Many coaches, authors, healers and small business owners believe that the key to success in their business depends completely on SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
This is only true to a point ….
Spending too much time focusing on SEO can kill your business. Hiring someone to do it all for your can drain your bank account.
You do have choices …
There are tons of strategies to be seen by your ideal client that doesn’t depend on you being at the top of every Google search.
That being said, SEO is important, but maybe not as much as you think.
7 Things You Need to Know About SEO
1) There are many SEO strategies to choose from
Consider what any search engine algorithm wants. (Yes, there are more search engines than the coveted Google first place position). Search Engines create algorithms in order to give their customers – the end user a good experience. So the trick is to give good content, that the user enjoys, engage with them and in time you will be rewarded. Focusing too much on keywords can create posts that are not easy to read – and that can lead to poor customer service which can cost you new clients. Remember to write for them – not algorithms.
2) Algorithms are constantly changing
It takes more than a full-time job to keep up with them all. If you are constantly spending time, changing your content to fit the latest changes, you’re not leaving time to market your products and services – and deliver them? You are better off spending time on activities that will actually deliver sales. According to Moz, Search Engines change their algorithms about 600 times a year!
3) Social Media Platforms are search engines too!
The BEAUTY of this is that they are also found in Google searches! Just because Google is the biggest game in town, it does not mean it’s the only game. Use your keywords in your posts and page descriptions on your social media platforms.
When you focus on social media, you will get traffic, (and more traffic increases your chance of being ranked high in Google), and you might get ranked in Google through the search engine itself.
In my experience visitors to my website from social media posts stay on my site ten times longer than when found through Google. It is really a win-win for you.
4) Big companies pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for SEO
Regardless, of what niche you are in, there is probably a company out there that has its own SEO people and they spend literally hundreds of thousands per year to stay in the coveted top place of Google.
Instead of competing with them for the top spots, why not write for them? Many of these companies, including Entrepreneur.com, YourTango.com, and Medium.com accept guest articles. Write a well-written article following their guidelines and this can be a less expensive and faster route to a top ranking.
5) 31% of organic traffic comes from the #1 Google position
The second position gets about 12% and 3rd gets about 9%.
Sure, you will get some traffic from ranking lower, and then with each page that gets lower.
I’ve heard that if you are not in the first three pages, then you are not seen at all. The question is, do you want to spend your money, time, and energy to stay in those top three spots for your blog posts?
Consider my personal stats:
* People that find my site on Google stay on my site an average of 1 or 2 minutes.
* People that find my site through social media stay on my site for an average of 5 or 6 minutes.
* People that find my site through another website stay on my site an average of 10 minutes.
When people find your site through social media or other websites, it automatically gives them a sense of “trust” in you, your products, and your services.
6) Paying an SEO expert is NOT a one-time expense
Sure you might pay an expert who gets you a good ranking. However, that does not mean it’s going to stay there forever. (Re-read #2). This puts you in a situation where you will need to continue paying the SEO expert for his/her services.
Beware of any expert who claims they can give you a #1 spot on Google. No one can guarantee this. It may also mean that the company uses black-hat strategies that can get your site blacklisted on Google – which can be a total nightmare.
7) There are MANY things you can do yourself
Engagement is important to social media. People are craving REAL CONNECTIONS and social media is a great way to accomplish that.
- Write good content for your ideal clients.
- Optimize your posts, as much as possible. (If you are on WordPress use the Yoast SEO plugin).
- Share your content in as many places as you can on a continuous basis. (Don’t post once and then forget about it. If you are writing good stuff, it will still be relevant a year from now, you should still be sharing it a year from now.)
- Repurpose your content! Many small business owners, constantly pull their hair out trying to come up with new content.
Knowing, these SEO tips, should give you a better understanding of whether paying an SEO expert should be on your to-do list.
Engagement is a part of social media algorithms but not a part of Google’s.
Why?
Google cares about their customers finding what they are looking for. The longer they stay on your site, the higher Google will rank you.
Social media sites care about engagement. The more engagement you get, the higher they rank you. (Which can lead to a high Google rank.) Social media is considered “word of mouth” recommendations.
