When it comes to building websites, it’s important to integrate SEO from the very beginning. Whether your goal is to establish a credible online presence or to generate organic leads, your site should be optimized.
The SEO process includes back-end optimizations, adding metadata, researching relevant keywords, and keeping up a steady stream of new content that addresses your desired visitors’ questions. Even if your initial goal is simply a professional appearance, it’s important to lay a solid foundation for SEO. Not only will you ensure people can find you on Google, but you’ll also have the fundamentals in place should you decide to expand your digital strategy in the future.
I talked about all of this (and more!) on the Simple and Smart SEO Show with the amazingly talented Crystal Waddell. You can listen to the full episode right here; below is a quick summary of the content we covered.
The power of metadata in boosting your site’s SEO
One of the simplest—yet most effective—ways to improve a website’s SEO is through keyword-rich metadata. However, many businesses (and website developers) overlook this crucial element. Filling out metadata for each page can significantly boost search engine rankings without needing to rewrite the copy. At Brighter Messaging, complete metadata is part of our comprehensive approach to SEO, ensuring that all aspects of a website are optimized for search engines.
What is metadata?
You can think of metadata as a guide for search engines that helps them understand the most important topic of each page on your website. Metadata includes meta titles, meta descriptions, and meta tags. Those meta titles and descriptions are what users see in search results. For example:
These elements help search engines understand the content of your pages and match it with relevant search queries. Meta tags are attached to images and help search engines (and visually impaired users) read the content of the images on your site. By incorporating keywords naturally into these fields, you can improve your site’s visibility in searches and attract more targeted traffic.
If you don’t add metadata, search engines will take their best guess at the page’s content. Sometimes these work out well, but often they don’t. Metadata is free real estate for your content—make sure it’s complete for your site!
Maximizing your website’s potential post-launch
After launching a website, it’s crucial to have a maintenance plan in place. A maintenance plan prevents your site from becoming obsolete. Regular updates to plugins, themes, and security settings keep your site running smoothly and securely. Without these updates, your site could face functionality issues or become vulnerable to security threats. At Brighter Messaging, we offer a combined hosting and maintenance service, ensuring that plugins are updated, security measures are in place, and the site remains functional.
Here’s a common example—when was the last time you tested the contact form on your website? If contact form submissions are the way new leads reach your business, but no one is receiving the submissions, you’re losing sales. In an extreme example, we audited a client’s site and found NINE MONTHS’ worth of unanswered contact form submissions. Yikes! A website maintenance plan ensures your website forms, as well as countless other elements crucial to your marketing, are all in good working order.
Leveraging blogs and email lists for enhanced engagement
If you’re looking to drive organic traffic, a regular content strategy is key. Not only is content the ongoing effort required in mastering SEO, but it’s also the way you engage your audience. Blogging, updating older content, and growing an email list keep a site relevant and engaging. Repurposing older blog content and using it to build an email list is a smart way to maintain keep in touch with subscribers, past customers, old leads who weren’t ready to buy when they first connected with you. By regularly updating and sharing existing content, businesses can continue to attract visitors and keep their audience informed.
Not sure what to write about? Start by Googling something related to your business, then look at Google’s People Also Ask (PAA) section for blog topic ideas. These are literally what they say they are—they’re the real, live queries people are searching for related to your topic. By answering them, you naturally create content that’s aligned with what users are actively searching for.
If you’ve been blogging for some time, consider updating older blog posts with new information, fresh visuals, and updated keywords (what new PAA questions are there for your topic?) can breathe new life into them. Sharing these updated posts through your email list keeps your audience engaged and informed, providing value while driving traffic back to your site.
Crafting a winning strategy: Target audience and value proposition
Defining your target audience and understanding the unique value proposition of your business are foundational steps in any marketing strategy. I really should’ve talked about this first, because it’s the first step we take when designing a website.
Your value proposition is what sets you apart from your competitors. It’s the unique way you solve the problems of your target customers. Understanding and clearly communicating your value proposition helps you to attract the right clients and build strong, lasting relationships.
For example, a company offering residential fencing services might differentiate itself based on reliable service and employee professionalism. Clearly identifying these aspects helps in crafting content and marketing messages that resonate with the right audience. Check out our free download of strategy questions to help you get more specific about who you’re targeting and how you help them.
Digital marketing efforts not yielding the results you want?
Use our Digital Marketing Strategy Questions to help you develop a strategic plan to reach and engage your audience online.
What does a clear value proposition and target audience have to do with mastering SEO? It’s how small businesses can succeed at ranking, despite being out-resourced by larger brands. When you know who you want to target and the specific problem you solve, you can optimize your site for that very specific subset of search queries. You don’t need massive amounts of organic traffic as long as you’re attracting the right visitors to your site.
The importance of a vision in business, marketing, and life
Having a clear vision for your business is essential, not only for your marketing strategy, but for making informed decisions about your operations and growth.
Make sure your business vision aligns with your vision for your personal life—a particularly important step for entrepreneurs balancing multiple responsibilities and a family. A holistic approach ensures that every decision aligns with your long-term goals and values. A well-defined vision provides a roadmap for your business. It helps you stay focused on your goals and make strategic decisions that support your overall objectives. By aligning your business vision with your personal life, you create a balanced and sustainable approach to growth.
Mastering SEO: Can you do it for me?
Some business owners love to DIY their marketing. We built our mentorship program just for them. Others know it’s not their strong suit and want to hand it off to the experts. If you’re ready to move beyond a business built on referrals and start generating leads online, contact us today to learn about our outsourced marketing services.
