SEO Basics You Must Know: Create Great Relevant Content

One of the things small business owners tell me they’re most interested in learning more about is how to get found in Google search. The world of search engine optimization, aka SEO, can often be very daunting and overwhelming for small business owners who already have so much on their plate. Truth be told, SEO can be a very complicated thing, and something that even experienced website designers and Internet savvy people struggle with. However, if there is one thing you MUST know about SEO basics, it’s this:

Create great relevant content that will help your customers find exactly what they’re looking for.

Want to get more people to find your site on Google? First, think about what it is you have to offer. Then think about your ideal customer. How would that person search for what you’re offering?

For instance, imagine that you make and sell amazing handmade soap. (It’s truly amazing!) It’s handcrafted using a cold process technique. (But what does that mean exactly, in non-soap-maker terms??) It features all natural ingredients. (Are they also organic? Or good for sensitive skin?)

Now think about who your customer usually is. Is it someone who’s looking for lots of soap to stock their bathroom with? Or do you sell more soap to people who are looking to give them as gifts, whether as a wedding favor, a gift for a coworker or as a holiday gift?

If your customers primarily buy your soap to give as gifts, but your website only talks about the ingredients of the soap and how it’s made, and not what a great gift it might make, customers who are searching on Google for unique handmade gifts will never find your soaps.

Now imagine that you write a page for your website: it’s a gift guide for Mother’s Day and you talk about your top five picks from your product line that would make the best gifts for mom. By creating this Mother’s Day gift guide, you can help your customers find a cool handmade gift quickly and easily. The content on this page can now be seen by Google, and since it features keywords related to “gift ideas for moms”, people who are searching for this term on Google will be more likely to find it. Not only that, you can share your awesome gift guide on social media sites like Facebook and Pinterest, generating even more traffic to your site.

When you’re working on your website, think like a real human being. (That should be easy, right?) Would the words on your home page describe your business in a way that your mom could understand?

Great content doesn’t just answer the what. It also answers the “Why should I care?”

SEO can be a complicated beast, and many of its intricacies are best left to a professional. Because it’s so complicated, however, many people don’t even try to bother with it at all. If you can master even the basics of creating relevant and original content for your website you’ll already be better off than half of your competitors. And isn’t that a place you’d like to be?

Want to learn more about SEO, blogging and creating great content?

Check out my post on how to start a blog, and once you’re off to a great start, read this great post by Jo Harrison on Super Simple SEO For Small Business.

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