshirts.com should do just fine.
With that said, you should know that lots of domain names are already taken, so check if they are available before picking the final combination.
2. Use Everything Available To Increase Online Visibility
It doesn't matter what type of business you're running: the moment you create a website, you will be competing against thousands of businesses offering similar products and services.
The competition is fierce, and you'll have to use everything available to get ahead. The first thing you should do is to open a Google My Business profile.
You can create one for free and it will make sure that your business appears in relevant searches on Google. You can also use the account as a form of communication with Google as well as you're your customers.
Update your business information, add details on your work hours and make sure that you fit into the most relevant categories. You can also use the platform to inform Google users about upcoming events, respond to customer reviews, share posts, and provide relevant updates.
3. Keyword Research and Overall Website Design
Keyword research is the most important part of any SEO effort since search engine ranking mostly depends on the keywords you use.
You can't possibly optimize your website without the right keywords. As such, you have to find the main terms and subjects you want to focus your SEO efforts on.
There are all kinds of tools designed to help you find keywords based on the amount of traffic generated by your competitors. As a new brand, you should start with less popular keywords, especially long-tail keywords, and work your way up from there.
Once you figure out the base of your SEO operations, the next thing to do is to come up with the architecture of the entire website.
In other words, you have to find the best way to organize your product or service offerings. The homepage is always on top of the pyramid, and the information is then divided into subpages and categories.
Remember to keep things simple, or your visitors will get lost while navigating between the pages.
4. Stock Up On Website Content
When you got everything above in order, it's time to populate your website with SEO-optimized content.
Start with your landing pages, homepage, and other pages where the content won't change in the near future. Make sure that you use the keywords you found across all these pages, as that will help increase your Google ranking.
However, that's just the first step in the long process of achieving a better ranking. You'll have to keep digging for as many relevant keywords as possible and create high-quality content around them.
The idea is to find questions that include these keywords and answer them to attract a wider audience. The process never stops, as Google demands that you keep adding new, unique content to your website at least every month.
5. On-Site and Off-Site SEO are a Must
Great content won't be enough to help you optimize your new website's SEO. You have to create every page according to the best SEO practices. That includes both on-site and off-site content.
Apart from finding the right keywords, you'll also have to come up with the appropriate tags, meta titles, descriptions, and other details that all work together to improve your website's ranking.
You'll also have to include outbound links to bigger websites and link all internal pages, as well as add social media sharing widgets.
Expect your SEO efforts to be hard at first, as it takes some time to build a strong backlink strategy. However, if you build a website with a strong architecture coupled with compelling content that shares an expert view on things, it shouldn't be too hard to link up with other high-authority websites and boost your rank.
6. Master the Art of Data Analytics
Google Analytics will become your best friend that will aid your future website's ranking. That's why you should get familiar with how these tools work and what metrics matter the most.
It's a good idea to learn the ropes before your website goes live. Google Analytics and similar data analytics tools can give you insight into extremely useful information on customer behavior, conversion rates, the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns, and so on.
When you know where your website users come from, how much time they spend on different pages, and their bounce rate, you will pinpoint the weak spots in your content and replace them with something more engaging.
By using other tools, such as heatmaps or overview tools, you will be able to enhance your SEO efforts further, resulting in better website ranking, higher conversion rates, and improved organic traffic.
7. Update Your Strategy According to the Best Practices
SEO is an ever-evolving practice that never stops. Website owners have to keep testing their pages and optimizing keywords as well as other features constantly.
You must check the data regularly to identify problems and make necessary changes.
Staying one step ahead of your competition isn't that easy, so it's a good idea to subscribe to blogs, YouTube channels, and forums where SEO experts share advice and useful tips you can use to improve your website's ranking.
8. Ask Experts for Help
As you can see, a lot of work and knowledge goes into running a successful website. With other things going on, learning how everything works and applying it to your site won't be easy. The good news is that many digital marketing companies can get your website's SEO for a price.
We spoke with the CEO of a New York web design company called Digital Silk, and this is what he said:
"The recent COVID pandemic has changed the rules businesses operate all over the globe. Brick-and-mortar shops and stores keep closing down due to lockdowns, pushing thousands of companies to move their operations online. As a result, the competition has reached a new level making it harder for individuals to keep up with the latest SEO trends. If you want your website to succeed, hiring digital marketing professionals will give you the best chances."
The process of digitalization is entering its final stages, making SEO efforts even harder. That's why you should consider hiring an expert to guide you through the entire process and boost your website's Google ranking in accordance with the best industry practices.
Final Words
It takes a lot of time and practice to master SEO, and if you're a beginner, it may seem too complex.
However, with a little bit of hard work and high-quality website content, you will be able to put together an SEO strategy that will boost your website's ranking.
As a website owner, you'll have to update your SEO knowledge frequently if you want to stay ahead of your competition. Good luck with your future SEO projects!