Post-2023 and the on-set of the global pandemic with internet usage going through the roof and local and global industry becoming polarised, online competition has never been fiercer.
So global business owners are certainly finding page 1 of Google elusive and online visibility, in general, more challenging especially if they are not using an experienced SEO company or team to help with strategizing and organising an all-encompassing effort to gain traction.
Let's take a look at two reasons how the businesses that do rank owe their success to:
● They are using various SEO techniques compared to 2020 and 2021 to get results
● They are juggling resources from other areas to put as much into new performance SEO services and techniques as possible to attract and retain customer business
By now, you may already be banging your head against the wall, started reading this and said to yourself, 'Easy for you to say, we don’t feel we can do that!'
HOW TO GO ABOUT GETTING RESULTS THROUGH SEO
The global online behavioural patterns are shifting like tectonic plates, and you need a team that are continually monitoring these shifts within your industry. My advice is to hire SEO specialists, but (if possible) engage with a local company.
Hiring a local SEO team that you can sit down with and converse with, build rapport and a proper business relationship is my advice for 2022.
In this article, I'm going to give you 5 easy tips to help you know your hired help is doing what’s needed to get you to the next level. So here we go:
TIP #1 – CONTINUAL CONTENT UPDATING
CONTENT IS KING – In the past, Google favoured images over content, but that was many moons ago.
However, there are clear cut guidelines for content creation in the current online world. Your content needs to be engaging, high quality, descriptive, helpful and relevant.
If you put up repetitive text with little substance on your site, Google will see you as not beneficial to their customers, and your ranking will subsequently suffer.
Remember, in this current climate, people are more likely to go looking for information and advice. Hit your market by publishing the latest industry news, not just about your company, then make relevant articles relating to you.
Create a blog, but make it engaging and fun. Why not? Of course, outline your services and products, but also business news. Keep your readers reading at all times!
WHY DOES THIS WORK?
With quality, up-to-date, relevant information, you have more chance of being found by people searching who tap into your targeted keywords. But more importantly, Google monitors the patterns of visitors to your site.
Google’s web crawler will see that if your site is getting hits, internal links are being clicked, and people are viewing multiple pages, your rankings go up. But this won't happen if you have limited content and it's boring.
WHAT IS THE ACTION PLAN?
There are 2 options when you hire an SEO Company.
● They will offer content creation as a service
● You provide them with the content or a bit of both
I suggest you do a bit of both; it depends on your company's size and how busy and demanding your business is. There are variables, to say the least.
No-one knows your company and business better than you so:
Try to take 30 minutes out a week to write some engaging content for your website and send it to your SEO team.
Try to include the keywords you are targeting. If you find that difficult, just send your content/article, and they will write it in and post it accordingly.
IDEA: FAQ's are very popular online at the moment, so look to create worthwhile information.
TIP #2 – ADD OR UPDATE GOOGLE PLACES
The benefit of having a Google Places for Business listing is when someone searches for your business on the right-hand side of the search screen, your business detail appears.
Not only your business but your location map, contact details and opening hours. Quick, easy and helpful information for the viewer. Sometimes Google automatically creates it for you.
If not, all SEO companies can set this up and maximise it for you.
WHY DOES THIS WORK?
A Google Place or otherwise known as Google My Business page is necessary for geo-targeting your business. This means you show up not only when someone searches your actual business name but also your profession 'plumber in Canberra', for example.
WHAT IS THE ACTION PLAN?
Again, I'll give you 2 options:
● Check with your SEO Company they have set up Google Places
● Ensure you give your SEO team as much information on your business as you can. Photos of the outside of your premises and pictures of your team give the viewer something tangible when they see your business.
TIP #3 – START A SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN
Social media, unlike years back, now has a direct effect on your Google rankings as, when structured correctly, they directly provide valuable backlinks to your website.
Most packages that SEO companies offer will include the set-up and management of various social media platforms.
You might not be on social media personally and maybe not even like it, but remember, it's not about you! Social media plays an INTEGRAL role in today's business communities’ success.
It's a fantastic way to attract a different demographic to your business; it literally opens doors that currently could be completely shut.
WHY DOES THIS WORK?
Google picks up on positive interaction of all kinds that link to your business.
