We all know that
Search Engine Marketing (SEO) is something that each and every online business should be doing at all times. It is essential to you and your business that people can find your site and your products and services when they go to Google, Yahoo, Bing or one of the other of the millions of search engines out there. What's the point in spending thousands of dollars on a pristine site with all the bells and whistles if no one can find it when they are looking for products like yours?
At Foremost Media, we run a meticulous SEO program that has been proven successful and effective, time and time again. As much as we help our great clients with their SEO, there is still inevitably a part of the campaign that you need to make sure you are taking part in. Remember, the more eyes you have on your campaign, the better the results. Here are 5 things you can do to make your SEO campaign a success, counting down from 5:
#5A: Be Involved!
Ok, so there are two #5's, but they both deserving of being on the list. 5A is to stay involved in the SEO campaign. I say this because lots of online companies seem to hire a marketing firm or online web development firm much like Foremost Media, pay their bills and are completely hands off. There's NOTHING wrong with that, after all, it IS our job to run the SEO campaigns for you.
But in order to have the most successful campaign possible, you MUST stay involved. Look at the reports every month and call your SEO guys to talk about how the campaign is doing. There are going to be things, such as writing content that your SEO guy will be limited in. The reason I say this is because your SEO guy doesn't work in your industry and he doesn't know all the details and lingo that go into it all. (See #1 for more information on content) You are in your position for a reason. You know your company better than just about anyone and you should be the one at the wheel of your campaign in every aspect possible.
Got a new product or service you're going to be offering in the next month? Tell your SEO so he can adjust keywords, page titles and structure so you can start the process toward ranking well, even before you offer the product. See a keyword slipping that you really need to rank for, tell your SEO guy. All these things aren't possible without your involvement, and as much as we'd like to , your SEO guy can't read minds.
#5B: Take the Rifle Approach, Not the Shotgun Approach
The biggest mistake most companies make is that they want to rank for every word they can possibly think of having to do with their business. Which in a perfect world, would be great. But the truth is unless you are a corporation who has been online for 20 years, and have millions of backlinks, that probably won't happen. Don't take the shotgun approach and try and go after hundreds of words at once. Take the rifle approach. Be more accurate and go after 5-10 keywords that you "must" rank for.
Your SEO guys SHOULD take those 5-10 "must-have" keywords and do what's called keyword research. This is the process of finding keywords that relate to your main keywords. They may be synonyms or just words that have to do with them that people are already searching for. We call them the "low hanging fruit." Words with lots of searches that have smaller competition.
#4: Relevant Page Titles
When you are adding a new page to the site for a new product or service, keep in mind that people searching don't typically know your specific product name. If you're selling a bag of fresh vegetables, don't make your page title "Best Company Ever's VeggieBag." People don't know your product exists yet, that's why they're using search engines to find products like yours. So your page title should be something like this, "Fresh Vegetables Grown Locally | Bes Company Ever's Veggiebag. Make Sense?
#3: The Necessary Evil: Social Media
We all know how time consuming and sort of a pain in the rear social media can be, but if you do it right, it can be a very important part of your SEO campaign. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have millions, if not billions of incoming links, and having your own pages on these social media sites is becoming essential to search engines, especially Google. We have actually had success adding a keyword that a client of ours wanted to rank for to the page title of their Facebook page, and they went from being unranked to #1 in two weeks. Now, this is NOT the norm, but it just goes to show the importance and weight that incoming links (See #2 for more details) from social media sites to your website can do for SEO.
#2: Network for Incoming Links
You work with a lot of people within your industry, so network with them to trade links from your site to theirs and vice versa. Networking is all about mutually helping each other out and the longer you've been at your job, the more you probably have. Reciprocal links are very easy to put up and can help everyone. One thing to keep in mind too, is that the more links you have coming from companies in your industry the better, although any link from any site is great!
#1: Content is the King of All Kings
If you do SEO or have an SEO guy, you've definitely heard this, but that doesn't make it any less true. There are a few important factors to good content that we always tell our clients:
- Give the reader something original: Unique content is the best way to get rankings and more visitors. Write something unique and original about your products or industry that hasn't been written before.
- If you didn't write it, would you share it?: This is self-explanatory. Don't waste your time or your reader's time by writing something uninteresting or mundane. Make it enthralling and informative and make the reader HAVE to share it because it's so good.
- Don't Let Your Site/Blog Spoil: Keep your content fresh. Don't go months or weeks without adding something new. Stay up to date with your postings and even though there isn't any exact period to be posting, we always recommend something each week.
Foremost Media offers monthly SEO packages that has been proven to increase traffic to your website and raise awareness for your brands and products. If you need help with yours, or even just have a few questions, please don't hesitate to contact our Search Engine & Social Media Marketing Expert Aaron Manogue at amanogue@foremostmedia.com or (608) 921-0742.
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Jon Ballard
