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Unlock the mysteries of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and transform your website into a magnet for the right audience. Ever wondered how search engines, much like digital librarians, decide which websites to display at the top of results? Discover the key to enhancing your online presence with our guide to SEO fundamentals, as I, Victoria, share actionable strategies and insights from my experience as the owner of Peer Collective Web Design Studio. This episode promises to equip you with the tools to not only boost your rankings but also connect with potential clients actively searching for your services.
Navigate the intricate world of website optimization with us, and learn how to convert curious visitors into loyal customers. From crafting a seamless navigation structure to selecting high-impact keywords, this episode covers it all. We demystify search intent by using relatable examples, such as a local hairstylist, to illustrate how to align your content with user needs. Additionally, we highlight the importance of mobile-responsive design and the power of a well-optimized Google Business Profile to capture local traffic effectively. With practical tips on keyword placement and calls to action, you're set to make your website a powerhouse for engagement and conversion.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Victoria (00:04):
Welcome to the Web Design and Marketing Diaries
podcast, where we discuss onlinestrategies designed to help you
grow your business and standout in your industry.
Welcome back to the Web Designand Marketing Diaries podcast.
I'm your host, victoria, theowner of the Peer Collective Web
Design Studio, and I'm soexcited to dive into today's
(00:27):
episode.
If you've ever wondered how toget your website to show up on
search engines, then I'm sureyou've heard of SEO, but you may
also be wondering exactly whatSEO is and why it's important,
or how you can even use it tomake your website more visible
online.
This is the episode for you ifyou have been wondering those
(00:49):
things, so please stick aroundand by the end, you will not
only understand what SEO is, butyou will have some actionable
tips so that you can startimproving your website and
making these changes and getyour site more visible.
I'm going to give you some tea,also on a free service from
Google that you can use toreally amp up your visibility in
(01:11):
your local area, so be sure youstay tuned for that.
Now, before we jump in, I wantto mention a free resource that
I've created for you, which ismy SEO starter checklist.
It's going to help you as yougo through this episode.
It's a really good companion tothis episode.
It doesn't follow it exactly,but it's a really good companion
(01:33):
to this and talks about a lotof the things, or goes over a
lot of the things, that we'll betalking about in this episode,
and you can download it right inthe show notes for this episode
.
So let's get into everythinghere Now.
To start, what is SEO?
So that stands for searchengine optimization, and it's
(01:55):
basically the process of makingyour website more attractive to
search engines like Google.
There are other search enginesbesides Google.
I know we always hear aboutGoogle because it's like the
most popular one, but Bing ispretty popular.
I mean, google is like the mostpopular here in America and the
United States, but in othercountries there's other search
(02:18):
engines that are just as popular.
So SEO is not specific toGoogle.
It is about how search enginesin general behave and, you know,
look for information or useinformation that's on the
internet.
And why would you want to, youknow, make your website more
visible to search engines?
(02:38):
Well, obviously, because peopleare going to be searching for
things related to your business,right?
People are going to get on theinternet and they're going to be
looking for stuff related towhat you do and you want to show
up for that.
So, whether it's like the besthairstylist in Detroit or the
best business coach or abusiness coach for women
entrepreneurs, you would wantyour website to show up at the
(03:02):
top of those search results.
If that's what you do, if it'srelated to your business.
And SEO is a way that we canguide search engines to our
websites by saying, hey, I haveexactly what this person is
looking for.
What they're looking for is onmy pages, so send them here.
And SEO actually matters quitea bit because, like about almost
(03:27):
three quarters of all onlineexperiences begin on a search
engine.
Like, people do use them tofind out information, and if
your website isn't optimized,you're missing out on those
opportunities to connect withpotential customers or clients,
the people who are looking forwhat you do.
(03:48):
But the thing with SEO is thatit's not just about showing up.
So it's not just, you know,being number one on Google or
being on the first page ofGoogle.
It's about showing up in frontof the right people.
It's about showing up in frontof the right people, okay.
So, for example, if you're ahairstylist, you don't want just
(04:09):
anyone visiting your website.
You don't want people who arelooking for a plumber on your
website, because that's not whatyou do.
You want people who areprobably in your local area, or
maybe not.
I mean, a lot of things areglobal now, but most of the time
you want people who are in yourlocal area or maybe not.
I mean, a lot of things areglobal now, but most of the time
you want people who are in yourlocal area, who are looking for
(04:29):
a hairstylist, to visit yoursite.
And that's where SEO reallybecomes like a game changer for
our businesses, because it helpsyou to attract your ideal
audience not just anybody, butthe people who are actually
looking for you and what you do.
So now we're going to get intoexactly how search engines work,
(04:50):
but we're going to start withthe basics.
When we talk about Google andwe talk about other search
engines, they're really like adigital library or like digital
librarians really.
So not just the library, theinternet is the library, but the
search engine is like thelibrarian.
The search engine is going tolook at each page of a website
(05:14):
so that it can understand whatthat page is about and what that
website is about and thatprocess is called crawling.
All right, once the searchengines crawl the information,
it indexes or saves theinformation that it finds and it
stores it in, basically like ahuge library, and when someone
(05:35):
searches for something, thesearch engine is going to
quickly look through its libraryor that index or that database
to find the best match based onwhat it knows about the content
of each of the pages that isstored.
