If you are a creative business owner, and you are not certain what SEO is and if it applies to your business, or you're doing well in business and searching for a better way to attract new clients, customers, or users, If that's you, then this article is for you. My goal is to introduce the power of SEO while making Search Engine Optimization relatable and sharing how it can be a game-changer for your business. By this end, you'll say, "SEO, where have you been all my life?"
What is SEO, and how does it work?
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is increasing the quality and quantity of traffic to your website through organic search engine results. It's about making your website more visible when people search for products or services related to your business in Google, Bing, and other search engines. The goal is to get your site to appear higher up in the list of search results, which can lead to more people clicking through to your site. You do this by building a practice that includes content marketing, on-page, off-page, and technical strategies that all work hand in hand to build a strategy that works.
This might sound like tech wizardry reserved for the digital elites. However, that’s not always the case. Yes, we love a great specialist who can fix broken things or share creative solutions that could innovate things as we know them. However, you don't have to be an expert to understand that SEO is about storytelling, connecting, and engaging with your audience - something you’re already passionate about as entrepreneurs, small business owners, and creators. It's time we break down those barriers and make SEO as familiar as your morning routine.
SEO is Like Your Favorite Series
Imagine SEO as your favorite TV series. Each episode (or website page) has its unique plot (or content) that contributes to the overarching storyline (your brand's narrative). Like how a cliffhanger keeps you coming back for more, well-optimized content keeps your audience (and Google) returning to your site. You don’t need to be a scriptwriter to understand that; you must keep your audience engaged.
Speaking of engagement, I created a seven-day mini-series titled "SEO is Like" to make SEO relatable. I am on a mission to make you fall in love with SEOs by using everyday analogies from my human experience. You will also uncover what SEO is like by breaking down the blueprint to systems of the real world and becoming comfortable with SEO. Sign up by visiting our website, and we'll send you seven days of the mini-series straight to your inbox.
Incorporating the Experts
Maya Angelou once said, "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." This golden nugget applies perfectly to SEO. It’s all about creating content that resonates, informs, and leaves a lasting impression – helping you climb the SEO ladder. This isn't as simple as it may sound.
Considering what will be a lasting impression can be made by incorporating an expert to allow you to think through the right content and strategies. This goes above a gut feeling and includes reading the data of your audience, conducting research not limited to keywords, and considering the future in mind by keeping your end goal as a priority and working backward to achieve that.
Guy Kawasaki champions the art of enchantment in marketing, stating, "Enchantment is the purest form of sales.
Enchantment is about changing people’s hearts, minds and actions because you provide them with a vision or a way to improve things." If that doesn’t scream SEO strategy, I don’t know what does. By focusing on content that enchants and educates, you’re naturally optimizing your digital presence. No, it's not magic. It's really having knowledge, wisdom, and understanding that aligns with the needs of your people.
Remember, we may be in the land of binary codes (1's and 0's) ruled by algorithms, spiders, and other crawlers, but it touches a real body, mind, and a soul. We are in the people business at the end of the day, and if you provide a solution, let the digital pathway lead you to the best way to make real connections.
Humanizing SEO
Now, how do we humanize SEO? It starts with understanding that SEO is about connecting with fellow humans at its core. Here's how you can begin:
Tell a Story: Your brand has a story; targeting keywords can help share it with the world. Think of keywords as the key to starting your engine in your vehicle. Only the right keys can activate your engine to get your car to start. That key is a keyword that gets the search engine to fire up results that lead your website (car) to start and give the audience a journey to ride to any page with the options to stop off of exits or any rest area (piece of content) for whatever reason.
Solve a Problem: Every search query is someone seeking a solution. Be the answer to their needs by focusing your content on solving real problems.
Engage with Your Community: SEO isn’t a one-way street; it’s a bustling highway. Encourage comments, shares, and interaction. It’s not just about pleasing algorithms but building relationships.
Simplifying Your SEO Journey
You don't have to master the complexities of SEO overnight. Start with small, consistent steps:
Use tools to find the right keywords like our SEO Roadmap, or use websites like Bright Local , MOZ, and SEMRUSH.
Make your content easy to read and engaging. In other words, execute the KISS method (Keep it Simple Sweetie) Remember you are creating value for users, the response is your desired action.
Share your stories on social media, incorporating those juicy keywords.
And remember, SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s about cumulative efforts adding up to grow your digital presence and connect with more potential customers. It's your long-game strategy that allows your company to experience incremental growth with some dips in between since we can't account for the changes in trends. Nonetheless, it's a great way build a 24/7 shop that works for you while you rest. Who wouldn't want to tap into that system.
Wrapping It Up
Now that we are near the end, I hope you’re feeling a little less intimidated and much more excited about infusing SEO into your business strategy for the passionate, the storytellers, and the dreamers like you.
And hey, if Maya Angelou and Guy Kawasaki’s wise words resonated with you, just imagine the impact your words can have.
Don't forget, SEO, with its complex algorithms and ranking factors, is essentially about human connection. And isn’t that what we’re all about?
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