If you’re running a business in today’s hyper-connected economy, you’re doing SEO. That’s simply a fact.
But the basics of SEO might not be enough. With SEO being an essential tool to stay competitive, you might need to dig deeper to get the upper hand on your competition.
Below we’ve compiled a list of 5 expert-level SEO tips that will help your San Diego based business get the edge it needs.
Know Your User’s Search Intent
You probably did some research on keywords and keyword optimization for Google’s algorithm. We won’t be mentioning that here, but instead, focus on an important question.
If you’re already looking for the best keyword tactics to increase your San Diego business’s visibility, ask yourself this:
What is the search intent of your possible future customers?
Search intent is the reason why a person would look up a particular keyword. For example, if they type “SEO expert in San Diego” on Google they are probably looking for a list of authoritative, proven experts in this field.
They are far less likely to be looking for a long-winded article on how to become a top expert themselves. So if you offer the latter, you probably won’t rank very high in their search results. Google doesn’t recognize your content as something that directly answers the user’s question.
How can you tell what the search intent is?
First and foremost, know your audience. You should know in general what they need, and how you can provide it to them.
Secondly, choose the right keywords. Instead of trying to rank an instructional article for the top SEO experts keyword,be more specific. For example, how to become a top SEO expert.
Thirdly, look at your competitors. Check what kind of content they’re putting out for the same keywords you want to rank for. You can also use the Ahrefs tool to check this, as well as find some other actionable SEO tips.
The Importance of Linking
Backlinks
Backlinks are links to your website that other businesses (and individuals) leave on their own homepage (or blog page).
As such, they are a big deal in the world of SEO. Google reads these backlinks as positive impressions others have of your business – after all, why would they link to you unless you are reputable?
So, the more backlinks you have on high-ranking, authoritative websites, the more credible you become in Google’s eyes.
The best way to do that is to work on guest posts, creating content that other sites and their customers can benefit from. Or, you can ask for product or service reviews.
Internal linking
When you have a person visiting your website, your goal is also to keep them there for as long as possible. This also drives search rankings and traffic.
One example of how this practice is done well is Amazon itself. When you look for a product, at around half the page you can see the “People who looked for this also look for…” section. This aims to get people “window shopping” for a lack of a better term. So even if a customer isn’t looking for a related product, they’ll keep browsing.
You can do this by offering the same thing. Or if you have a blog, you can always link your other articles within every new blog post.
For example, writing about ”Organic SEO Tips” you can dedicate a small section to quotes from expert SEO specialists, and then in there, link to another text you wrote about the top experts in the field.
If the section gets them interested, the site visitors will click the other article and look into the topic.
Optimize Two Key Things
1. Page loading speed
It’s well known that the loading speed of a page determines whether or not we stay or click away. We all function that way.
Get rid of unnecessary razzle-dazzle, overly large images, and long introductory videos. Put the most important info at the forefront. Again, search intent, keep that in mind.
2. Handheld devices
Whether it’s tablets, smartwatches or phones – create a mobile-optimized version of your website. Nielsen Norman Group did great research on how people read on their devices. From the results, we can see that most users turn to their phones for quicker looking up of specific content. They want more to-the-point user experience, as they often read in traffic, during outings, and others.
Once you have these two key points cover, you can easily start ranking better than the competitors who don’t fully focus on them.
Make Your brand Recognizable
Produce Social Media Content
This is one of the easier SEO tips. Not all content was created equal. Depending on your customer base, your social media activity should alternate.
- Do they prefer newsletters?
- Do they read lengthy articles? Or listen to podcasts more?
- Are they on Twitter all day, following media coverage? or
- Is Instagram more prevalent?
Once you know your user base, you can work on creating content for these platforms. Because each has its own unique form and etiquette. And when done right, the return is tenfold – both financial and with brand loyalty.
Influencers
An additional note would be to find influencers who are in your niche. Influencers nowadays are the best word of mouth you can get. With massive followings, their recommendation for a certain product can blow up a business’s popularity.
And as much as we’re used to seeing fashion and travel influencers, there’s a large number of productivity influencers, book and movie critics, or even a construction worker. Find a person who will want to represent your brand, or try it out and share their opinion with their following. Just make sure the service/product is something you confidently stand behind.
Get Onto Voice Search
If you open the Android or Apple App store nowadays, you can easily notice the increase of voice assistant apps.
A lot of these apps are also starting to differentiate amongst each other by offering a more “laid-back” companion. Unlike Alexa or Siri, these AI voice assistants are getting better at recognizing informal speech.
There are solid signs that voice search is going to be head-to-head with text searching. And to keep up and start ranking faster, you’ll want to optimize for those needs as well. So, how exactly can you do that?
- Use tools that help you optimize your keywords for voice search, like Answer the Public.
- Voice search users want immediate results – so keep your basic information (location, contact, services, etc) updated, clear, and concise
- Research on the search intent – not only do you need to know the search intent for your keyword, but you should also know why they used the voice search for it – and provide an appropriate answer
Google’s search algorithm is still fairly imbalanced when it comes to voice search. So don’t be surprised if you run into some speed bumps. It will still be a little while before it’s perfected.
To Summarize
We hope these tips will help you take your SEO score to the next level. Remember to focus on search intent, optimize your links and website performance, boost your brand presence, and get in on the voice search trend.
All these will take some work, but you can rest assured that the increased search results ranking will be well worth it.