Then that's where ranking comesin.
That is how search enginesdecide which pages to show first
(05:55):
.
Now the search engine wants toshow you or the user the most
relevant page or the mostrelevant information and the
highest quality result first.
It's like how, if you actuallygo to a library I know we don't
really go there anymore, but formy readers out there if you go
to a library and you ask thelibrarian to recommend, like the
(06:18):
best books for a specific topic, you're going to trust the
librarian's recommendation andGoogle and other search engines,
especially Google they want tobe trusted in that same way.
Google wants to make sure thatit's presenting you with content
, with websites, with businessesthat match what you're looking
(06:40):
for, so that you can keep comingback to use its service you're
looking for so that you can keepcoming back to use its service.
Now let's talk about how you canset the foundation for good SEO
on your website.
But I want to start with likeone of the biggest
misconceptions about SEO, andthat is that your entire website
ranks as a whole, and that'sjust not true.
(07:02):
In reality, it is theindividual pages, your
individual web pages, thatactually rank, and not the whole
website, because when yousearch for something on Google,
google is actually pulling upone specific page, like think
about it.
When you search something, it'spulling up one page.
(07:22):
It's not recommending theentire site to you because
everything on that website maynot be relevant to what you're
looking for.
Instead, it's going to presentyou with a single webpage that
it truly believes has theinformation that you're looking
for.
So that means as a person, as abusiness owner that has a
(07:43):
website, as a person, as abusiness owner that has a
website, you should make surethat each page is focused on a
specific topic or a specifickeyword, which we'll get into
keywords in just a moment.
And if you're trying to ranklike one page for multiple
keywords, it's really unlikelythat you're going to rank well
for any of them, because thepage isn't focused.
(08:04):
So it's really important to bevery specific with each page's
focus and have a clear purposefor each page so that Google
understands what that page isabout, making it easier to get
it and present it to peoplesearching for something that's
related to what you do, orsearching for what you do so
(08:27):
visually like.
What does this look like?
When you build a website, youhave your main navigation, so
that's at the top of the website, maybe on the side, depending
on how it's designed but that'swhere you'll have your homepage,
your about page, your services,your contact and so on.
Right now, your homepage isgoing to give a brief overview
(08:50):
of your business and of you.
Possibly, and as you start toget into those other pages,
those other pages are going tobecome more focused.
So if you think of yournavigation and let's say you
have a tab in your main menuthat says services and then
under services you have a dropdown that's going to list all of
(09:12):
your services, those individualservice pages will have a
better chance of ranking becausethey are focused on one
particular service.
Those pages are about one ideaand that makes it really clear
to Google when to serve thatpage up and search results.
Okay, so now that you have abetter understanding of how
(09:34):
search engines work and why theindividual pages matter, let's
talk about some pretty practicalthings that you can do on your
website so that your SEO effortsactually give you some results
and are.
First thing is you want tochoose your keywords wisely, and
(09:55):
keywords are the words or thephrases that people actually
type into Google when you'researching for something.
So, for example, if you're apersonal chef, the keywords for
your website might be personalchef services or personal chef
in Detroit, or catering forsmall events.
So these are things that peoplewill probably actually search
(10:19):
for.
If they're looking for you,they're looking for your
services, and you can actuallyuse Google to get an idea of
what people have been searchingfor.
So if you go over to theinternet, you open up a new tab,
go to Google and you starttyping something in the search
box.
What you will see is a listbegin to appear and as you type
more letters and you type morewords, that list is going to
(10:40):
change and what Google is doingis it's using what people have
searched for in the past topredict what you may be looking
for right now.
These can be used as keywordsbecause it's actually telling
you what people are searchingfor.
So we don't want to reinventthe wheel.
If people are searching forthat thing, then you may want to
incorporate those words in yourwebsite so that you can also
(11:05):
show up for those searches.
And as you begin to build outyour pages and your content, you
want to use those phrases andthose words there and your
content.
You want to use those phrasesand those words there.
Now, with keywords, I want tomention that it's really
important to understand theintent of people when they're
searching, like what do theywant to do when they're Googling
(11:27):
things?
When someone types somethinginto Google, it's Google's job,
or any search engine, to serveup like the most relevant and
the most useful results and ifyour website aligns with what
they want, google is going torecommend it.
Now, if we go back to ourexample of the best hairstylist
in Detroit, someone searchingfor this is probably looking for
(11:51):
a local hairstylist here inDetroit to do their hair, is
probably looking for a localhairstylist here in Detroit to
do their hair.
They probably want to readreviews.
They may want to see work, seepictures of the stylist's past
work, and they might actuallywant to book an appointment.
That's a search topic thatleads someone to take action.
(12:13):
Okay, they're not saying how tostyle hair.
That's something where someoneis looking for information.
But this search topic or thiskeyword, the person is saying
best hairstylist in Detroit.
So that intent you can inferthat that person is looking for
someone to do their hair.
So you want to optimize yourpages so that it's easy for
(12:35):
Google to understand that, hey,this is the best hairstylist in
Detroit.
I am the person you know.
