Digital marketing is all about producing great online content that’s interesting and relevant to your audience. So, it makes sense that search engine optimisation (SEO) – the mechanism by which people will find this content – should be central to your digital marketing strategy.  
 
Having said that, SEO certainly isn’t the ‘be and end all’ of your strategy. To get the results you want, you need to think about how you use SEO, not just using it full-stop. 

1. Create helpful content that engages your readers 

As we’ve noted in previous articles, changes to the Google search engine algorithms mean there’s an increasing focus on content that people will find useful or valuable. So, if your website, blogs, and other online activities offer information that helps people, your content will be ranked higher on Google. Conversely, content that’s blatantly sales-focused will be penalised. 
 
This is especially the case for businesses with what search engines perceive as ‘Your money or your life’ (YMYL) websites. These include sites that ask for financial information or personal details, or claim to offer health, medical, financial, or lifestyle advice that could potentially be harmful. But whether or not you run a YMYL business, you still need to think carefully about the kind of content that will boost rather than lower your SEO rankings. 
 
A good place to start is to answer questions that prospective customers might have about your business, products and services. So, consider adding an FAQs page to your website. Research ‘hot’ industry topics and write blog articles, social media posts and newsletters about them. Or give away content that has a genuine value, such as a free downloadable e-book, ‘Hints & Tips’ guide, or video workshop. 

2. Optimise your content for quality, not quantity 

If you’ve read our blogs in the past, you’ll already know that keyword stuffing is a big no-no and won’t do your SEO rankings any favours. Rather than flinging search terms around willy nilly, do some research to identify the very best short and longtail keywords and phrases for your website (you’ll find tips for researching keywords here). 
 
Good quality content reads and flows well, with keywords and phrases seamlessly integrated into the copy. Ill-placed search terms will stick out a mile so if you’re not sure if your copy fits the bill, read it out loud. If you find yourself tripping over your own tongue, you need a rethink. Remember that some words and phrases can be put into the back end of your website as meta titles, page descriptions, and so on, so don’t feel you need to include everything in the front end. 
 
Of course, we’re not just talking about your main website. You need to use keywords correctly in all your online content, from your Facebook and Twitter profiles, to LinkedIn articles, blog posts, email marketing campaigns and video tags. And don’t forget the less obvious places they need to appear, such as alt text when you post images online and the text used for backlinks to your website. 

3. Drive site visits with intelligent backlinks 

Links to your website from third party sites are something of a double-edged sword. If there’s a clear connection or relevance to the link, Google and the other search engines will like it. On the other hand, if for example an online sweet shop randomly linked to a telecommunications provider, this wouldn’t stand either site in good stead. 
 
A tried and tested way to generate good quality backlinks is to write guest posts for third party sites that have a connection with your business, and vice versa. We don’t necessarily mean competitors, although this can work if there’s limited overlap between your respective services. Think more along the lines of companies operating within your general industry sector. So, a graphic designer might write an article for a printing website, or a solar panels manufacturer could guest blog for a green energy campaign group. 
 
Guest blogging might sound like a lot of work, but you can always rehash content you’ve used before rather than reinventing the wheel (don’t just copy and paste it, though!) And it really is worth the effort as, according to research, 77% of internet users read blogs – and 61% have made a purchase on the strength of reading them. 

4. Consider online advertising 

Sometimes, organic SEO isn’t enough to get your business flying up the Google rankings. There might be a lot of competition in your local area, or you might sell niche products and services that people don’t know much about. If this sounds like you, online advertising could be the way to go. 
 
It’s not just all about Pay-Per-Click ads on the first page of Google, though. There are other options to explore including banner ads, YouTube ads, Bing Ads, affiliate marketing and remarketing that could work well for you. 
 
It’s all about finding the best fit with your business model and target customer base. 

Need a little help? Try SEO Boost from itseeze Nottingham! 

SEO Boost is our additional service that will help put your website on the map. It includes keyword research, continuous optimisation and improvement of your existing site, performance tracking against your competition, and regular blog content.  
 
Priced at just £200 per month plus VAT and available with our Max Package, on a stand-alone basis, or as a package with our PPC advertising service
 
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