Most first-time local business webmasters either pay no attention to their keywords or go overboard on “keyword stuffing” with devastating consequences.
This video discusses basic SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and how to define your online audience using keywords for a business serving a locale or geographic area.
Over optimising keywords is easily noticed by Google’s search engine algorithm which promptly categorises such websites as being manipulative, deceitful and self serving. A site receiving penalties because of foul play is usually referred to as “spam”.
It also annoys readers who took the time to visit your site and are now faced with robotic-sounding drivel.
Stop Trying to Cheat
Spam, as you know, is a low grade meat product attempting to imitate something more desirable. It is a fitting metaphor for bad websites.
Many deceptive website owners instruct an SEO specialist or webmaster to “get them to the top of Google”, and what usually follows is a period of intense website keyword optimisation in an attempt to rank the website higher in the search engine results pages (SERPs).
Ten to fifteen years ago, this practice was the norm and indeed many websites succeeded with these tactics. Unfortunately, out of date SEO information is still hanging around like a bad smell and leading inexperienced website owners up the garden path.
Keyword Research and Content Development
You will need to focus on one topic per webpage, with a particular focus on keywords that research has shown there is decent monthly search volume for.
You can get keyword ideas from talking to your customers or/as well as looking in the search engines results to see which websites may or may not be ranking for keywords you’re interested in.
Create Content Around Certain Topics
With a little bit of business savvy, you can sort these newly-discovered keywords into a list and decide which ones are worth pursuing.
Then you would set about developing excellently-researched well-written content in the form of individual text-based webpages, or YouTube videos, with the intention of capturing the interest in the topics you have covered.
This is the way to attract and engage people who may be in the market for what you have to sell.
Match the Intentions of Readers
Creating content that matches their intentions (perhaps they’re just researching for the time being or could be desperate to buy immediately) is the entire philosophy of inbound search engine marketing.
The Goldmine of Digital Ad Data
If you’ve been running digital ads, you will have access to keyword data that demonstrates what exactly your ads were ranking for, even if you didn’t specifically target certain words. With broad match targeting, keywords that were deemed to be related or relevant could be causing your ads to rank, get clicked, and drive traffic to your site.
Those keywords are a goldmine. Google Adwords will reveal so much, and if you get good organic content ranking over time, this lessens the need to go all-in on expensive ads.
Go Local with Your Keyword Targeting
If you’re a service-based business, the chances are that you serve the local area, perhaps to save travel time or hassle. Let the website keyword strategy match your operational strategy, since the last thing you want is enquiries from London when you serve the East Midlands.
Sure, you could branch out eventually, but it’s easier to get known for something specific initially (in this case, it’s the geography) and being a big fish in a small pond allows you to concentrate your efforts. No product or service is ever “for everyone” despite what people say when you ask them who their audience is.
The SEO title has all the keyword ranking power, while the description beneath should be compelling enough to help earn the click
Niche down, focus, and make the content of webpages (that’s the SEO title, the SEO (meta) description, the URL, the headings, the paragraphs – all of it – unmistakably aimed at those who live in the town, city and neighbouring whereabouts in the vicinity. Use slang terms for certain places if it will resonate with readers.
Stop Buying into SEO Hype
The number ONE issue I hear about is how someone got ripped off because they bought into some hype surrounding the idea of easy web rankings with quick fix SEO techniques.
Usually it is a SEO keyword package that somebody has paid for off the back of an online, low priced drag and drop instant template creator.
Or it might have been a grubby little agency looking to flog their own SEO services at all costs. Whatever it was, it most likely tapped into the laziness or ignorance of someone who does not want to do real business marketing and opted for what was presented as an easy shortcut to success.
Basically, the easy road becomes the hard road, while the hard road gets easier.
Start Providing Value… Not Just “Keywords”
The bigger issue is that those running a website do not want to put in the time or effort into creating a truly great website that appeals to customers and shows the business in a positive light.
The keywords you use are one small component. Google has hundreds of undisclosed ranking factors and guessing what they all are is like trying to guess what McDonalds put in their secret sauce.
Instead, write valuable content and produce information primarily for readers. Then promote that content using well-produced newspaper adverts. Or Google ads.
Give teaser tips. Help people. Be useful.
Marketing is a Long Term Fact of Life… Not a Quick Project
Bring traffic to your site and eventually search engines will pick up on the activity on your site and start ranking your pages for the keywords you are focusing on.
Consider the following:
- It is easier to please people than it is to please Google.
- Use natural sounding language.
- Provide information on your site that is helpful or problem solving in some way.
- Happy customers are going to want to link to your pages and share your content, which will in time help your search engine position.
- Give value in the form of good content and you’ll have a better chance reaching interested readers or ready to buy customers.
