Beginners guide SEO: In this post I will share why SEO is important and simple steps for you to start showing up in Google Search Results!
What is a SEO:
SEO is Search Engine Optimization. It’s optimizing the content on your website so that it can appear in SERP (Search Engine Results Page).
This can sound super techy or overwhelming but I promise you; simple steps will make a difference! You don’t need to learn everything there is about SEO in order to start seeing results! But there are a few key things that you need to do to optimize your website which I will walk you through in this post!
Why SEO is the best way to quietly grow your business?
SEO is something you do behind the scenes. You apply your SEO settings on your main website pages one time and then let Search Engines (like Google) take the time to learn your content. So you’re not constantly updating those pages!
The one SEO strategy that I highly recommend after you’ve optimized your web pages is Blogging! You do not have to blog in order to optimize your website for SEO. But it is a great way to continue to add valuable content and increase the opportunities for your web pages to appear in SERP (Search Engine Results page).
Why SEO is an introvert-friendly marketing strategy
SEO works quietly in the background while you do whatever else that you want to do! You’re not having to show up daily, do your hair or makeup. You just optimize your pages once, sit back and let the Search Engines do the work from there!
In this post you will learn the following simple, actionable steps to get started with SEO for beginner:
- Understanding how Search Engines (like Google) find you
- Choosing the right keywords for each web page
- Optimize your web pages (without getting overwhelmed)
- Continue to create valuable and helpful content through blogging
- Stay consistent and be patient
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1. Understanding how Search Engines (like Google) find you
The way Search Engines find you is by crawling and then indexing your website pages.
- Crawling: when the search engine reviews and analyzes the content on your page
- Indexing: when the search engine files your page after crawling so it can serve it in search results when it’s the right match for a search query.
Think about this like going to the library. Each book has been reviewed to know what type of genre it is. From there it is filed in a specific category so people can easily find what they are looking for. In the same way, Google will file away your content where it fits best and then pull it out and present it in the search results when it matches a user’s search.
With SEO you get in front of your ideal clients
The best part about being found by SEO is that your website is presented to users who are actively searching for your content! Because search engines want to present content that matches the users’ search the most; you know that if they find your website through search results it’s because they search for it!
Over time you can start to build qualified leads through SEO because they’re already a warm audience. They aren’t just being shown your content willy-nilly. It’s because they’re already interested in that topic.
2. Choosing the right keywords that help with SEO for each web page
What are keywords:
“Keywords are words or phrases that users type into search engines to find relevant content for their queries. Because keywords come from search queries, incorporating these terms into your content strategy helps search engines rank your website pages and users find your content when looking for it.” – Hubspot
Keywords are the foundation of SEO. You can have a beautifully written web page but if no keywords are added then Search Engines won’t know how to index your page. Therefore this will become a missed opportunity to rank in SERP (Search Engine results Page).
And the truth is, sometimes as business owners we think we know what our ideal clients will be searching for. But research has shown me time and time again; this isn’t true! I have done SEO keyword research for countless clients where the terms they want to rank for aren’t even being searched by users.
Short tail keywords vs long tail keywords
- Short tail keywords: These are commonly searched, generic keywords with little detail. For example “nike shoes”
- Long tail keywords: These are more descriptive and narrow down a search. For example “blue hightop nike shoes”
When you are choosing keywords it’s best to use long tail keywords. You will have a higher opportunity to rank in search results because there will be less competition. And you’re really narrowing down the type of client you’re attracting, which is an added bonus!
Beginners guide for SEO: Free tools to do your own SEO keyword research
- Moz Keyword Explorer
- Answer the Public
These are all free tools that you can use to do your own SEO Keyword research! I have a blog post that walks you through exactly how to do this: 4 Ways To Do SEO Keyword Research
Choosing the right SEO Keywords for each web page
It’s important to know that you should target one set of keywords for each page on your website. You don’t want to be competing for keywords with different pages within your own site! When that happens, Google won’t be clear on which page to present so it might just present one over the other or not present either!
When I am creating an SEO Keyword strategy for my clients I always choose a main keyword and then secondary keywords that support it. The keywords within one page should all be related to each other so that Google knows what that page is about.
For example, in this very post, I have the following main keywords and secondary keywords:
- Main Keyword: beginners guide seo
- Secondary Keywords: what is a seo, beginners guide for seo, beginners guide to search engine optimization, seo for beginner, help with seo
You can see how these are all related! This gives me the opportunity to rank for multiple keywords but does not confuse Search Engines with what the content is about.
3. Beginners guide to Search Engine Optimization: Optimize your web pages (without getting overwhelmed)
Now that you know which keywords you want to target on each page of your website. It’s important to add those keywords strategically to the correct places! Let’s do this without feeling overwhelmed by the tech!
Here are some on-page SEO tactics that you can easily implement yourself. Meaning places you can add SEO within your actual website:
- Page titles
- Meta/Page Descriptions
- Headings (h1, h2, etc.)
- Within paragraph text
- Image alt text
- Page URL
If you have a Showit website, I have a blog post that shows you exactly where to add these keywords: Showit SEO: How to Add SEO to Your Showit Website the Right Way
4. Continue to create valuable and helpful content through blogging
If you want your website to appear in Search Results then optimizing your main web pages is a non-negotiable. But if you truly want to use SEO to quietly grow your business online then I highly recommend Blogging!
When you consistently publish blog posts you are adding more pages that have the opportunity to rank in Search Results. This is going to continue to drive more organic traffic to your website over time!
Imagine two business owners in the same industry and they launch their websites at the same time. They have both optimized the main pages on their website but one of them continues to blog. They are publishing new content weekly to their website. The business who continues to add content will build more trust with Search Results because they’re keeping their site active. And they will build a loyal audience because they’re always providing free, valuable advice.
If you want to know more details on how Blogging is a great way to grow your business online, here’s a blog post I wrote: 7 Benefits of Blogging for Small Businesses
5. Stay consistent and be patient
After you have taken time to optimize your content and publish blog posts, it’s important to be patient. SEO and blogging are the long-game! You will not see immediate results which can feel discouraging. But I promise you, if you stick to it you will see results that will compound over time. When your SEO starts to pick up it’s like a snowball effect; it continues to drive traffic to your site for years! This is what makes SEO and blogging such a great way to market online because you have such a great ROI over time!
It can take anywhere from 6-12 months to start gaining traffic to your website. It feels like a long time but when you want a business that lasts; one year really isn’t a lot in the grand scheme of things!
You can do it, I believe in you! The benefits greatly out-weigh the time it takes to get there!
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