Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of a digital marketer's greatest and most powerful tools. Do you have a good SEO strategy in place for next month? What about next year? If you're running a small business, nailing down the basics of local, organic SEO can make all the difference in your digital marketing pushes.

Plus, it'll get more eyes on your website, products, and services.

So how does one craft good search engine optimization strategies to build up their search engine ranking? In our SEO guide, we'll show you where to begin.

Specifically, we'll go over:

• What SEO strategies are
• Things every SEO strategy needs
• SEO tips to use
• And SEO terms to know

What Is A Good SEO Strategy?

A good SEO strategy helps a company grow its online traffic, rank higher in search engines, and score new leads. However, not every SEO strategy is the same, especially for different companies in specific industries.

For example, the SEO strategies for an iconic medical practice will likely differ from a home repair and reconstruction company.

SEO has many moving parts, meaning that things change almost as quickly as Google's mysterious algorithm.

What Every Good SEO Strategy Has

Let's nail down what every good SEO strategy needs for optimal success this year.

1. Relevant Keywords

Keywords are the lifeblood of SEO. And, by extension, the lifeblood of your online presence. Without good keywords in your content, your website won't even register as a blip on your audience's radar. We can't have that.

That's where relevant, well-researched keywords come in to form the foundation of your content. Keyword research involves researching the best keywords for a company, website, or piece of content.

Keywords have two main aspects that you need to consider:

• Keyword Difficulty: How difficult would it be to implement this keyword into your content via SEO? If you're a small medical practice in a suburb, you won't rank for terms like COVID-19 or Flu. They're simply too high a volume for you to rank. Something like medium and long-tail keywords may help.
• Search Volume: How often does this keyword appear online, and how popular is it? You can examine how much volume a keyword has depending on the timeframe you choose. Online tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush are great ways to see if a keyword is popular.

You may be tempted to tackle some of the most popular keywords. After all, they're ranking high, and people flock to them. However, we'll show you in a bit why that's not always a good idea.

2. Backlinks And Link Building

Building backlinks ensure SEO success. A backlink, or a link from outside your domain linking to your page, acts as an endorsement. Search engines will recognize your authority, especially if the backlinks come from trusted sources on specific topics.

Google will view your page favorably if you have links from industry experts.

Link building is the way you acquire backlinks. Focus on different ways to build backlinks. For example, you can create SEO press releases, linking to a site and specific pages. However, just make sure the content is newsworthy!

Another example is tapping into your networks and agreeing to link to other sites if they, in turn, do the same for you.

3. Alt-Text

Alt-text is the text that describes an image online. If it doesn't load correctly on your page, that alt-text will appear, informing readers what the image contains.

Likewise, tapping into your SEO brain when writing your alt-text is a great idea. Google will pick up on what alt-text says, so you can craft it to fit what you're writing about.

For example, in this image, the alt-text will deal with SEO strategies. Go ahead and check!

The description should be of what's included in the image. But if you find opportunities to tie it to your content via keywords, go for it!

But alt-text is also a vital accessibility tool, so don't write what isn't there just for possible clicks. This is where writing for humans, not search engines, comes in. But more on that in a bit.

SEO Strategy Tips For More Traffic

Now it's time to see core SEO tenets to live by, making your website rank higher.

Go Back And Improve Old Content

Seriously, improving and revitalizing older SEO content is a major deal. Some may think that it's a waste of time to go back and improve SEO content. Instead, it's a waste of content that already exists.

Just because you wrote something three years back doesn't mean it doesn't offer valuable information.

Make it more relevant. Do keyword research, optimize for the latest Google algorithm update, and give content a fresh coat of paint. Plus, it's always a good idea to go back and brush up on past mistakes, insert backlinks, and generally improve everything.

Use Long-Tail Keywords

Long-tail keywords play an integral role in SEO. Customers will likely search for long-tail keywords the farther they are in the digital marketing funnel.

For example, you could use the keyword, 'coffee.' There's nothing wrong with it, but will you pull people in? Probably not, as it's so popular, you'll be drowned out by big industry players.

This and other keywords like it are called 'head terms.'

Instead, get a little more specific with your keywords.

