Every business owners wants their business to land at the top of page one for customers searching on the internet. This is a healthy goal, and one that is admirable but needs to be understood. In the real world, this does not happen overnight. The truth is that depending on the competitive nature of your business, may never happen.
When creating an SEO plan with your internal team or a marketing professional, understand that it takes patience on the part of the business owner and a realistic plan to reach for that goal. Here are four “tried and true” concepts to build upon for a successful SEO plan:
1. Build your site for your customer. When creating your site, remember who you’re building it for. Think about your visitor and what they are looking to learn. Forget about your competition, the ad dollars that are being spent, and the technical jargon surrounding the search engines. The bottom line is this, a website should reflect what YOUR CUSTOMER is searching for, and if it is the search engines will reward you.
2. Educate, Inform, and Share. Create content that educates and informs your “ideal” customer. Rather than selling on every page, make sure that you give your visitor something to take away – links to articles, down loadable pdf’s with support information, images to view and share with a friend. The options are numerous, and you gain a loyal visitor when they see you as expert in the industry.
3. Use The Words Right Out of Your Customer’s Mouth. Listen for words that your customer uses when asking about your services. Ask your receptionist, sales team and office manager for words that they hear consistently from customers who call or visit. Remember, these may not be the words you would use, but you are not the one searching.
4. There Is NO Easy Way To The Top. Don’t take the shortcut and buy into the shady tactics that exist out there. These often include spam, buying links and likes, creating fake profiles, and “quick-fix” tricks that will ultimately get your site removed from the leading search engine indexes.
These four simple rules have been the foundation for success in SEO for over a decade. This does mean that the business owner has to work harder, but in the long run it does pay off as your rankings increase and your names gains visibility.
It is wise to enlist the help from a marketing professional who is trained, certified and committed to getting your business in the best position and maintaining visibility. R2R Marketing is a Certified Google Partner. Call 757-482-3492 to discuss your SEO needs today!
