Sometimes hiring a Search Engine Optimization professional is just not in the initial budget for small\u00a0business owners. While this makes us a little sad, we’re realists. We get it! But.. we still love you and want you to know that you don’t have to settle for a website that doesn’t show up in a simple Google search while you wait for your marketing budget to grow.<\/p>\n
With that in mind, we’ve created this DIY SEO series for folks who have some extra time and want to learn how to apply simple SEO practices to their websites that will help improve their site’s search ranking.<\/p>\n
And now for the first step in DIY SEO series…<\/p>\n
Keywords and phrases are the specific terms\u00a0people enter into a search engine (like Google) to find whatever product, service, or information they’re looking for. Knowing the terms that your ideal clients are looking for will help you determine how to properly market your website.<\/p>\n
Example:<\/strong> If you are a photographer who takes pictures of babies who were just born, your keyword may include… Newborn Photographer, Baby Photographer, Baby Photos, etc.<\/p>\n Once you’ve figured out what the general terms that people\u00a0are looking for, it’s time to think about how you can narrow these keywords and phrases down to best describe your business.<\/p>\n The first thing you must consider is niche. Do you serve a specific portion of the market or offer a product that is unique to your business? Make sure to include terms that will help set you apart from the competition.<\/p>\n Example:<\/strong> If you are a photographer who focuses on elopements, don’t rely on “wedding photographer” to best describe your services. Make sure you utilize “elopement photographer” while making your DIY SEO plans.<\/p>\n The second\u00a0thing you must take into account is location.\u00a0Most photographers serve the area located within 1.5 hours (at most) of their studio or home base. With that in mind, you can add general locations to your keywords to filter out clients who you will likely not travel all day to photograph.<\/p>\n Example:<\/strong> \u00a0If you are a family photographer located in Detroit, Michigan – make sure that you use “Detroit” as a keyword.<\/p>\n Don’t be afraid of losing people searching for those general “family photographer” terms. Ideal clients are looking for photographers\u00a0who will serve their specific needs. While you may get traffic from around the world if you one day have high rankings with the term “family photographer”, chances are you won’t want to travel to Timbuktu to do a one-hour family session.<\/p>\n