You can come to this page hereto book an appointment in
Detroit to get your hair done,and that's why SEO isn't just
about stuffing keywords intoyour website.
It's really about understandingwhat your audience wants, what
(12:57):
they're looking for, and thendelivering that thing.
All right, the next thing thatyou can do to help kind of set
your website up and your SEOefforts to be successful and
yield you some actual results isto optimize your pages.
Now, this can be a little bitmore technical, because there
are some more technical thingsthat you have to do, but it's
(13:20):
really simple when you thinkabout it.
So we've already establishedthat each page on your website
should have a clear focus, soevery page should have one thing
that is really talking aboutand really focused on, and you
should use your chosen keywordson that page and you should use
those words pretty strategically.
When you use them, thosekeywords, you want to use them
(13:45):
in your page type.
So a certain areas that youwant to use those keywords in,
one is your page title.
So the page title is the actual, like that blue link that shows
up on Google when your pageshows up.
You want to have your keywordthere First of all.
You also want it to appear inyour headings We'll talk about
(14:06):
headings in a minute andthroughout your content,
specifically in like the firsthundred words on the page.
Okay, but don't overdo it.
Don't just throw the keywordsin there all willy-nilly and
just put them there.
You want to put them in thereand have them appear in a very
(14:29):
natural way and a very you know,very organic, just a natural
flow in the conversation and inthe content that's on the page.
Okay, but I want to get intothese headings.
Think of headings on your pageas like an outline of all the
content that's on your page.
They're going to help organizeeverything and make it easier
(14:52):
for people and for searchengines to understand what the
page is about.
So I want you to picture anoutline like from school when
you were writing a paper and youhad to write an outline.
This is what I'm talking about.
It organizes the ideas okay.
So you have your main topic andthen you have sub ideas under
(15:14):
that and you have ideas underthe sub ideas.
This is how headings operate.
Headings go from H1 to H6.
So you have H1, h2, h3, h4, h5and H6, though most times you'll
probably only go through likeh1 to h3.
(15:35):
Honestly, you may do an h4, butusually most people do h1, h2
and h3, and that's really aboutas deep as you need to go.
And you want to use theheadings to structure the
content on the page, not tostyle the text.
So we don't want to use it tomake this text over here bigger
(15:57):
than this text over here.
We want to use it to actuallyorganize the content on the page
.
So that means that the H1heading should be the main topic
that that page is about andthere should only be one H1 per
page, because each page only isabout one thing.
Now you can have multiple H2sthrough H6s, but only one H1.
(16:21):
Otherwise you can confuse thesearch engines and we don't want
that.
So to give you an example, let'ssay you're a health and
wellness services professional,or your health and wellness
coach, and you have yourservices page and at the top of
that services page you may havehealth and wellness services,
(16:45):
because that's what the page isabout, it's about your services.
Then that is going to be yourH1, right?
So that's the main topic of thepage.
Then your H2s would actually bethe names of each of your
services.
So maybe you have threeservices.
Let's say you have mealprepping that's an H2.
You have online fitness classesthat would be an H2.
(17:07):
And then maybe you haveone-on-one coaching that would
be an H2.
And then let's say, under mealprepping, you have two types of
meal prepping.
Let's say you have weekly mealprepping and then monthly meal
prepping.
Those two would then be your H3under the meal prepping service
, and then you would just go onlike that.
(17:28):
So basically, you want to useyour headings appropriately.
You don't want to use them tostyle the text and you want to
make sure that it organizes thecontent in a very logical way so
that the search engines andyour users are able to
understand what your page isabout.
Now the next thing that you cando to improve your SEO efforts
is to make quality or to createquality content.
(17:50):
Your written content should bevaluable.
It should answer questions.
It should be easy to read andunderstand for people.
Even if your page ranks well,if no one takes action or no one
clicks on it, it reallywouldn't matter how high the
page ranks on Google if no onedoes anything when they see it
(18:10):
and this is where the conversiondriven copy comes in.
The written words on your pagesshould speak directly to what
your audience needs, and itshould make them want to take
the next step.
It should make them, or atleast give them clues and ideas
and guide them on what it isthat they need to do next.
What you want them to do nextin order to become a customer or
(18:33):
become a client.
What you want them to do nextin order to become a customer or
become a client.
So it's not enough just to getthem to your site.
You want them to know what todo and to actually do that thing
once they get there, whetherthat's signing up for a
newsletter or booking a serviceor making an appointment and to
make that happen, the content onyour pages need to be clear and
it should be relatable.
(18:53):
So talk about the things thatyour audience may be suffering
with, or things that they'retrying to overcome, which are
their pain points, and then youwill show them how you can
actually solve it.
You don't necessarily need tocall it out and be mean about it
, but you want to let them knowthat, hey, I understand what
you're going through and this ishow my service addresses that,
(19:13):
this is how my service addressesthat, this is how my product
addresses that.
And you can also guide them tothe next step with very clear,
very clear calls to action.
So like book now, you knowbuttons that say book now, or
learn more, or read more Maybethere's some additional
information that they need toread.
You want to make it veryobvious, basically for them to
(19:33):
know what they need to do next,because good SEO will get you
the traffic, but it's the copy,it's the words on the page that
is going to actually turn thattraffic into actual customers or
clients.
And then, lastly, you want tomake sure that your website is
mobile friendly or responsive isreally the phrase that I like
to use, because it's more thanjust mobile devices.
(19:54):
But basically, you want to makesure that your website looks
good on all pages, all screensizes, and that it still
functions well, all screen sizes, and that it still functions
well.
So if you design it on a largerscreen and then if someone is
looking at it on a smallerscreen, you want the text to
still be readable.
You want the buttons to stillbe accessible, any links?
(20:14):
They should still be able toclick them.
They should still be able tosee everything on the page and
do whatever it is that you needto do, no matter what size
screen they're on, and Googlewill penalize you if your
website is not optimized formobile devices.
So, as you're designing yourpages, just check frequently to
make sure that it still looksgood and it still functions well
(20:37):
on all size screens.
And whatever platform orbuilder that you're using to
create your website, they willhave options for you to check
those.
So just make sure, as you'readding each section that you go
through and you check that asyou're building out your pages.
Now there's one more piece toessential SEO success that I
(21:01):
want to share with you, and thisis especially if you're
targeting local customers or youhave, like, a physical location
somewhere.
So I'm talking to, like myinsurance agents, real estate
agents, accountants, taxpreparers, lawn care, home
services, auto repair, eventspaces, like all those
businesses who rely on localtraffic for their business.
(21:26):
What I'm talking about is yourfree Google business profile,
and if you haven't claimed this,or if you have claimed it and
you haven't optimized it, I wantyou to do that today, like when
you get done listening to this,head over to Google, find your
business profile and startworking on it today.
(21:46):
Now, this profile, it actuallyhelps your business show up in
local search results.
It helps it show up on theGoogle map.
So when someone is searchingfor you, if they're near you,
google will show your businessto them so that they can come
and see you.
It makes it easier for peoplein your area to actually find
(22:07):
you, and this is super importantif you want to rank and show up
in those local searches.
So, before we wrap up, I want togive you like three little
quick things that you can do tooptimize your Google profile
once you claim it or if you'veclaimed it.
These are the things that Iwant you to get on there and do
before the end of today, allright, so first, complete the
(22:28):
profile, make sure all of yourbusiness info is there, like
your address, your phone number,your business hours, your
website, any other pertinentinformation, your contact info.
That should all be there and itshould be accurate.
So double check that.
Secondly, add your photos ofyour products or your services,
(22:51):
or you or your business, yourlocation, if your event, you
know event spot.
Add pictures of the space.
If you're an event planner, addpictures of events that you
designed.
Add those things in there.
Make updates regularly, postthose things on a regular basis
to keep your profile active andkeep it appealing looking.
(23:14):
If you have an event coming up,post it to your Google Business
profile.
If you're launching a newservice or a new product, post
it to your profile.
If you're having a sale, postit.
You can literally make updatesto your Google business profile,
almost like social media.
I wouldn't do it thatfrequently, maybe like once
(23:34):
every other week or something,but yes, you can make updates to
your Google business profile.
You can add pictures and alltypes of things to your Google
business profile and it'stotally free.
You can also add services andproducts that link back to your
website.
So this is just another reasonto make sure that your website
is designed really well, becauseif someone goes to Google and
they search and they find youand they click those links to go
(23:57):
back to your products orservices, then you want to make
sure that your website is set upin a way that allows them to
purchase that product or bookthat service or whatever action
it is that you want them to do.
You want to make sure that yoursite is set up for them to do
that.
And then, lastly, you want tocollect reviews, like encourage
your clients and your customersto leave you reviews and if they
(24:19):
can actually talk about thespecific service that they
received from you or the actualproduct that they purchased,
this can help boost yourvisibility in local searches.
A good review is more than justsaying I really liked her
service.
She did a good job.
You want them to talk aboutwhat were they experiencing
before they walked in, whatstruggles were they having
(24:43):
before they worked with you,what service they got, and how
their life has changedafterwards, after working with
you, after using your product,what has happened, what has
improved for them or in theirlife now that they've done
business with you.
That is what a really goodreview would include.
All right, so let's recapeverything that we went over
(25:04):
today.
First of all, seo stands forsearch engine optimization, and
it's about making your websitevisible and relevant to search
engines so that they can serveit up when people are searching
for things that you do or thingsthat you sell.
So that's what SEO is reallyall about.
(25:26):
You want to start your SEOprocess, or your SEO efforts, by
optimizing your site withkeywords related to your
business and what you'veidentified that people search
for when they're looking forwhat you do or what you sell.
You want to create qualitycontent so that it's engaging
and relevant to people who willbe visiting your website, and
(25:49):
then make sure that your sitelooks good and functions well,
no matter the screen size thatsomeone is accessing it on.
Okay, and then, lastly, again,if you have not done this,
please today, before the end ofthe day, if you have not done
this, please today, before theend of the day, claim or create
or go in and optimize yourGoogle business profile and
(26:12):
start attracting all that localtraffic that you may be missing
out on right now.
And then don't forget todownload the starter checklist
the SEO starter checklist that Italked about at the beginning
of the episode.
That's going to help you kindof put everything that we've
discussed into action and getyou on the path of starting your
SEO efforts for your website.
It's got a lot of tips andsteps are pretty easy to follow.
(26:35):
I try to make it really simpleso that you can start optimizing
your website.
And again, the link is going tobe in the show notes for this
episode.
So thank you so much forjoining me today on the Web
Design and Marketing Diariespodcast.
If you've found this helpful,please share it with a friend or
leave a review.
You know it does help morepeople find the show and also
(26:57):
get some of the information thatyou're getting here today.
So until next time, here's toyour success, and I will talk to
you soon.
Welcome to the Web Design and Marketing Diaries
podcast, where we discuss onlinestrategies designed to help you
grow your business and standout in your industry.
Welcome back to the Web Designand Marketing Diaries podcast.
I'm your host, victoria, theowner of the Peer Collective Web
Design Studio, and I'm soexcited to dive into today's
(00:27):
episode.
If you've ever wondered how toget your website to show up on
search engines, then I'm sureyou've heard of SEO, but you may
also be wondering exactly whatSEO is and why it's important,
or how you can even use it tomake your website more visible
online.
This is the episode for you ifyou have been wondering those
(00:49):
things, so please stick aroundand by the end, you will not
only understand what SEO is, butyou will have some actionable
tips so that you can startimproving your website and
making these changes and getyour site more visible.
I'm going to give you some tea,also on a free service from
Google that you can use toreally amp up your visibility in
(01:11):
your local area, so be sure youstay tuned for that.
Now, before we jump in, I wantto mention a free resource that
I've created for you, which ismy SEO starter checklist.
It's going to help you as yougo through this episode.
It's a really good companion tothis episode.
It doesn't follow it exactly,but it's a really good companion
(01:33):
to this and talks about a lotof the things, or goes over a
lot of the things, that we'll betalking about in this episode,
and you can download it right inthe show notes for this episode
.
So let's get into everythinghere Now.
To start, what is SEO?
So that stands for searchengine optimization, and it's
(01:55):
basically the process of makingyour website more attractive to
search engines like Google.
There are other search enginesbesides Google.
I know we always hear aboutGoogle because it's like the
most popular one, but Bing ispretty popular.
I mean, google is like the mostpopular here in America and the
United States, but in othercountries there's other search
(02:18):
engines that are just as popular.
So SEO is not specific toGoogle.
It is about how search enginesin general behave and, you know,
look for information or useinformation that's on the
internet.
And why would you want to, youknow, make your website more
visible to search engines?
(02:38):
Well, obviously, because peopleare going to be searching for
things related to your business,right?
People are going to get on theinternet and they're going to be
looking for stuff related towhat you do and you want to show
up for that.
So, whether it's like the besthairstylist in Detroit or the
best business coach or abusiness coach for women
entrepreneurs, you would wantyour website to show up at the
(03:02):
top of those search results.
If that's what you do, if it'srelated to your business.
And SEO is a way that we canguide search engines to our
websites by saying, hey, I haveexactly what this person is
looking for.
What they're looking for is onmy pages, so send them here.
And SEO actually matters quitea bit because, like about almost
(03:27):
three quarters of all onlineexperiences begin on a search
engine.
Like, people do use them tofind out information, and if
your website isn't optimized,you're missing out on those
opportunities to connect withpotential customers or clients,
the people who are looking forwhat you do.
(03:48):
But the thing with SEO is thatit's not just about showing up.
So it's not just, you know,being number one on Google or
being on the first page ofGoogle.
It's about showing up in frontof the right people.
It's about showing up in frontof the right people, okay.
So, for example, if you're ahairstylist, you don't want just
(04:09):
anyone visiting your website.
You don't want people who arelooking for a plumber on your
website, because that's not whatyou do.
You want people who areprobably in your local area, or
maybe not.
I mean, a lot of things areglobal now, but most of the time
you want people who are in yourlocal area or maybe not.
I mean, a lot of things areglobal now, but most of the time
you want people who are in yourlocal area, who are looking for
(04:29):
a hairstylist, to visit yoursite.
And that's where SEO reallybecomes like a game changer for
our businesses, because it helpsyou to attract your ideal
audience not just anybody, butthe people who are actually
looking for you and what you do.
So now we're going to get intoexactly how search engines work,
(04:50):
but we're going to start withthe basics.
When we talk about Google andwe talk about other search
engines, they're really like adigital library or like digital
librarians really.
So not just the library, theinternet is the library, but the
search engine is like thelibrarian.
The search engine is going tolook at each page of a website
(05:14):
so that it can understand whatthat page is about and what that
website is about and thatprocess is called crawling.
All right, once the searchengines crawl the information,
it indexes or saves theinformation that it finds and it
stores it in, basically like ahuge library, and when someone
(05:35):
searches for something, thesearch engine is going to
quickly look through its libraryor that index or that database
to find the best match based onwhat it knows about the content
of each of the pages that isstored.
Then that's where ranking comesin.
That is how search enginesdecide which pages to show first
(05:55):
.
Now the search engine wants toshow you or the user the most
relevant page or the mostrelevant information and the
highest quality result first.
It's like how, if you actuallygo to a library I know we don't
really go there anymore, but formy readers out there if you go
to a library and you ask thelibrarian to recommend, like the
(06:18):
best books for a specific topic, you're going to trust the
librarian's recommendation andGoogle and other search engines,
especially Google they want tobe trusted in that same way.
Google wants to make sure thatit's presenting you with content
, with websites, with businessesthat match what you're looking
(06:40):
for, so that you can keep comingback to use its service you're
looking for so that you can keepcoming back to use its service.
Now let's talk about how you canset the foundation for good SEO
on your website.
But I want to start with likeone of the biggest
misconceptions about SEO, andthat is that your entire website
ranks as a whole, and that'sjust not true.
(07:02):
In reality, it is theindividual pages, your
individual web pages, thatactually rank, and not the whole
website, because when yousearch for something on Google,
google is actually pulling upone specific page, like think
about it.
When you search something, it'spulling up one page.
(07:22):
It's not recommending theentire site to you because
everything on that website maynot be relevant to what you're
looking for.
Instead, it's going to presentyou with a single webpage that
it truly believes has theinformation that you're looking
for.
So that means as a person, as abusiness owner that has a
(07:43):
website, as a person, as abusiness owner that has a
website, you should make surethat each page is focused on a
specific topic or a specifickeyword, which we'll get into
keywords in just a moment.
And if you're trying to ranklike one page for multiple
keywords, it's really unlikelythat you're going to rank well
for any of them, because thepage isn't focused.
(08:04):
So it's really important to bevery specific with each page's
focus and have a clear purposefor each page so that Google
understands what that page isabout, making it easier to get
it and present it to peoplesearching for something that's
related to what you do, orsearching for what you do so
(08:27):
visually like.
What does this look like?
When you build a website, youhave your main navigation, so
that's at the top of the website, maybe on the side, depending
on how it's designed but that'swhere you'll have your homepage,
your about page, your services,your contact and so on.
Right now, your homepage isgoing to give a brief overview
(08:50):
of your business and of you.
Possibly, and as you start toget into those other pages,
those other pages are going tobecome more focused.
So if you think of yournavigation and let's say you
have a tab in your main menuthat says services and then
under services you have a dropdown that's going to list all of
(09:12):
your services, those individualservice pages will have a
better chance of ranking becausethey are focused on one
particular service.
Those pages are about one ideaand that makes it really clear
to Google when to serve thatpage up and search results.
Okay, so now that you have abetter understanding of how
(09:34):
search engines work and why theindividual pages matter, let's
talk about some pretty practicalthings that you can do on your
website so that your SEO effortsactually give you some results
and are.
First thing is you want tochoose your keywords wisely, and
(09:55):
keywords are the words or thephrases that people actually
type into Google when you'researching for something.
So, for example, if you're apersonal chef, the keywords for
your website might be personalchef services or personal chef
in Detroit, or catering forsmall events.
So these are things that peoplewill probably actually search
(10:19):
for.
If they're looking for you,they're looking for your
services, and you can actuallyuse Google to get an idea of
what people have been searchingfor.
So if you go over to theinternet, you open up a new tab,
go to Google and you starttyping something in the search
box.
What you will see is a listbegin to appear and as you type
more letters and you type morewords, that list is going to
(10:40):
change and what Google is doingis it's using what people have
searched for in the past topredict what you may be looking
for right now.
These can be used as keywordsbecause it's actually telling
you what people are searchingfor.
So we don't want to reinventthe wheel.
If people are searching forthat thing, then you may want to
incorporate those words in yourwebsite so that you can also
(11:05):
show up for those searches.
And as you begin to build outyour pages and your content, you
want to use those phrases andthose words there and your
content.
You want to use those phrasesand those words there.
Now, with keywords, I want tomention that it's really
important to understand theintent of people when they're
searching, like what do theywant to do when they're Googling
(11:27):
things?
When someone types somethinginto Google, it's Google's job,
or any search engine, to serveup like the most relevant and
the most useful results and ifyour website aligns with what
they want, google is going torecommend it.
Now, if we go back to ourexample of the best hairstylist
in Detroit, someone searchingfor this is probably looking for
(11:51):
a local hairstylist here inDetroit to do their hair, is
probably looking for a localhairstylist here in Detroit to
do their hair.
They probably want to readreviews.
They may want to see work, seepictures of the stylist's past
work, and they might actuallywant to book an appointment.
That's a search topic thatleads someone to take action.
(12:13):
Okay, they're not saying how tostyle hair.
That's something where someoneis looking for information.
But this search topic or thiskeyword, the person is saying
best hairstylist in Detroit.
So that intent you can inferthat that person is looking for
someone to do their hair.
So you want to optimize yourpages so that it's easy for
(12:35):
Google to understand that, hey,this is the best hairstylist in
Detroit.
I am the person you know.
You can come to this page hereto book an appointment in
Detroit to get your hair done,and that's why SEO isn't just
about stuffing keywords intoyour website.
It's really about understandingwhat your audience wants, what
(12:57):
they're looking for, and thendelivering that thing.
All right, the next thing thatyou can do to help kind of set
your website up and your SEOefforts to be successful and
yield you some actual results isto optimize your pages.
Now, this can be a little bitmore technical, because there
are some more technical thingsthat you have to do, but it's
(13:20):
really simple when you thinkabout it.
