I’m sorry to tell you, but there is no trick to Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Most people come to search ranking topics looking for the thing that will move them up fast. They’re looking for a setting to change, a tool to buy, a hack the “real” marketers know that they don’t. That’s an understandable instinct given what you’ve learned about business: Fast action gets rewarded. You fix the thing, you see the results.
SEO doesn’t work that way though. Google isn’t ranking a clever move; it’s ranking consistency over time. The needle shifts once you do the same handful of fundamentals for months. There’s no way to game that. There’s only the work, done on a schedule that you don’t get to speed up.
Maybe “do the work” isn’t the news you wanted to hear. But, hopefully you still feel some relief to know you’re not missing some big secret. You just have four things to do, on repeat, long than it feels natural. And here’s what they are.
How Does Google Rank Websites?
First, let’s get an idea of how Google’s search engine works. To rank websites, Google uses web crawlers that scan and index pages on your website. Every page on your site gets rated according to Google’s opinion. The crawlers are looking for two things: the web page authority and the usefulness to the end-user.
The easier you make it for Google’s web crawlers to scan your site, the higher you rank.
The next aspect to understand is that this process takes time. It takes approximately 3 to 6 months for any noticeable change in your page rank. This process also requires an active approach. The only way for that change to happen is for you to take an active approach in the improvement.
Factors that Affect Your Google Search Results
Strategies you use on and off your website help your page rank. These strategies are what we refer to as Search Engine Optimization, or SEO. This is the process of making incremental improvements to your website. The goal of SEO is to increase visibility when people search for your services. Here are 4 factors that can help your ranking.
Prominence
How visible is your business across the internet? This goes back to the web page authority aspect the web crawlers’ check. Improve your online presence by ensuring your business information is consistent everywhere. This includes your social media profile information and the content on your website. If you’re featured in articles from reputable sites, ask them to include a link to your website.
5-Star Reviews
Are your services valuable to your audience? High reviews builds trust with potential customers. And, it shows Google’s web crawlers your business has authority and is useful. This is an easy one: ask for reviews from your clients!
Website Content
Is the content on your website accurate and useful? Think about the information your customers and potential customers would find useful. Then, write content on your website about those topics.
Directory Listing
Is your business listed in other places besides your website? Directory listings are the modern version of the old Yellow Pages. People don’t go to these sites to do searches, but these citation sites can show up high in local search results. Appearing on these sites will tell Google’s web crawlers your business is valid.
There are 100’s of these directory listings, and you don’t need to be on each one. Focus on Yellow Pages, Yahoo!, Bing, BBB, and Google My Business.
The Quickest Path Forward
Setting up your Google My Business profile or GMB is the fast way for people to find you in Google search results. GMB is an easy-to-use tool for businesses to manage their online presence. It’s a cost-effective (free!) and an easy to maintain marketing tool for your toolbox. Check out this blog to learn how to set up your GMB profile.
Slow and Steady Wins the Race
These four factors done consistently over 3 to 6 months is the strategy. It’s boring, I know, but that’s how you win the race.
Once you’ve got the fundamentals moving, keep going by paying attention to your own data. Look at the analytics in your website builder. It’ll show you what people searched for to find you, and what content on your site is doing the most work. That gives you real information to build on rather than operating from an assumption.
If you want help interpreting that data or figuring out where to focus next, Aducate is glad to take a look. Send us an email to start the conversation.