Most digital marketers and webmasters have a love-hate relationship with Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) strategies and tactics. They know the immense benefits they can reap when they do SEO right but many dislike the meticulous care it requires. Not to mention the frequent changes and updates to search algorithms that make it tougher to keep up and adapt.
In light of this, it seems almost ironic that hiring SEO companies is a common practice. Surely there are some things you can do yourself if the experts find it as cumbersome as any novice. There are two ways to look at this. SEO experts will be able to handle and execute their strategy faster. If you choose to do it yourself, there are a number of things you need to research before being somewhat competent. There are a number of basic SEO methods you can implement to give your website a kick-start before you approach an SEO services company. Off-page SEO is one aspect you might be able to control with relative ease, at least at the start.
Off-page SEO means things you do “outside” of your own site to boost its search rankings. Link building is only one part of the wide range of methodologies available for off-page SEO. Some of them might actually be related to your website. But isn’t that on-page SEO? Well, not everything you do on your website is for SEO. However, some aspects have an indirect effect and are hence classified under off-page SEO.
On-page SEO and off-page SEO together help to create a strong online presence for a company. On-page SEO is relatively easier to master since there are plenty of guidelines and checklists to optimise a web page. You can easily implement things like a clean page layout, keyword-rich (but not overdone) content, clear navigation, responsive design, etc. At face value, off-page SEO seems trickier to handle. Defunct practices like purchasing backlinks or leaving comments on other websites in hopes of getting a do-follow link to work in your favour simply won’t work.
Taking care of your own SEO can be crucial for individuals and small organisations trying to find a foothold and grow their businesses. They seldom have the money to spare for a long-term (or even short-term) SEO services contract and are often left with no choice but to resort to DIY SEO strategies. There is nothing inherently wrong with that. However, it often turns out to be a protracted process and leaves less time to focus on your core business. The trade-off may not be a choice for you but a matter of budgetary resources or more specifically, the lack of it. Here are 4 powerful tips to help you ace your first steps into DIY off-page SEO.
- Win Over With Customer Service: You obviously need a good product as a baseline, so we will not address that here. Yes, it is important that the product or service you sell is impeccable, but so should be your customer service. Customers like it when a brand takes time to address their concerns. For instance, it will be nice to follow up with your customer if they need any assistance after they have bought the product. One of the most powerful and priceless ways is to stay in touch with your customers on social media. As you grow, you can hire a Social Media Management services company to boost the efficiency and effectiveness as you engage with your customers and stay connected with them. Speaking of social media…
- Use Social Media for More than Promotions: You should already be promoting your product on various social media platforms. You should also use it as a way to reach out and interact with potential and existing customers. Social media also gives you the opportunity to help out people looking for something related to your niche. It is perfectly fine, good even, to point someone to a competitor’s product or service if needed. You can also proactively make posts about common issues that your customers face and how they can best rectify or address them. These steps may seem unnecessary but they will build your creditability over time and help you connect with more people. Speaking of which…
- Build Connections with Influencers: Influencers, from bloggers to YouTube content creators are often considered to be authorities in their respective niche. Their large following on social media and other sites makes them a great resource for you too. If you can build a relationship with them, it could mean a big boost to your growth. Networking online and offline can help you a lot especially if you can assure them that you have a great product. The best results come from recommendations that influencers make because they like a product or service, not because they were paid to do it. Even for sponsored content, they will only agree to what they feel adds value. Their reputation is important to them and they would not agree to promote something they are not comfortable with. It is also possible to go down this path yourself if you can manage to establish a credible and strong reputation online. You could even team up with other emerging businesses and start sharing each other’s content. This does not mean a “you link me-I link you” deal. This will be the end of any online rep you are trying to gain. True collaboration is about genuine feedback and discussions about how your products help each other. You can also collaborate with established influencers and provide value to their audience. People will be more likely to visit your website than if you provide the same content on your own. It can help to frequent forums and discussion boards where you have a better chance of interacting directly with influencers and other people who are likely in your target demographic. Later on, you can get a content strategy and management company to manage this for you. It will mean your content is well-received and meaningful to your audience. Now, regarding content.
- Experiment with Content Creation: If you have been churning out web content day in and day out, try your hand at creating podcasts, videos, guest blogs, etc. You will be able to build your online profile on different platforms and furthermore, get a chance to present yourself to a new and potentially untapped customer base. Since the market for video and audio platforms is growing rapidly, it can also help you prepare for future trends. As you start to grow, a Content Writing and Editing Services Company will be able to manage this for you. They can create appropriate content for you that you can share on your website. As the content industry converges, most also help create audiovisual content to add further value to your blogs, articles, and social media posts.
Purchasing backlinks in bulk or building a link profile full of low-quality links is not going to work. In fact, it could get you blacklisted on most search engines. As technology advances, you need to adopt new SEO strategies and incorporate changes before the search engine updates drop. If you manage the basic aspects of your SEO on your own, you will learn to recognise trends and even predict search algorithm changes. This knowledge will carry over as you grow and delegate the responsibility to an SEO services company. But before you get ahead of yourself, focus on getting the basics right. Pay heed to your credibility. If something sounds dodgy, it probably is. Over time, you can build an ironclad reputation. But you will need to pick up the spade before you can carve a mountain.
This post originally appeared on our earlier website: ihusresearch.com
