5 SEO Tips For Start-ups Looking To Grow Online
In the early days of founding a company, it’s not uncommon that resources are stretched thin. Often, there just isn’t enough time to focus on SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Most start-up founders end up thinking that focusing on SEO is simply not feasible because it’s too competitive and it takes too long to produce results.
However, in a competitive business environment, getting an advantageous edge against your competitors can make a world of a difference, and can be what takes your business to the next level. This means that putting time into SEO is definitely a worthwhile investment. We’ve compiled 5 SEO tips for start-ups that will take their business to the next level!
1. Keyword research is a must
A critical part of a successful SEO strategy, keyword research allows you to find out and pinpoint exactly what your potential customers are looking up on search engines. And once you’ve found out what words and phrases are often used, you can start ranking for keywords and beat out your competition by creating relevant and new content.
To do this, tools like ahref and SEMRush are super helpful to see which keywords your page is already ranking for as well as for getting a list of terms that drive traffic to your website. At the same time, you can also enter the URL of a competitor to view their ranking. Consider the ranking terms of competitors, too.
After you have determined the keywords, you can add the keywords to the content and title. Make sure not to use them too frequently or it may be considered keyword stuffing – something which you can be penalized for!
2. Audit your content
We get it, as a start-up, everyone in your company probably has too much work on their plates. Looking over all your content just so that you can make a list of improvements is probably the last thing you want to do. After all – time is the most precious resource. But trust us when we say that taking a comprehensive look at all of your existing content on your site is one of the smartest things you can do. After improving them, whether it’s updating a few blog posts or deleting content altogether, you’ll be in a much better place for when you start executing entirely new improvements to your website.
3. Don’t be shy with adding links
Adding internal and external links are a simple but effective strategy that will boost your SEO and improve your rankings. The benefits of this strategy are mind blowing, and – on top of seeing your organic search ranking improve – you’ll be able to see your engagement metrics shoot through the roof.
Internal links
So you’ve spent a lot of time creating awesome content. But what do you do with old pieces that still have a ton of value? Draw attention to old but still highly relevant content by dropping those links into your new posts. Not only will you start seeing an increase in engagement and spikes in organic search rankings, your bounce rates will also drop. Also, internal linking can give you the opportunity to backlink to other sites, which will help boost your SEO even more!
External links
Since we are on the topic of linking, another way to boost your ranking organically is by getting other websites to link to your content. This process is called link building. Evidence demonstrated by studies suggests that websites with more backlinks have higher influence and higher search engine rankings, which increases their chances of earning more clicks and Google snippets. Sounds great right? You can create high-quality content that other sites will want to link back to and start your backlink journey from there. Alternatively, you can consider using PR strategies and influencers to increase your link power.
4. Build your social media
Social media has great influence and building your social media presence is essential for all aspects of your business and not just for SEO. By focusing providing useful, fun and engaging content, on top of awesome customer service, can not only can attract new customers with all the buzz generated, but also retain the attention of old customers.
As a general guideline, the 80/20 rule is the way to go. By following this posting ratio, you’ll be seen as a trustworthy voice that can bring value instead of just pushing products and services. By posting 80% of brand relevant external content that social users can relate to, engage with is a great way to build quality relationships with your customers. This leaves the remaining 20% for brand-related content. This will ensure that customers will not be overloaded with too many sales pitches that can potentially turn them off.
5. Optimize for mobile
In response to the changes in the times, more and more people are using mobile devices to browse and search. As a result, Google began to switch to mobile-first Indexing, and mobile SEO became more and more of a priority.
When it comes to designing your site for mobile, a responsive design and HTTPS encryption protocol are your best bet. No matter what device the user uses, this type of web design will automatically adjust the size of images, text, and buttons to be more functional for mobile browsing. The better the performance of your mobile site the better your rankings, so it’s important to make sure that your site design can accommodate most – if not all – devices.
If you have more questions, please feel free to contact our digital marketing strategists for a bespoke digital marketing strategy that will take your start-up business to the next level!
