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In this guide:
What is SEO?
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) simply refers the tactics used to help you rank higher on a search engine’s page (such as Google), increasing traffic to your website. These tactics can be anything from making your website more mobile-friendly, creating content your customers want, managing your appearance in Google Search results, using Google Ads, and so much more!
About SEO:
It’s a long-term strategy
There are things you can do yourself
It can help you to build a stronger brand online
It can attract more customers to your website
SEO is a very specialised subject; it’s common for even big companies to outsource this if they don’t have the knowledge in-house. A SEO specialist can audit your website to help you develop a SEO strategy to suit your business’s needs. They can even train you and your colleagues to give you the skills to implement the basics yourself.
Important things to check:
If you are considering hiring an SEO professional or company, make sure you do your research first – just like any other service some companies are more reputable than others.
Check whether they are reputable on impartial platforms (everyone’s website will promote them as the best), so, always check the rating and reviews on places like Trustpilot.
Be cautious of bold claims such as “we’ll get you on the first page of Google” when they don’t have knowledge of your company or your SEO goals.
Don’t be afraid to ask for examples of previous work and outcomes or references.
Consider a local business - that way you don’t need to worry about things like overseas payment, and timezones.
Request a presentation or example of how they would approach SEO for your business.
Finally, conducting an interview is essential to make sure you are getting the right service for your business. Google provides a template for interviewing a SEO specialist.
Remember, no one can guarantee a top ranking on Google, so if it sounds too good to be true be wary. Again, Google provides guidelines on things to look out for.
Recommendations for in-house SEO
The first steps:
SEO can seem complicated, but it doesn’t have to be, and it can be beneficial to learn the basics and implement some small but powerful changes.
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Start by setting up a Google My Business or revisiting the one you set up to make sure you have enough information to attract potential customers. Small things like ensuring you have your office address and a link to your website can help your SEO.
Duplicate content –
Know what you are trying to rank for –
New content -
Reviews are like gold dust don’t be afraid to ask your customers for them! Google reviews is a good way to capture and display them – you can read how to do this here…
Remember, make sure you are well-informed if you choose to outsource a SEO specialist. With so much free information, it’s worth exploring if it is a skill someone on your team could take on, even a basic knowledge can go a far way.
Digging deeper:
If you have some internal resource, it may be worth investing time into understanding what next steps you can take to improve your SEO rating.
Google provides a beginner overview of SEO with a series of short videos and articles to help you get started. With the learning broken up into small chunks, this is something you or a member of your business can learn slowly over time.