WHAT IS THE ACTION PLAN?
Here are the leading players in the social media market:
Facebook Business page
Google for Business
Youtube
Pinterest and Reddit are also beneficial.
If you already have accounts set up for your business, ask your team to make sure everything is suitably linked correctly to your business. They will be able to help and advise accordingly.
If you don't have any or only some of these, as I said previously, SEO companies offer these services as part of their package as they need to get you results, or you'll take your business elsewhere!
IDEA: It is essential, just like content, to keep social media constantly moving by updating it. The more information posted, the more noticeable you become. Be sure to feed your SEO company as much regular information, photos of new products, information on new services, new brochures, EVERYTHING, to keep the chains moving.
TIP #4 – CROSS LINK WITH WEBSITES IN THE SAME INDUSTRY
In the SEO community, it is known as 'backlinking'. It's the practice of link exchanging between companies within the same industry.
Your SEO team will guest blog to contact on your behalf other website owners or who is running their website to share industry knowledge.
This means you are sharing information on each other’s sites and therefore creating links. Anywhere that encourages sharing, then it's a stellar idea to share ideas with blogs and with articles.
Consequently, you just request they allow you a link back to their site from yours.
WHY DOES THIS WORK?
Google ranks highly for links that are high quality from an already relevant and high-ranking website. The algorithm works on a calculating basis, and this is a significant component. It shows within your industry, and people want to share your knowledge which makes you valuable to their client base.
WHAT IS THE ACTION PLAN?
There are many ways to create backlinks.
Firstly, even without the help of an SEO company you can share information about your website with your family and friends through their social media accounts. When you create your email signature at the bottom, make a hyperlink back to your website.
Again, the content will come into play here, so it needs to be engaging, relevant and industry-specific, and try to use the keywords within the article you are writing.
When it comes to contacting a business, this should be part of the overall SEO package you pay for is to link build on your behalf, and they will know the companies to target with the highest domain authorities (DA) that give you the most credibility with Google to increase your ranking.
TIP#5 – CREATE PROMOTIONS, DISCOUNTS, STIMULATE YOUR EXISTING CUSTOMERS AND FIND NEW ONES – ALSO GUARANTEES
Promotions are a great way of re-engaging your existing client base. Make sure they still know you are around. More importantly, creating urgency not just from your clients or readers, but there's a good chance they will pass the information on to their friends. If they do that online, you are ‘link building'. Also, you’ll get noticed by new potential customers.
Time-sensitive offers such as 'Use this promotion code only 2 days left' are great. Get your SEO company to ensure the offer is placed at the top-of-the-fold on your homepage and for mobile devices.
The customer sees the offer immediately without scrolling down; this always creates better results when landing on your page.
By including guarantees, this gives assurances to inbound leads. This is the icing on the cake; it’s more enticing and adds value with less risk.
If it's a low risk, high-quality service or product at a great price, you have every chance of picking up lots of links and new business along the way.
WHY DOES THIS WORK?
With the level of competition out there coupled with the highest amount of internet usage of all-time, you need to stand out from the crowd.
Creating regular promotions, offers and discounts will bring a more extensive following through your social media accounts and your website and mobile page.
Even if someone doesn't take you up on your offer, if they have visited your site and maybe even saved you for future reference on their browser, you are creating trust from Google, and if Google is your friend, then you are going places.
SO, WHAT IS THE ACTION PLAN?
Communicate with your team and get them to study your competition and see what you can do differently and, most importantly, better.
Don't be afraid to be different, be inventive, quirky and catchy. This is what stops people from continually clicking to the next search.
Most of all, with special promotions, be sure to judge your potential customers. It must be relevant and offer value. Be sure to provide guarantees and also be honest with your potential clients about what you are offering.
OK, so there are some tips on the main things you can do in 2022 with solid performance SEO services.
Conclusion
I hope this article has pointed out some of the basic strategies that your SEO company should employ and what you can do to support them in making your business a success in this highly competitive market. If you have not enlisted the services of SEO specialists, just search for one in your local area. Remember, don't bother with the ones that are not on page 1. If they can't get themselves on page 1, how are they going to get you there! TOP TIP – Good luck in 2022.
