A fledgling business is like a gangly limbed colt- it needs time to grow. As the owner, you need to throw all of your resources at the company.
Sometimes, that means making tough decisions. Unless you’re rolling in cash, you probably lack the fund to do everything you want to do. Should you hire a new employee or should you try to get new office space?
The easiest way to cut business costs is to start doing things yourself. You’ll save a lot of money on labor.
Your marketing budget can be trimmed. If you’re asking how to do SEO yourself, you’re already taking the right first step.
This blog will break down the marketing basics you need to get started. Let’s begin.
Do Your Research
Google bots are sophisticated. You can’t simply slap random words together and call it content. Your blog posts, website copy, etc., need to be engaging if your efforts are going to work.
What defines interesting content depends on who you are trying to market. That’s where your research comes in to play. You can learn about your potential customers.
Keywords
Nowhere is the value of research more apparent than when it comes to keywords. These are the terms people enter into search engines. Let’s say you sell vintage t-shirts. When someone types “cool vintage t-shirt, you want your website to pop up.
That can’t happen unless you do keyword research. Figure out what your customers are searching for, then litter your website with those keywords. ‘
User Data
You should keep track of all of the interactions that a user has with your site. You can use it to lure them back again. If they put an item into their shopping cart but don’t buy it, send them a coupon.
Monitor Your Data
All the data in the world is meaningless if you’re paying attention to it. SEO monitoring is a valuable practice, especially if you’re managing your campaign yourself. You need to know that what you’re doing is working.
You can use software to keep track of everything. Try to notice any trends. For example, do all of your social media posts that include a video do well while the plain text ones falter?
Or maybe your customers are more active during a specific part of the day.
Create Content
Without amazing content, your website won’t get much traffic. Search engines can’t be fooled for very long. It will stop sending people to your site if there are problems.
Your content needs to be relevant. A top ten list of the coolest vintage t-shirts worn by celebrities would be fitting if you sell vintage t-shirts. It wouldn’t make sense if you were trying to sell mustache cream.
To keep your customers interested, the content needs to grab their attention. If you’re doing everything yourself, that means you need to learn how to write basic blog posts. Creating videos is a good idea as well.
Scope Out the Competition
In order to become an industry expert, you need to know what you’re competition is doing. Spend time learning about their business. Look at their websites, go to their stores.
You don’t want to copy anyone else’s idea. But you do want to take inspiration from as many sources as you can. When you look at a competitor’s business, you might be able to spot areas where you can improve.
Get the Word Out
Once you create your content, it’s time to distribute it. You’re trying to gain new followers and attract fresh customers, so simply posting on your website is not enough.
All of your blog posts should be posted on your social media channels. If you have relationships with other bloggers or website owners, you can see if they will host your content for you.
Take advantage of email as well. A weekly or monthly newsletter can result in big returns.
Use SEO Tricks
There are SEO tricks you can use to optimize your website and your content. All of your content, for example, should be written with an eye toward keywords. A beautiful, moving piece written without keywords has less value for your business than an article perfected with SEO strategies.
To drive extra traffic, use internal links often. It will help keep customers on your website. External links are useful as well.
Establish a Presence
Whatever your industry is, you want your brand to be considered an authority. If you sell gourmet pet food, people should come to your website or social media channel if they have a question about switching their pet’s diet.
If you become an authority in your industry, your customers will come to depend on you. Your brand will be able to establish reliable relationships.
In order to do this, you need to create a strong social media presence. Part of your social strategy is to promote your business and try to earn sales.
However, all of your posts shouldn’t be about selling. The gourmet pet food business should share coupons on Instagram, but it should also share cute cat pictures and videos of the employees making the food.
Understand Mobile
More and more people are viewing websites from their phones. If your company website isn’t optimized for mobile, you could potentially lose customers.
People don’t have patience. If someone tries to load your website on their phone and it doesn’t work, they won’t keep trying. They’ll simply forget about your brand.
A huge percentage of mobile searches are converted to sales. People often look things up on their phones the moment that they need them. You’re letting money slip down the drain if you don’t capture those sales.
How to Do SEO Yourself
If you’re wondering how to do SEO yourself, it’s a sign it’s time to brush up on your internet marketing knowledge. Don’t worry, you can become a self-taught expert if you’re willing to put the work in.
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