How to Use SEO to Get Your Business Found on Google

Search engine optimisation was probably the last marketing strategy I wanted to explore. It seemed overly complicated, stressful and not something I felt I qualified to do. But when I discovered that most of my articles were barely making it to the second page on google, I realised I needed to bite the bullet and get to grips with SEO! I was pleasantly surprised to discover how much I could do to improve my position on google. Using simple steps, I was not only able to increase my sites ranking, but reach the top for relevant search terms!

So, this guide is designed to help anyone, who like me, may be avoiding SEO, optimise your website using beginner friendly tips, so you can get your business found on Google.

What is Search Engine Optimisation?

First of all, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a digital marketing strategy designed to enhance your website’s visibility in search engine results, driving organic traffic to your site without the need for paid advertising.

By optimising various on-page and off-page factors, such as keywords, content quality, back links, and user experience, you can improve your site’s ranking for search queries that are relevant to your business. For example, utilising keywords like 'London women's hair salon' in a sites meta descriptions can increase your visibility for women looking for local salons.

Higher rankings make your site more discoverable to your users, increasing your chances of attracting visitors interested in your offerings. It’s a very effective long-term strategy that helps build trust and authority online.

How does Search Engine Optimisation work?

So, time for the nitty gritty! When someone types a search query into Google, it will produce a long list of results over a huge number of pages, these are Google's indexed web pages. Results ranked first, are positioned there because the search engine has deemed them most relevant to the user’s search.

The higher the ranking, the more organic traffic these pages will receive. Organic traffic refers to the site visitors coming from unpaid sources, it's your FREE traffic! Organic traffic typically accounts for 53% of all website traffic.

SEO = Organic Traffic. This is what we are all striving for – free traffic!

How do I get started with SEO?

To get started with search engine optimisation, there are a few tools you're going to need to get setup, we call them the 3G's;

Google Search Console

If your site is live, its important to find out how well your site is performing before you begin optimising it. For this you must sign up to Google Search Console, this is a free tool you can use that can tell you exactly how well your site is performing in google’s search results.

Changes or improvements you make can be closely monitored. Most importantly, you can find out if your site has even been indexed yet (added into google search results) If it says 'URL is not on google, click 'request indexing' and your URL will join a queue, waiting to be crawled. It can take up to a 2 weeks for your site to be indexed, so don’t put in more requests.

However, if your pages are still not being indexed there is unfortunately a long list of possible reasons why. Visit Google Search Central for troubleshooting.

Google Analytics

If your sites pages have been successfully crawled and added into googles search results, you will now be discoverable. So, now you're ready to sign up to Google Analytics, another free platform that will enable you to start monitoring the traffic you receive. You will be able to find out how much traffic you are getting and where its coming from.

This data will help you to make decisions about how to promote your site. Now, it will take a few days for data to be gathered so be patient.

Google Business Profile

Once your accounts are set up, you should consider getting listed on google with a business profile. This is particularly important if you run a business with a physical address. Perhaps you run a salon, a shop or have a small office somewhere. This profile will help your customers to find you as you will be added to Google Maps and it will of course link to your website.

How Do I Search Engine Optimise My Sites Content?

Now its time to plan what content will be on your site. This includes everything from blog articles, to your About page.

Research Keywords

First head over to Google’s Keyword Planner and Google Trends. Here you can discover what keywords (related to your business) people are searching for specifically.

Focus on search frequency and level of competition. It is these two measurements that are particularly important. Aim for keywords with a monthly search volume of at least 1,000, a figure less than this suggests it is an unpopular search term. Make sure your keyword has with low-medium competition, this will make it easier for you to rank highly.

Google Trends is a site that can reveal how popular a keyword is by scoring it from 0-100. So for example, if you are selling a product titled ‘children’s craft box’, but the search term scores 20, you should look for a related term instead. Perhaps your customers are using keywords like ‘kids’s activities’ or ‘children’s craft gifts’. In which case, these are the keywords you should be including in your metadata. Choose keywords with a Google Trends score of 50 or higher.

Write Website Content

The content on your site must be clear, well-written and contain the keywords that you have newly discovered. Be sure to highlight exactly why your site exists and provide in-depth content for the About page.

Start a Blog

Having a blog on your site can increase traffic by up to 300% percent. It is a no brainer to include one on your site as long as you regularly add to it. Blog articles are an excellent way to include relevant keywords that your customers will be searching for. It is advised to have at least 20 blog articles to improve your discoverability. If you're stuck for content, consider the following; common customer questions, industry trends and tutorials or how-to guides related to your products or services.

Provide Metadata

Your metadata is the extra information you write for search engines that explains or summarises the content on your site or pages. This is crucial information picked up by search engine algorithms, so make sure you use the keywords you have researched. If you are a blogger and you use Ghost or WordPress, there is a clear option to edit your metadata in settings before publishing an article which allows you to include more keywords.

Incorporate Links

Links are a powerful tool for optimising your website and a super easy way of increasing its search engine ranking. Start by incorporating internal links, links that connect different pages or articles on your own site. These not only enhance user navigation but also improve your site’s credibility and quality in the eyes of search engines. For instance, if you’re writing about a new product, include links to related products or articles.

Inbound links, also known as back links, are another valuable asset. These are links from other websites to yours, bringing traffic directly to your site. To increase your inbound links, consider asking your suppliers or partners to link to your website, helping customers discover where they can purchase your products. When these links come from high-traffic or reputable websites, they can significantly improve your search engine ranking.

Finally, don’t shy away from outbound links, which direct users to other reputable websites. While it might seem counter intuitive to send users elsewhere, outbound links to high-quality sites actually signal to search engines that your content is well-researched and credible. For example, if you run a fashion blog and write about the latest winter trends, you could link to a site like ‘Selfridges’ where users can shop for the featured styles. Over time, frequent use of outbound links can also support affiliate marketing opportunities, adding another layer of value to your content strategy.

Guest Post

Guest posting involves writing a post on another website or blog, also including your business or blog name and a link to your site. Not only does this boost your site ranking once again, this is a great way to encourage traffic back to you and increase your brand awareness. There are blogging sites which allow you to guest post such as Hubspot. However you can also contact an independent blogger to find out if they would allow you to guest post, but only if your content is relevant to their users too! A guest post about how to make the perfect vegan dish, is no good posted on a blog about cars. If you do get the opportunity to guest post for an independent blogger or business, be sure to return the favour! Remember this can also help drive traffic to your site.

Request Reviews

Reviews are an excellent way to search engine optimise your site, as google favours sites that are highly-rated. It adds to your credibility, so make sure this is enabled. You should also be heavily engaged here and respond to reviews where possible. Even if it is a simple ‘thank you’, you are engaging with your audience.

Be aware

Not every business or blogger uses approved techniques of Search Engine Optimisation. Some techniques involve deceiving users and manipulating indexes (search engine spamming). It is important that you follow approved methods