SEO: How to Boost Your Ranking and Online Presence

Searching Google on Laptop

When you’re stuck and find yourself in need of answers, what do you do?

If you are like most people, you Google it - because Google has become the “go-to” for all things problem-solving and solutions. If you’re running a business that solves problems and provides solutions, you want to be the “go-to”. But how do you become the “go-to” with so much competition already online? By including SEO in your content.

SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of optimizing your online and social media content to increase your chances of getting seen and being heard online.

Keep reading to learn how to begin the process of including SEO in your content to improve your online ranking.

Start Boosting Your Rank

Creating SEO-friendly content starts with understanding your target audience and the keywords they use to search for your content.

Target Audience - the characteristics, preferences, behaviors, and needs of the group that is most likely to be interested in or to benefit from what you are offering. When identifying a target audience, consider the following factors:

• age

• gender

• location

• income level

• education

• occupation

• interests

• lifestyle

Keywords - words or phrases that are significant and relevant to a particular topic, concept, or subject aligned with the product and services you provide. The keywords serve as the main ideas or themes that help

• define the content

• categorize the content

This makes it easier for search engines and users to find and retrieve the information YOU provide online.

When you successfully use keywords. it helps drive more organic traffic to your website. When you drive more traffic to your site, you rank higher in SERPs (search engine results page). And when you rank higher in SERPs, you’re more likely to be seen by your target audience.

And when your content reaches your target audience, you increase your visibility which can lead to more clicks, shares, and conversions.

Headlines and Meta Descriptions

Whether you use the headline included on your website or choose to create a separate one for search engines to find and rank, your headline and meta description are the first things the audience sees when searching for answers and solutions in Google. content.

Headlines - include your target keyword and be:

• engaging

• concise

• descriptive

• curious

• relevant

• properly formatted

Meta description: provides a brief summary of your content and includes your keywords.

Enticing your audience to click the link to read and learn more is the ultimate goal for your headlines and meta descriptions.

Writing High-Quality Content

Nobody knows your business better than you. You offer products and services in a way only you can. Your content reflects not only your knowledge but your passion and commitment too.

Creating high-quality content is essential in SEO. Your content should be

• Engaging - appeal directly to your audience, and be authentic and real.

• Informative - provide answers to questions or solutions to problems.

• Valuable - offer insight as well as answers and solutions to establish authority and build trust.

When writing content, use your target keywords naturally. Keyword stuffing - or including keywords multiple times when it is not necessary to do so - can harm your SEO and make your content appear spammy.

A final thought:

SEO involves understanding your target audience, identifying keywords, creating SEO-friendly headlines and meta descriptions, and writing high-quality content.

It takes time to see the result of your SEO efforts. Don’t be discouraged. Know that over time, you will be able to monitor your progress and make changes if necessary.

For more information on how to boost your ranking and increase your opportunity to get seen and be heard, click here.