We know marketing can take a big chunk of your expenses as a business, and it’s hard to know which areas to invest in or which to outsource. Search Engine Optimisation, or SEO as it’s commonly known, is seen as a low-cost marketing tactic as the benefits can last longer than paid clicks methods, such as PPC (pay per click) advertising.
Here are a few money-saving tactics you can do to help your SEO efforts if budgets are tight, or you want to distribute your marketing budget to paid advertising.
Do it yourself SEO tips
Know your audience and what they’re searching for
If you know what your customers are searching for, you can work towards optimising your website for those searches. Keyword research tools are found in most paid for SEO tools, but there are a few free ones you can try.
Google’s Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest and SEMRush are excellent options for identifying relevant keywords for your business for free. For example, SEMRush is typically a paid for service, though you can create a free account to look at a selected number of keywords.
It’s equally important to know why a customer is searching – are they looking for information or a service or to buy something? This is known as Search Intent. If you understand what a customer is searching for and why they are searching for it, you can tailor your website to suit their needs.
Optimise on-page
Once you’ve got an idea of what potential customers are searching for, you can start by looking at your website’s on-page SEO. This means inserting your keywords in important places such as the meta title and meta description, in headers and dotted throughout page copy.
While it’s important to use your keywords to attract customers and give signals to search engines, there is a fine line between page optimisation and keyword stuffing. This is why it’s important to work with a dedicated SEO provider who understands this balance.
Mobile first
There are over 51.9 million smart phones in use in the U.K, resulting in a lot of people browsing the web, checking emails and scrolling through social media. In fact, over 94% of over 16’s has access to a phone!
Google has a Mobile First Indexing solution to rank websites; this means it crawls and indexes mobile versions of websites first, as this is where majority of internet users will come onto the site. If your website isn’t optimised for mobile version, Google may not rank it very highly, and users could potentially leave the website to seek the service you provide elsewhere.
When we say optimised for mobile, we mean a website that is responsive, fast loading and easy to navigate on a small screen. If your website is built using a backend like WordPress or Wix, you most likely have a responsive solution built in and just need to check it’s functioning adequately.
Social Media
You’re probably wondering why I’m talking about social media when this is a blog about SEO. Well, social media can be a significant contributor to your SEO efforts!
Sharing content on you chosen social media platforms and engaging with your audience can all help build a picture of your business and how it operates. Social signals can influence search engine algorithms, and a solid social strategy can complement your SEO.
Regular social media posting also improves brand visibility, as many consumers take to social media before buying from a brand. Statistics suggest that 3 out of 4 people look at social media before buying from a brand they’ve never brought from before, reinforcing the importance of a strong social presence.
Avoid cheap packages with big promises
This one is less of a practical tip and more advice for anyone looking at purchasing SEO services.
SEO is a complicated service, with search professionals constantly adapting and changing their tactics – the most used phrase in SEO is “it depends” because it really does always depend.
If you see an SEO package promising fantastic results for a small price, run a mile. They are probably using a one size fits all approach for all clients that sign up and are very unlikely to produce results. They could also be using a strategy known as Black Hat SEO. These are actions that are deemed as deceptive by Google and other search engines and can lead to your website being blacklisted from search results, even for your own brand name.
Seek SEO support
SEO requires a bespoke approach for each client, because every business is different. At WorkPR, we tailor all our strategies to suit each client’s needs and work with different budgets to allow our clients to get the most for their money. We would never suggest a marketing strategy we didn’t think would provide the results you want and need to thrive.
