I confess.  Three years ago, SEO confused me to no end.  I wasn’t terribly ‘techie’ at the time and just didn’t get it. Or so I thought . . . My, how things have changed!

I’ve learned a lot since then. Turns out, SEO doesn’t stand for Something Extremely Ominous. I learned that I didn’t need to be a Mensa-level computer engineer to do SEO. And neither do you!

While there are a lot of technical aspects of SEO, you can get a good start without them.

 

 

How to Do SEO: The Technophobe Version

 

1. Accept that SEO is not a 1-and-Done Deal

Like most things in business, SEO requires taking a planned approach and developing a well thought out strategy. Successfully implementing an SEO strategy doesn’t happen overnight. It has several moving parts that all work together – like cogs in a machine. 

Before you start, lay out all the pieces.

 

This means you know:

     •  What you want your site to achieve.

•  Who your target audience is.

     •  What your ideal customer needs and wants.

     •  How your product or service makes a meaningful difference.

 

2. Develop a Content Strategy

Creating a detailed content strategy may sound complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. The folks at Hubspot wrote a great article detailing how to do it, but here’s the gist.

 

Creating a content strategy that drives organic traffic involves knowing:

     •  What type of content your audience wants.

     •  When they want it.

     •  Where they’re looking for it.

 

“But wait!” you say, “I thought SEO had to do with stuff like keywords and meta descriptions and site speed and all that techie stuff!”

You’re right. It does. 

So why am I talking about content?”

Though SEO and content marketing differ from each other, they’re best when put together – like peanut butter and jelly.

That’s because when you combine SEO with a well-developed content marketing strategy, you’re giving your audience exactly what they’re looking for. And that’s the start of a beautiful relationship that will land you more site visits – and more sales.

 

3. Research Keywords

We can’t stress enough how valuable keyword research is for driving traffic to your site. But it’s not enough to simply get visitors. You need to get the right visitors to your site. And this means you have a pretty good idea of what your target audience is searching for. So how do you do it?

 

Doing keyword research includes 5 basic steps:

     •  Identifying several broad categories that capture what your business does. 

     •  Listing out phrases that people type into Google when they need information about those broad categories.

     •  Checking to see that you have a generous mix of short-tail and long-tail keywords on your list.

     •  Using a keyword planner tool (like Moz’s Keyword Explorer or Google’s Keyword Planner) to see how your keywords and phrases actually perform

     •  Revising your list accordingly. 

 

4. Build Your Online Presence

Now comes the part where you fit all the cogs together and turn on the SEO machine. This is where you give your audience and search engines something to find by starting to build your online presence. Your website is at the center, and you attract visitors to it with your online assets. 

 

Building an online presence that your audience and Google will love includes:

     •  Getting active on social media.

     •  Submitting business information to directories, such as Google My Business and Bing Places. 

     •  Blogging regularly.

     •  Monitoring and responding to business reviews.

 

In Sum

The most important thing to remember about search engine optimization is to be patient and consistent! Ranking high on search engines is a process that takes time, and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.  Like everything in business, measure your results and make adjustments to what you’re doing as needed.

 

Have something to add? Don’t be shy! Leave us a comment below!