Is your business stuck in a rut?
Picture the scene: you’re struggling to maintain a steady trickle of quality leads into your business, leaving you unable to generate the revenue that you need to grow.
In effect, you’ve reached a plateau.
But behold! The answer to all your prayers is here and being marketed as an easy, one-size-fits-all solution: it’s your one and only saviour, SEO!
The sad truth of the matter is that SEO on its own simply doesn’t work.
Don’t get me wrong; organic search still drives 51 per cent of traffic to websites.
So, if your goal is to get more business, then yes, SEO can help. But for it to be successful, it has to be part of a wider strategy.
I’m going to tell you how, below.
Background
SEO services often involve a lot of manipulation, and so the practice changes and evolves over time as Google gets smarter. For instance, guest blogging used to be looked upon as a good way for SEO.
That led to various companies getting paid to abuse and manipulate the system in order to drive more traffic to websites.
The result? Google started to devalue links with guest blogging content, and the people who paid for that service had wasted their money.
That’s why it’s never a good idea to invest your money into a company promising you the world through the wonders of SEO alone.
A holistic approach
Here’s a better alternative: Don’t chase after Google. Instead, chase after the best representation of what your customer wants.
Essentially, create quality content that is customer-focused – this is the idea behind the more holistic approach of inbound marketing.
This more complete method of marketing actually changes the way you communicate with potential customers, so instead of pushing people away with sales-driven marketing messages and SEO-driven keyword stuffing, you’re pulling them in with engaging and helpful content that answers their questions.
Even better? It actually works.
Because ultimately, happy customers is what Google wants, too.
How to make SEO work for you
My advice is to look at SEO from an inbound perspective. In other words, focus your efforts on creating helpful, valuable content that your readers will love – the rest will happen naturally.
However, I’m not telling you to ignore SEO completely.
Do use SEO to make sure your website is visible and easy for Google to find. Work on your meta-titles, page titles, descriptions, and include important keywords naturally within your text.
By naturally, I don’t mean stuffing them in or repeating the same keyword four or five times – instead, use slight variations when it is natural to do so.
Hey – now you’re doing SEO the right way, you can focus on the areas of your business that need it most!
Conclusion
If you’re trying to take your business to the next level and overcome your current plateau, SEO isn’t the answer. In order for SEO to really be effective, it needs to be part of a wider strategy, such as inbound marketing.
Instead of focusing on one aspect such as SEO, turn your attention towards what your customers actually want, and deliver helpful, quality content they’ll love. After all, Google just wants its customers to be happy.
Make SEO work for you by utilising meta-titles, page titles, and descriptions. Don’t forget to include important keywords naturally within your text.
Now you’re on the right track.