Can I do SEO for my own business? The simple things you must know about ranking #1!

Let's talk ALL things search engine optimisation, or as you may know it as, SEO! When I first started my business the term, SEO scared me too! The good thing about being in marketing was I learnt it pretty quickly and once you know it, it isn't as bad as it seems!

To summarise, SEO is essentially how you appear in a search engine search. So when someone researches a keyword related to your business or niche, you want to show up as one of the top results so people click to your site!

The more relevant your website is to the keyword, the higher the chance you have of showing up on page one! Of course, the more people click on your site the more relevant Google thinks you are!

As a business owner, OF COURSE, we wanted to be on page one! And of course, we probably think this is easy for marketers to do if we pay them - am I right?

No, that is incorrect! That is why I have SEO veteran Andrew Glyntzos, come onto my podcast to talk about all things SEO and what you need to know!

Creating content and SEO

I'm sure you have been told you need to create content because it helps with search engine optimisation. Yes this is correct, but as Andrew said, it need to be content that the audience wants and needs.

It needs to be content that enhances the customers experience. You can't just be creating content because you know you have to. You need to be creating content before you think about how it will impact SEO.

Andrew recommends you write the most compelling content for user experience and to inform them rather than create the content for SEO/Google!! You create the engaging content that people need and the benefit is Google will reward you with top rankings. BUT we need to stress, this takes TIME and strategy, so have a plan and be consistent (talk to me if you want guidance on this).

What does Andrew have to say about content creating? Here are some GEMS from the pod:

"Content marketing without user experience is like a car without an engine" - Andrew

"Every time you go to a job, that's a piece of content" - Andrew

"Content marketing is a voice in a very noisy world" - Andrew (MY FAV)

Want to see a GREAT example of content marketing on social media? Check out Howard from RX Painters who Andrew talks about in the pod!

Now all this stuff works together to help you with your SEO!

What are back links?

WP Beginner have a great definition, which you can find here.

Back links are like referrals to your site. It is where other sites are linking to your content because it adds value. The more back links you get, the higher chance you have of ranking better on Google.

If others find your content valuable enough to link to it, Google and other search engines will also find you valuable.

So obviously that is why back links are so good for SEO, but how do we get people to link you to??

It is definitely all about connection, but of course, create content your audience wants!! If they want it, they will share it. To create 'quality' content, a content strategy will always help you! But of course, I have a lot of blogs on creating quality content, see more on my blog.

What else can you do?

These are two things you can start doing after you read this blog.

1. Look at where you have been mentioned using this tool (you get a 14 day trial). Once you know where your business has been mentioned, as Andrew said you can reach out and ask if they will link.

You could say something along the lines of:

"Hey [THEIR NAME],

Thank you so much for mentioning my business in your latest blog. I noticed you didn't have a link. For an amazing user experience for your customers, it might be relevant to give them a link to click through to! That way they can get more information.

If you want to link to: ADD LINK. I think your audience will love to get more resources from your blog/page/add here

Thanks,

[YOUR NAME]"

2. Write content mentioning other people and ask if they will refer to you!

Neil Patel suggests you write something like this:

"Hi [THEIR NAME],

I just wanted to say, I love your content. Especially your article on [insert the name of the article you linked out to].

I linked to it from my latest blog post [insert URL of your blog post]. It would make my day if you checked it out and even shared it on your favourite social network if you enjoyed it.

Cheers,

[YOUR NAME]"

This is another way they can mention you across social media but also could create links on their website!

Other ways according to the experts are:

Add your URL to your socials (yes standard)
Do guest blogging (find people in your network)
Contact influences in your industry and collaborate (they could link to you in their blogs or you can do content around them - they might return the favour)

You can also see if you have any back links at Ubersuggest, just type in your URL and it will let you know!

Back linking work in tedious and take time, but so does EVERYTHING in SEO. So keep working on it and you will build a better presence on Google.

Keywords for SEO

Oh yes, we all know keywords are KEY to SEO… see what I did there. But do we know how keywords for SEO works?

Can I tell you one thing it DOESN'T work for??? Keyword stuffing! As Andrew said, it is dead. So please don't do it. Or ask a writer to do it for you!

Create content people want to read!!

When it comes to keywords you can use tools like Google Trends and Ubersuggest to search the words people are searching for. Then you can use those keywords to write engaging content!

Of course, also take Andrew's advice:

"Don't go for the extra aggressive keywords in an industry when you are a small fish in a big pond. There are so much questions and content out there for everyone to get a piece of the pie".

For more content on keywords and SEO... see here! This will show you where to use your keywords!

HINT - use them in:

Page titles
Meta descriptions (the summary)
URL
Captions
Body text
Image names and descriptions

Okay so we are clear??? Do not keyword stuff!!

Hiring an SEO expert

So if you are looking to hire an SEO expert, of course, have a chat to Andrew. But he provided some simple advice which is:

You can do SEO on your own, it takes time and research but is possible (more on the pod)
If you choose to hire someone, MAKE SURE THEY INVOLVE YOU. If they say "you don't have to do anything" well they aren't the right SEO marketer for you!!

Andrew explains more in the podcast so make sure you listen!!!

The best tools for SEO

It wouldn't be an SEO blog without so AMAZING tools you can use!!

These are the ones Andrew suggested!! All explained how to be used in the pod but I will explain below.

Google Analytics - see how people are engaging with your page and how they find you
Google Console - see what keywords you rank for etc.
mentions.com - see where people are talking about you
siteblub.com - helps see what you can do with SEO
Screaming Frog - also helps with SEO advice etc.
SEM rush - do an audit your website, explore competitors, research keywords & back links
AHrefs - help you so discover your competitors, improve your SEO, boost your rankings

What about the ones that I use?

Ubersuggest - helps with bank links, content ideas, SEO audit and keyword research
Answer the Public - helps you discover what people are searching for to create content

Of course there are SO many tools out there. But have a go and let us know which ones you liked the most!

How to rank #1 for Google - my final thoughts on this!

Now the age old question…. Here is how Andrew explains getting ranked on Google….

"Why does Google reward you? Not because they like you. Google favours you because you are delivering on the searchers intent."

To put it simply…. Create content for the searcher!! Have your audience ALWAYS at the top of your mind. If you can create the content they want, people will click and Google will reward!

The one thing you need to know about Google is…

There is no cheat way to get to #1 on Google and if there is or someone says there is, you will most likely get banned!!

So our best advice to get #1 on Google: