SEO might not be a cakewalk, but it isn’t rocket science either. Today, we are here to help you discard the baseless fears and discover some of the facts about search engine optimization that can help online retailers improve their online presence. It can become daunting at times, especially since e-commerce means juggling several priorities single-handedly. Now, it is time for you to think. Do you really have to do all the hard lifting on your own? There are multiple facets of SEO, several factors that contribute to the visibility and performance of a site, and there is no reason you should not ask for help when experts are just one phone call away.
What is the 3-month SEO strategy everyone is talking about?
There are times when you don’t want an expert because your business is new and you do not have the extra cash for optimization. This easy time-tested SEO strategy is for one of those times. It is a simple 3-month plan that is suitable for almost all businesses online.
Month 1
Research and competitor analysis
SEO plans do not come out of the blue. You cannot conjure a plan in a single day. You need research, experimentation, and A/B testing for developing the perfect plan to outperform your competitors. However, more than anything else, you need competitor research. That is the process of analyzing your competitor’s keyword game, best performing SEO features and other marketing strategies that you can implement as well.
The research is a multi-storied step. You will need multiple tools and skill sets for it. Begin with something simple like keyword list generators, keyword volume research tools, and then, proceed to tools like Ahrefs, SEMRush for competitor keyword analysis. Download the Google Console. It is a must-have for every self-trained marketer and SEO expert out there.
Month 2
Building on-page SEO for your site
You will have no on-page SEO without strong content. Your website needs authentic and interesting content that can draw the visitors from your target location. If you are an indie boutique or a vegan bakery serving in uptown Toronto, you need to target the people there. It won’t do you much good if you become visible to people in Texas, but no one in Toronto gets to see your bake sale.
That brings us to the concept of local SEO and keyword targeting. Without the use of the correct set of keywords and key phrases improving target, visibility is next to impossible. You need the best experts in SEO Toronto to get your site up and running, and visible! Next, you can always install the Yoast SEO plug-in. It is a comprehensive plug-in that can handle most of the daily SEO needs of any e-commerce website.
Make sure to run your content through rigorous quality checks. The standards of your articles, blogs, videos, images, infographics, and white pages are imperative for the next step. Also, do not forget to use social media listening tools to track how the visitors are sharing your content on social media platforms. Most renowned businesses rely on HootSuite and TweetReach to follow users on Facebook and Twitter, respectively.
Month 3
Building off-page SEO strategies
Once your on-page SEO strategy is in place, you need to start working on your link building and social sharing. These are essential ranking signals that Google cares about in the recent days. You will hear all sorts of things about social media shares not being necessary, but if you want to be sure about their importance, why don’t you search CardiB or Nicki Minaj on Google? The first few links you will find are their social media profiles and mentions. Go ahead and search for popular brands like Este Lauder and Prada. Apart from their recent mentions in the news and magazines, and their official websites, you will see their Facebook pages, official Twitter profiles, and Instagram too.
Social media is the perfect way to amplify the impact of a brand and personality. No matter what size of a business you run, you have every right to claim your kingdom on Facebook and Twitter. Social channels level the ground for competition for all brands out there. Shares do contribute to ranks, but you need to think beyond them. Social shares can only get you so far, and you need to think ahead of the competition.
You need to plan guest posting, link building request and link exchanges with other authoritative sites. Always check the domain authority and page authority of websites before you link your content to them. Ever since Page Ranking has become obsolete, domain authority has become the monopoly in determining the worth of an outbound link. However, do not believe that outbound links are the only ones of value. Your internal links and inbound links will also contribute to the website rank, albeit minimally.
Why should you pay more attention to your SEO?
SEO is all about achieving the perfect balance between search engine bot friendliness and human visitor friendliness. In the recent months, Google does not want the webmasters to exclusively build content for the spiders anymore. Google wants you to think about your potential customers and target visitors more than you have ever thought before. The trend of optimization has shifted from technical to experiential. To keep up with Google’s forever changing trends, you need to stay in touch with the algorithm updates.
Did you know? Google releases about two updates for its search engine algorithm every day. That ends up as over 600 updates per year, counting the holidays!! Well, if you want to stay up-to-date with the most recent changes and update your SEO strategy accordingly, you might want a little help from your expert friends. Maintaining the visibility of your websites and improving your revenue is like taking your vitamins regularly to remain healthy and in top shape. So, what are you waiting for? It is time to delve into your business site’s SEO and switch on the metaphorical glow signs for people to take notice of your online store.
