SEO, otherwise known as Search Engine Optimization is the foundation for growing online visibility. Chance are, if you are a local business in Pittsburgh, you’ll want to make sure your business website is optimized with the right keywords and phrases making it easier for people to find you. Whether your target client is looking for a local reputable printing company or an experienced chef, not having an optimized landing and sales page, blog posts and other web pages that steadily engages your target customer could be the top reason why you are not seeing a steady inflow of online traffic.
Here’s what you need to know about top-positioned web copy. SEO is more than just “keyphrases” and “writing for Google.” Much more.
SEO Fact #1: Learn everything you can about your target market. To see any real increase in traffic, you need to spend hours researching, preparing and planning your topics. If you write a sales page, your content must encourage your reader to take the next conversion step. If you create a blog post, you want your reader to love your copy so much that she’ll share it on social media. For many businesses, background research is time-consuming. But that investment could imply an opportunity to connect with your target customer.
SEO Fact #2: Connections drive conversions. Every decision you make is driven by emotion. Why you buy are based on spontaneous decisions. You buy out of trust for an online retailer and business even if it means paying slightly more. The more you know about your target customer, the better your messaging can engage your reader. When you connect with your readers, you can write copy that is attention-grabbing and doesn’t let go.
SEO Fact #3: Research your competition. While it’s easy to ignore what your competition is doing, no matter how great you are, every time prospects visit your site, they are in fact, evaluating it against other competing local and global websites they’ve seen. This is a major reality check and this fact alone, could be the difference of a connection and a conversion! Knowing your company or business’s strengths can position you well in the marketplace.
SEO Fact #4: Do an extensive keyphrase research. This important step is the foundation of your site’s SEO success. Not conducting keyphrase research can doom your SEO strategy before you even get it off the ground. No matter how much you think you “know” your target audience, you’ll need to conduct this very important step that will allow you to capture target customers at all stages of the buying cycle.
SEO Fact #5: Take advantage of the buying cycle with key phrase research. One really cool thing about keyphrase research (and yes, there are many cool things!) is that it helps you discover new ways to capture your target market at all stages of the buying cycle. This means you can reach people when they are just thinking about finding a service, provided or their immediate purchasing needs.
Knowing your target customer and competition connects with your audience at all phases of the buyers’ journey and gives your customer the exact information they want to read. This is what will help you, your clients or your employer make more money. So… here’s to your traffic building efforts in 2019!
Dorit is the Owner of Giving Voice to Your Courage, where she helps businesses, individuals and companies strategize their SEO goals so they can increase their online visibility and increase online traffic. Contact her for your free SEO consultation today.