So we've already establishedthat each page on your website
should have a clear focus, soevery page should have one thing
that is really talking aboutand really focused on, and you
should use your chosen keywordson that page and you should use
those words pretty strategically.
When you use them, thosekeywords, you want to use them
(13:45):
in your page type.
So a certain areas that youwant to use those keywords in,
one is your page title.
So the page title is the actual, like that blue link that shows
up on Google when your pageshows up.
You want to have your keywordthere First of all.
You also want it to appear inyour headings We'll talk about
(14:06):
headings in a minute andthroughout your content,
specifically in like the firsthundred words on the page.
Okay, but don't overdo it.
Don't just throw the keywordsin there all willy-nilly and
just put them there.
You want to put them in thereand have them appear in a very
(14:29):
natural way and a very you know,very organic, just a natural
flow in the conversation and inthe content that's on the page.
Okay, but I want to get intothese headings.
Think of headings on your pageas like an outline of all the
content that's on your page.
They're going to help organizeeverything and make it easier
(14:52):
for people and for searchengines to understand what the
page is about.
So I want you to picture anoutline like from school when
you were writing a paper and youhad to write an outline.
This is what I'm talking about.
It organizes the ideas okay.
So you have your main topic andthen you have sub ideas under
(15:14):
that and you have ideas underthe sub ideas.
This is how headings operate.
Headings go from H1 to H6.
So you have H1, h2, h3, h4, h5and H6, though most times you'll
probably only go through likeh1 to h3.
(15:35):
Honestly, you may do an h4, butusually most people do h1, h2
and h3, and that's really aboutas deep as you need to go.
And you want to use theheadings to structure the
content on the page, not tostyle the text.
So we don't want to use it tomake this text over here bigger
(15:57):
than this text over here.
We want to use it to actuallyorganize the content on the page
.
So that means that the H1heading should be the main topic
that that page is about andthere should only be one H1 per
page, because each page only isabout one thing.
Now you can have multiple H2sthrough H6s, but only one H1.
(16:21):
Otherwise you can confuse thesearch engines and we don't want
that.
So to give you an example, let'ssay you're a health and
wellness services professional,or your health and wellness
coach, and you have yourservices page and at the top of
that services page you may havehealth and wellness services,
(16:45):
because that's what the page isabout, it's about your services.
Then that is going to be yourH1, right?
So that's the main topic of thepage.
Then your H2s would actually bethe names of each of your
services.
So maybe you have threeservices.
Let's say you have mealprepping that's an H2.
You have online fitness classesthat would be an H2.
(17:07):
And then maybe you haveone-on-one coaching that would
be an H2.
And then let's say, under mealprepping, you have two types of
meal prepping.
Let's say you have weekly mealprepping and then monthly meal
prepping.
Those two would then be your H3under the meal prepping service
, and then you would just go onlike that.
(17:28):
So basically, you want to useyour headings appropriately.
You don't want to use them tostyle the text and you want to
make sure that it organizes thecontent in a very logical way so
that the search engines andyour users are able to
understand what your page isabout.
Now the next thing that you cando to improve your SEO efforts
is to make quality or to createquality content.
(17:50):
Your written content should bevaluable.
It should answer questions.
It should be easy to read andunderstand for people.
Even if your page ranks well,if no one takes action or no one
clicks on it, it reallywouldn't matter how high the
page ranks on Google if no onedoes anything when they see it
(18:10):
and this is where the conversiondriven copy comes in.
The written words on your pagesshould speak directly to what
your audience needs, and itshould make them want to take
the next step.
It should make them, or atleast give them clues and ideas
and guide them on what it isthat they need to do next.
What you want them to do nextin order to become a customer or
(18:33):
become a client.
What you want them to do nextin order to become a customer or
become a client.
So it's not enough just to getthem to your site.
You want them to know what todo and to actually do that thing
once they get there, whetherthat's signing up for a
newsletter or booking a serviceor making an appointment and to
make that happen, the content onyour pages need to be clear and
it should be relatable.
(18:53):
So talk about the things thatyour audience may be suffering
with, or things that they'retrying to overcome, which are
their pain points, and then youwill show them how you can
actually solve it.
You don't necessarily need tocall it out and be mean about it
, but you want to let them knowthat, hey, I understand what
you're going through and this ishow my service addresses that,
(19:13):
this is how my service addressesthat, this is how my product
addresses that.
And you can also guide them tothe next step with very clear,
very clear calls to action.
So like book now, you knowbuttons that say book now, or
learn more, or read more Maybethere's some additional
information that they need toread.
You want to make it veryobvious, basically for them to
(19:33):
know what they need to do next,because good SEO will get you
the traffic, but it's the copy,it's the words on the page that
is going to actually turn thattraffic into actual customers or
clients.
And then, lastly, you want tomake sure that your website is
mobile friendly or responsive isreally the phrase that I like
to use, because it's more thanjust mobile devices.
(19:54):
But basically, you want to makesure that your website looks
good on all pages, all screensizes, and that it still
functions well, all screen sizes, and that it still functions
well.
So if you design it on a largerscreen and then if someone is
looking at it on a smallerscreen, you want the text to
still be readable.
You want the buttons to stillbe accessible, any links?
