Every year small business SEO is becoming more and more difficult – but it still needs to be done. Most people still click on the Organic search engine results rather than paid Ads.
SEO in 2019 is different, so let us look at what works and what doesn’t. Before we get started – How many of you guys running a business outside of web design are SEO experts? You might be an expert plumber or hairdresser, but SEO is a VERY specialised skill set. And it is constantly changing.
The first tip I have for you is that adding regular new content can drive a ton of traffic – you really need a minimum of one post per week to your website, more is better. Google loves QUALITY content; content is king, but it needs to be unique and interesting to your readers. So, if you go out there and you just write tons of new posts because your competition ranks for these terms, it won’t necessarily work. Regurgitating the same information over and over again does not get results in 2019. What you do need to do is create brand-new unique content. You have to write about fresh stuff that people haven’t seen before. So, instead of focusing on writing every week, focus on writing new, unique and interesting content every week! People are looking for new information and they’re craving it now more than ever right now.
As well as adding NEW content, update your EXISTING content. Google soon gets tired of old-fashioned, outdated content. There’s content online on everything. Whatever you’re writing on, there are 50 other articles similar to that. If are you going to work smarter, write brand-new, fresh content or re-write existing content. But even with your new, fresh content, other people are going to copy you, so you need to update it. It doesn’t have to be monthly, but, at the least, once a year go into your best-performing articles and update them. It is also worth having a Copyscape account to catch people who are blatantly copying your content.
You need to take a wide approach, both online and offline – and you need to do that for a long period of time. I’m not talking a few months, I’m talking about a year or two – your brand will get bigger and bigger and you’ll find that it’s easier for to rank on Google. Anyone who tells you they can rank you in no time is, quite frankly, talking garbage. Just Google what Google itself says about claims to rank you quickly – it cannot be done. One good strategy is to use Adwords in the beginning and slowly transition to Organics results. Ring us on 0468 420 470 if you need help from a Gold Coast based Certified Adwords Specialist.
Another tip covers how to build link structures, but even that is getting harder than ever. Everyone’s hitting each other up these days for links. So instead of just going out there and trying to link to just anyone, go for high-quality links like Youtube, Facebook etc. Also, if someone links to three, four, five of your competitors but not you, you know that they are open to connecting with you if you make them an offer to swap links.
Another tip is to make sure that your website is Mobile Friendly. Google has a mobile-only search engines as well as one just for your desktop and laptop machines. Yes, people have 4G and 5G phones, but just because they have fast phones doesn’t mean they’re in an area with strong reception, so they may not be able to access your website fast. Use Google Page Speed to determine what you what you need to fix to load faster in Google’s eyes.
And of course, everyone should be on HTTPS by now; if you aren’t, switch to https, it’ll help massively, as well as having a firewall to protect you.
The final tip I have for you is to build your Brand. Google is looking for “Brand Signals” and if you are wondering how big your brand is, go to Google Trends and check your brand name versus your competitors. The reason Google rates Brands labels is that it builds trust. They know that if people are looking for your brand, they trust you, and you’re less likely to create garbage content or write content for the sake of content. If you want to build a label, you need to do it offline as well.