Before you begin your startup journey, one of the most crucial things is to develop your website and establish your online presence through search engine optimization (SEO). Unfortunately, many new businesses do not think about SEO until they are already in too deep, this ends up adding additional cost to reworking your website and integrate any SEO strategy with your designer. So here is a step-by-step guide that will eliminate mistakes before your SEO journey.
Step 1: Set Up Your Listing on Google My Business
One of the first things you need to do is set up a listing on Google My Business (GMB). This is a free platform that allows businesses to manage their online information, such as their hours, location, and contact details. Furthermore, it also gives companies the ability to post updates and photos, which can help attract potential customers. To set up your GMB listing, go to google.com/business and click on the “Start now” button. Then, you will need to enter your business name, address, and phone number. After you have verified your listing, you can start adding additional information, such as your hours of operation and website URL.
Step 2: Conduct Keyword Research
After your GMB listing is set up, it is time to start thinking about SEO keywords. These are the words and phrases that potential customers will use when they are searching for businesses like yours. Therefore, it is important to choose keywords that are relevant to your products or services. To find the right keywords, you can use a variety of tools, such as Google AdWords Keyword Planner. Simply enter a few relevant terms into these tools and they will generate a list of related keywords. From there, you can start to narrow down your options by considering things like search volume and competition.
Step 3: Conduct a Technical SEO Audit
Once you have chosen your target keywords, it is time to start optimizing your website for them. This process is known as technical SEO. To do this, you will need to conduct an SEO audit of your site. This will help you identify any areas that need improvements, such as slow loading times or broken links.
Step 4: Optimize Your Webpages
After you have fixed any technical SEO issues, it is time to start optimizing your web pages for your target keywords. This can be done in a number of ways, such as by adding keyword-rich titles and meta descriptions. Your title should be reflective of the topic of your page and should include your target keyword. Your meta description is the brief summary that appears below your title in the search results. This is your chance to give potential visitors a taste of what your page is about and should also include your target keyword.
Step 5: Add Supplementary Pages
In addition to optimizing your existing web pages, you can also supplement them with additional pages. This is a great way to target long-tail keywords and attract more organic traffic to your site. Some supplemental pages that you can add include a blog, resource page, and FAQ Page.
Step 6: Promote Your Content
Once you have created all your SEO-optimized content, it is time to start promoting it. There are several ways that you can do this, such as through social media, email marketing, and paid advertising.
Step 7: Measure Your Results
The final step in your Local SEO plan is to measure your results. This will help you determine whether or not your SEO efforts are paying off. There are several metrics that you can track, such as your website’s traffic, conversion rate, and organic search ranking. You can use Google Analytics to track your website’s traffic. This is a free tool that provides detailed information about the number of visitors to your site and where they are coming from. By regularly monitoring these metrics, you can adjust your SEO plan as needed to ensure that it is effective.
SEO can be a complex and time-consuming process, but it is essential for any startup business that wants to attract organic traffic from search engines. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can create an SEO plan that will help your local startup achieve its goals. If you wish to learn more about how SEO can benefit your business, please contact Ozment Media today. Our team of SEO experts would be happy to answer any questions that you have.