(20:14):
They should still be able toclick them.
They should still be able tosee everything on the page and
do whatever it is that you needto do, no matter what size
screen they're on, and Googlewill penalize you if your
website is not optimized formobile devices.
So, as you're designing yourpages, just check frequently to
make sure that it still looksgood and it still functions well
(20:37):
on all size screens.
And whatever platform orbuilder that you're using to
create your website, they willhave options for you to check
those.
So just make sure, as you'readding each section that you go
through and you check that asyou're building out your pages.
Now there's one more piece toessential SEO success that I
(21:01):
want to share with you, and thisis especially if you're
targeting local customers or youhave, like, a physical location
somewhere.
So I'm talking to, like myinsurance agents, real estate
agents, accountants, taxpreparers, lawn care, home
services, auto repair, eventspaces, like all those
businesses who rely on localtraffic for their business.
(21:26):
What I'm talking about is yourfree Google business profile,
and if you haven't claimed this,or if you have claimed it and
you haven't optimized it, I wantyou to do that today, like when
you get done listening to this,head over to Google, find your
business profile and startworking on it today.
(21:46):
Now, this profile, it actuallyhelps your business show up in
local search results.
It helps it show up on theGoogle map.
So when someone is searchingfor you, if they're near you,
google will show your businessto them so that they can come
and see you.
It makes it easier for peoplein your area to actually find
(22:07):
you, and this is super importantif you want to rank and show up
in those local searches.
So, before we wrap up, I want togive you like three little
quick things that you can do tooptimize your Google profile
once you claim it or if you'veclaimed it.
These are the things that Iwant you to get on there and do
before the end of today, allright, so first, complete the
(22:28):
profile, make sure all of yourbusiness info is there, like
your address, your phone number,your business hours, your
website, any other pertinentinformation, your contact info.
That should all be there and itshould be accurate.
So double check that.
Secondly, add your photos ofyour products or your services,
(22:51):
or you or your business, yourlocation, if your event, you
know event spot.
Add pictures of the space.
If you're an event planner, addpictures of events that you
designed.
Add those things in there.
Make updates regularly, postthose things on a regular basis
to keep your profile active andkeep it appealing looking.
(23:14):
If you have an event coming up,post it to your Google Business
profile.
If you're launching a newservice or a new product, post
it to your profile.
If you're having a sale, postit.
You can literally make updatesto your Google business profile,
almost like social media.
I wouldn't do it thatfrequently, maybe like once
(23:34):
every other week or something,but yes, you can make updates to
your Google business profile.
You can add pictures and alltypes of things to your Google
business profile and it'stotally free.
You can also add services andproducts that link back to your
website.
So this is just another reasonto make sure that your website
is designed really well, becauseif someone goes to Google and
they search and they find youand they click those links to go
(23:57):
back to your products orservices, then you want to make
sure that your website is set upin a way that allows them to
purchase that product or bookthat service or whatever action
it is that you want them to do.
You want to make sure that yoursite is set up for them to do
that.
And then, lastly, you want tocollect reviews, like encourage
your clients and your customersto leave you reviews and if they
(24:19):
can actually talk about thespecific service that they
received from you or the actualproduct that they purchased,
this can help boost yourvisibility in local searches.
A good review is more than justsaying I really liked her
service.
She did a good job.
You want them to talk aboutwhat were they experiencing
before they walked in, whatstruggles were they having
(24:43):
before they worked with you,what service they got, and how
their life has changedafterwards, after working with
you, after using your product,what has happened, what has
improved for them or in theirlife now that they've done
business with you.
That is what a really goodreview would include.
All right, so let's recapeverything that we went over
(25:04):
today.
First of all, seo stands forsearch engine optimization, and
it's about making your websitevisible and relevant to search
engines so that they can serveit up when people are searching
for things that you do or thingsthat you sell.
So that's what SEO is reallyall about.
(25:26):
You want to start your SEOprocess, or your SEO efforts, by
optimizing your site withkeywords related to your
business and what you'veidentified that people search
for when they're looking forwhat you do or what you sell.
You want to create qualitycontent so that it's engaging
and relevant to people who willbe visiting your website, and
(25:49):
then make sure that your sitelooks good and functions well,
no matter the screen size thatsomeone is accessing it on.
Okay, and then, lastly, again,if you have not done this,
please today, before the end ofthe day, if you have not done
this, please today, before theend of the day, claim or create
or go in and optimize yourGoogle business profile and
(26:12):
start attracting all that localtraffic that you may be missing
out on right now.
And then don't forget todownload the starter checklist
the SEO starter checklist that Italked about at the beginning
of the episode.
That's going to help you kindof put everything that we've
discussed into action and getyou on the path of starting your
SEO efforts for your website.
It's got a lot of tips andsteps are pretty easy to follow.
(26:35):
I try to make it really simpleso that you can start optimizing
your website.
And again, the link is going tobe in the show notes for this
episode.
So thank you so much forjoining me today on the Web
Design and Marketing Diariespodcast.
If you've found this helpful,please share it with a friend or
leave a review.
You know it does help morepeople find the show and also
(26:57):
get some of the information thatyou're getting here today.
So until next time, here's toyour success, and I will talk to
you soon.
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