What about 'coffee' does your company advertise? Sure, you make coffee, but what kind? How is it made? Where is it made? Get creative. So, instead of 'coffee,' try something like 'Free trade coffee in Summit, New Jersey.'

It will improve local organic SEO and narrow the scope to help people connect with your page and product. Play around with different combinations of SEO keywords that will pull in your clientele.

Write For Humans, Not Search Engines!

Although SEO has copywriters scrambling to get the best keywords into their content to rank, it's essential to write for humans, not search engines.

Sure, you could technically plug in good keywords in a way that works, but will your target audience understand the content? If they don't, you're doing them a huge disservice.

When crafting a good SEO strategy, don't skimp on quality levels. You're trying to assist people, guiding them towards a solution or how you personally can help them further.

You're leaving readers out in the cold with stilted, awkward content and prose not written for a human.

With SEO, we want sites to rank high. But without that impactful, helpful, and easy-to-read content, your website, and clientele, suffers.

Shoot For The Featured Snippet

If your page shows up as a featured snippet, you've snagged that all-important 'position zero' on Google SERPs.

The featured snippet appears above the number one organic search result, fully fleshed out with its own box. Scoring a featured snippet brings prominent visibility to your website. But how do you get a featured snippet?

• Use bullet points
• Answer questions
• Display infographics

And generally make your website as user-friendly as possible. While you may not land a featured snippet, opting for the design choices that lead to one is a sound plan.

Be Patient!

Although it takes seconds to press 'publish' on your blog, SEO efforts can take a while to show up. It can take around six months to see significant returns on SEO. So don't lose hope if your new content isn't creating a buzz right away.

Get Familiar With SEO Terms

It's always a great idea to get an SEO glossary refresher. Here are some SEO terms that'll help you understand organic traffic, ranking factors, and the structure of a good SEO strategy.

Spamdexing

One of the ultimate 'no-no's' in SEO, spamdexing, is the practice of tricking Google's index into having your page rank higher.

Spamdexing tries to achieve goals in a flash through keyword stuffing, making duplicate pages of your content, and other black hat SEO strategies.

However, when caught spamdexing, you get hit with a penalty from search engines. In short, never spamdex! It's not a good look for you, your content, or your company.

Head Terms

Remember our long-tail keyword example? Head terms represent broad topics. So, a head term would be something like:

• Couches
• Computers
• SEO
• Customer service

And a hundred thousand other examples. Knowing your industry head terms helps capitalize on long-tail keywords and SEO.

Anchor Text

Whenever you see a hyperlink to other sites, the anchor text is the text that appears as a link.

Use anchor text that clearly communicates to the reader and Google what the page contains. Using relevant anchor text improves your content and helps readers connect with you.

For example, we want to link to a page about whether you should use Canva websites.

See how the anchor text tells you exactly what's on the other side of that hyperlink? Easy!

Meta Description

A meta description is the summary of a page. When you search on Google for something and see the list of results, you'll see meta descriptions describing what's on a page.

Meta descriptions are perfect for SEO purposes. Ensure you use your primary keyword, or variants, in your meta description. And be sure to end your meta description with a solid call to action (CTA).

Domain Authority

The domain authority is essentially how much legitimacy your site has due to backlinks and more. It's a way to see how well your website ranks on search engines.

The more backlinks you have, the higher your domain authority will be.

Breadcrumb

When you're on a site, sometimes you want to see exactly where you are in relation to the rest of the site. That's where breadcrumb site navigation comes in.

It'll show a clear point A to point B progression through a site. For example, if you're on a medical site, it might look something like this:

Home > Services > Urgent Care > Doctors

Breadcrumb navigation gives you a clear picture of where you are on a site.

Make A Good SEO Strategy With Sprinkles Media

Although these lists and concepts are helpful, they only make up a tiny portion of SEO and everything around it.

Are you looking for comprehensive SEO strategies for your business? Contact us today, where we'll lay the groundwork for a winning SEO campaign. We use SEO best practices and ensure that you'll see meaningful SEO results.

Additionally, we'll ensure your website and branding are on point so the entire user experience is pleasant and impactful.

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