9 Indicators That Your Business Is Ready For SEO
by Mike Khorev
The business arena is fast-paced. Regardless of the products you’re selling or the services you’re offering, you have to be innovative all the time. You have to assess what are the current market trends, what does your target audience want and how your competitors are working. On top of these, you have to continually check your internal processes to ensure that quality is never compromised. Accomplishing all of these tasks can be overwhelming especially for startups, but fortunately, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can make things easier for you. This is one of the most used strategies in the digital era which can address all of your tasks as a business owner.
In its simplest sense, Search Engine Optimization is the process of improving a website’s online visibility in the Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs). When a website ranks high, it can drive online traffic which can turn into paying customers. Over time, SEO can become a business’s tool to gain customers and earn a profit. Aside from these benefits, you should pay attention to the following indicators to know if your business is ready for SEO:
1. All of your business locations are indicated on the same page of your website.
Operating in different locations is always good news for business. The more locations your business covers, the more customers and profit you can make. However, the number of locations your business operates in won’t do anything to your online presence if these are merely placed in one section of your website. Sure, designing your website this way might help educate online users of where your business is located, but it won’t have the same advantage to your SEO ranking.
If you want to utilize an SEO-friendly website, you need to create a unique website which provides specific keywords and locations in the HTML title. The same also applies in meta descriptions. Achieving these goals will not be possible if your website only has one landing page intended for all the locations of your business.
2. You’re clueless as to how much traffic are you getting from local searches.
Marketing plays an essential role in a business’s success. When no one knows that your business exists, you won’t have any customers which can also mean no profit and growth. This is the reason why businesses, especially those which are new and small, will pay for expensive marketing campaigns just to expose their brand – and you might be one of them. Doing this might help you educate the public about your business’s existence, but it’s foolproof.
If you want your marketing campaign to give you the traction you need while providing value to your payment, auditing how much traffic your website is getting from local searches is vital. This information will help you determine where you stand in the market and what kind of marketing strategies should you implement. If you’re clueless about this information or never attempted to gather any of these, SEO can become the solution to your problems.
3. You’re unaware of where and how you can improve your business citations.
One of the most effective SEO strategies is link building. This works by having another website or blog use the link to your website. Once a well-established business uses your own website link, it’ll be easier for you to drive in traffic and gain more followers. The website you’re working with might have a strong online presence, and all of its readers can easily be redirected to your website.
In order to be successful with your link building efforts, you have to pay attention to the website using your link and how they’re actually using it. Since you’re marketing your business in the World Wide Web, your website link should be used in a positive light. This is something which SEO can help you with. SEO can determine who and how your website is cited in other online platforms. With this, you’ll know which to improve and which websites should you continually work with.
4. You don’t know if your online reviews are positive or negative.
“Ignorance is bliss” might be a common maxim but this doesn’t mean that your business should follow it. More and more people are relying on online reviews and disregarding its importance can put your business’s reputation at stake. And most often than not, you’ll only realize its significance when your business is already in boiling water. You can steer away from this direction by using the right SEO strategy for your business. Aside from targeting online users who actually need your products and services, SEO can also be used in different online platforms in a variety of ways. This accessibility will help you create more satisfied and loyal customers.
5. You have zero background in building links to your website.
As mentioned, link building is an essential part of any SEO strategy. When you build links with other websites, you’ll be able to expand your audience reach, foster relationships with other businesses, and create a strong online presence. For you to be successful with this technique, you have to be careful on the kind of links you include on your website. You can’t merely add any link just for the sake of it. If you don’t have any idea on how to build links on your own website, consider hiring professionals such as Omega, to do it for you.
6. You understand how much work you’re going to do, but you don’t have the resources to do it.
On the other side of the coin, you might be one of those businesses which know how vital SEO is but because you lack the tools to use it, you have no choice but to not do anything about it. You’ll end up observing other businesses use different SEO strategies while they take your market share and customers away from you. By the time you’re already using any SEO strategy, it might be too late to get back all of these things. If you know this kind of situation all too well, it’s a telltale sign that your business is ready for SEO. Your business should keep up with the times and using the most innovative SEO strategy is one way of doing it.
7. You’ve done everything on social media but to no avail.
Social media is one of the cheapest and easiest ways of marketing your business. With the number of social media platforms today, you’ll be able to use one which perfectly fits your business niche, target audience, and long-term goals. You can basically do a lot of things in social media such as engaging with customers and creating a positive brand online. But when you’ve exerted time and effort to achieve these goals but you’re still not getting the benefits you want, SEO might be the only thing your business needs. With the right SEO strategy, you’ll know how to improve your social media marketing campaign so you’ll only use those which are actually working. This is a cost-effective solution to your business’s marketing problems.
8. You’re getting a new website.
A website is a prerequisite when you’re running a business. Because of the advent of technology, a lot of people are now engaged in e-commerce and depend their buying decisions on the things they see online. And because a website is used to represent your business, it’s essential that you create one which highlights your unique selling proposition while being able to satisfy your customers. For you to successfully do all of these things, you need to be careful about the details you include on your website. For starters, your website should be responsive, uses images and videos sparingly and produces high-quality content. All of these are just some factors which can make your website SEO-friendly.
9. Your competition is attacking your brand and reputation online.
Regardless of the size and niche of your business, expect to have competitors. The products and services that you’re offering might already be present in another business’s brochure or marketing campaign. While some markets welcome friendly competition, others become too competitive with each other that they start attacking the other business’s brand and reputation online. If you let this happen it’ll be hard for your business to gain any customers. If you want to avoid this from happening or solve this problem since it’s already occurring, scout for the right SEO strategy for your needs. SEO can help you manage all of your online activities to get better results. This can become your edge to level out the playing field even if you’re still new in the business arena.
It’s Easy When You Know How
Starting and running a business are two different things. While the former is easier as long as you have the financial investment, the latter can be daunting and time-consuming. It’ll require you to consider several factors before coming with a sound decision. Making any hasty decisions can bring adverse effects to your business. If you want to successfully run your business in the years to come, take time to learn the ropes on SEO or hire an SEO expert. Determine are the best SEO practices and gradually adapt these to your own business. With these efforts, it won’t be long before your business will strive and grow!
Mike Khorev
I'm a growth marketing consultant who helps B2B, SaaS, IT, technology and software companies generate more leads, sales and grow revenue online. I offer expert advice on marketing your company the right way through performance-based SEO, digital marketing, social media, search engine marketing and many other online practices. Connect with me on LinkedIn and schedule a free marketing strategy session!
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