How well does your website perform on search engines? If your company is anything like most businesses, your website probably struggles in a few areas.
And that’s OK. SEO is tough work.
But we’re here to help.
We’re reviewing some of those often-overlooked SEO strategies that many of your competitors probably aren’t using—and that you can leverage to get ahead!
Use the table of contents to skip to the quick and easy SEO tips most relevant to you—or read everything at once for a deep dive into those SEO best practices that can give you a competitive edge!
Table of Contents
General SEO Strategies That Go Overlooked
Here are three general SEO strategies that can boost your performance and bump you ahead of the competition:
1. Write Meta Descriptions for Every Page
Writing a clear, keyword-focused meta description for each page should be a no-brainer, but I can’t tell you how many SMB websites I’ve seen that don’t have any meta descriptions; it’s just something business owners and web developers forget to plug in.
Audit your website to make sure your meta descriptions are in place. If they aren’t, get your target keywords for each page as close as possible to the beginning of each meta description, and try to keep it between 145 and 160 characters.
2. Build Valuable Backlinks Through Blog Swapping or Guest Posting
Backlinks are one of the most overlooked SEO best practices around—and they’re also the most difficult and time-intensive to achieve. But you can make it happen by coordinating a blog swap or guest posting on a relevant industry website.
A great blog swap partner:
Has a similar target audience as your business
Offers different services or products than your business
Is well respected within the industry
Aligns with your values
While you’re writing, don’t forget the most important part: Including a few backlinks to high-value pages on your own website. That’s one surefire way to increase sales with blogging and get greater results from your backlink efforts!
3. Submit Every New Page to Search Console
Here’s another step that frequently goes overlooked: Once a new page is published, submit it through Google Search Console so the search engine knows to crawl it.
It should find the page eventually even if you don’t submit it, but you don’t want to leave it up to chance. Plus, once it’s crawled, you’ll be able to see if it’s indexed—and whether any problems prevent it from being indexed.
Local SEO Strategies That Go Overlooked
Try out these two strategies for improved local SEO performance so you can stand out in your region:
1. Post In Your GMB Profile (And Keep It Updated)
Google loves seeing completed Google Business profiles, and it often rewards them with a higher ranking in the coveted map pack (that three-pack of businesses that shows up next to the map in the search results).
Make sure you have everything Google wants to see, including:
Accurate phone number
Accurate street address
Accurate website
Updated photos
Updated hours
Updated services
Updated social media account links
Just as important: Make a habit of posting business updates, deals, and new blogs inside your profile as well. In addition to taking up more real estate on the page, it’ll show you’re paying attention to the Google user’s experience—and Google loves that!
We recommend updating your profile at least once a week, so clear some time on your calendar.
2. Create A Unique Page for Each of Your Services in Each Location
If you want to dominate in local search, specificity matters. Consider a city like Pittsburgh, which has 90 different neighborhoods. When someone’s searching for a local service, store, or restaurant, they often search by neighborhood—not “Pittsburgh.”
In other words, someone looking for a great Chinese restaurant while shopping in Shadyside is more likely to search “Chinese restaurant Shadyside” than they are to search “Chinese restaurant Pittsburgh.”
The lesson here: Make the pages on your website equally precise.
If you run a Pittsburgh-based lawn care company that focuses on Pittsburgh’s east end, you probably want to have pages specific to the services you provide in each of those neighborhoods.
Depending on your services, that could mean you wind up with pages dedicated to:
Highland Park Mowing
Highland Park Mulching
Highland Park Hedge Trimming
Highland Park Sodding
Larimer Mowing
Larimer Mulching
Larimer Hedge Trimming
Larimer Sodding
And so on.
Yes, it’s a bit of upfront work, and you should talk to your web developer about the most efficient way to knock it out, but it can significantly boost your local SEO performance.
eCommerce SEO Strategies That Go Overlooked
For improved eCommerce SEO performance, try these strategies:
1. Be Really Descriptive with Your Products.
Have you ever been scrolling through Amazon and come across a product with a ridiculous name like “Artistic Bedside Table Lamp Modern Sidetable Light Cute Metal Table Lamp”?
The reason that name sounds so ridiculous is because the person who wrote it was keyword stuffing—trying to squeeze in as many keywords as possible to rank the product in as many searches as possible.
We never encourage keyword stuffing since it hampers user experience and can get you in trouble with Google.
But you can still leverage keywords to your advantage.
Using a keyword research tool like Google Keyword Planner, Mangools, Semrush, or Moz can help you determine what your target audience is searching for, and which keywords and key phrases are best to use when writing about your product.
From there, you can inject high-value words into:
the page title
the meta description
the product name
the product page’s headers
the product description
And for many eCommerce sites, the product description is the one location where you can really let your creativity flow, so don’t miss out on this SEO opportunity! Take your time writing captivating, keyword-rich descriptions that grab the reader’s attention and help convert them into paying customers.
2. Use Your Blog
Many eCommerce sites underutilize or misuse their blog from an SEO perspective. In general, an eCommerce blog should capture your target audience while they’re nearing the middle of the buyer’s journey.
From there, it’s easy to push them to your most relevant product pages for a quick conversion and some easy cash.
To get started, brainstorm new blog topics based on your target audience’s pain points, then use a keyword research tool to figure out different angles to approach them.
Find Additional SEO Support
Find additional SEO support by working with an experienced SEO agency like Poetica Marketing. When you partner with a seasoned SEO veteran, you unlock the full potential of your website—and drive more traffic and leads to your business!
--
About Pat Schober & Poetica Marketing
Pat Schober is the writer of this article and the founder of Poetica Marketing, a content marketing agency and events coordination company based in Pittsburgh, PA. Since 2018, Poetica Marketing has supported companies throughout the US, Canada, and Europe in growing their online presence and creating unforgettable live events. Learn more about Pat and Poetica Marketing on the Poetica Marketing About page.
コメント