If you’re promoting content or selling a product, how far up your website appears in search results can often make the difference between success and failure. Standing out from countless results to appear on the first page of a Google search can be intimidating if you’re new to search engine optimization (SEO). However, developing your own SEO strategy can be broken down into manageable steps to make it less daunting.

An effective SEO strategy goes beyond simply identifying certain keywords for your web pages. It’s a comprehensive process that involves analyzing what others in similar fields are doing, developing content that helps you stand out from the crowd, and ensuring that your content delivers value. Below is an overview of how to develop your own SEO strategy.  

Develop your keywords

Creating a list of keywords relevant to your web pages is the first step. Aim for a combination of short (e.g. “healthy dieting”) and long keywords (e.g. “foods to eat for a healthy diet”). Don’t just repeat the same keywords over and over again. After you’ve developed a core set of keywords that best describe your content and placed them where a search engine will look first (see below), then create similar variations of those keywords throughout your content.

Follow SEO best practices

Be sure your main keywords are found in the first places a search engine will look:

·      Page title

·      Page headers

·      Intro paragraph

·      Page URL

·      Meta descriptions

·      Alt tags for images

Think about user intent

Consider keywords that your audience would likely use if they wanted to find your content or product. This requires imagining why a user is conducting a search and how your content can connect with them. For example, if the main purpose of your page is to sell bicycles, then you’ll want to have keywords such as “buy” or “purchase bicycles” to attract the right audience. If your page provides education about bicycles, then “learn about different types of bicycles” would be possible keywords. This doesn’t mean you can’t cross-link between pages. You should be doing that. Just be sure your page is delivering on what a user is searching for. Be specific with your page content.

Analyze the results on the first page of a search

Do a search for yourself and see what’s already ranking on the first page of search engines. Try out the list of keywords you developed and see how they perform in a search. Go over the type of search results that rise to the top of the list. What type of content are you seeing? Is it mostly product pages, articles, or videos? These results are likely appearing at the top because this is the type of content that is resonating with your audience. Use these results as a guide for developing your own content.

Leverage your competitors’ success

Look to see who else is creating similar content to you. Go through the top results in a search to see what keywords those pages employ and what they are doing to promote their content. If it’s working for others, it might work for you too. Leverage your competitors’ success to help boost your own SEO strategy. If you’re seeing articles or videos appearing at the top of search results, consider trying out those same methods for your content.

Develop unique content

Now that you’ve identified what your competitors are doing, create content that is unique for what you’re putting out there. Your content could deliver information more efficiently, provide more detail, be more visually engaging, or zero in on a specific audience. Add your own spin that differentiates you from your competitors while also delivering value to your site visitors.

Link between your pages (and lower your bounce rate)

Not only will placing relevant links to other pages on your site help keep your audience engaged, it will also help improve your search results and website analytics. If someone visits your page, but they don’t click on any links on the page, that visit will show up as a bounce. In order to lower your bounce rate, a site visitor must interact with your page beyond scrolling. When site visitors click around pages on your site, this will lower your bounce rate while also helping to boost your search engine results by telling a search engine that people found value on your site. Create links that complement whatever content is on a page and entice a reader to click through and learn more.

Build backlinks to your site

Having other websites link to your pages is one of the most effective ways to boost your website in search results. In addition to showing search engines that your site provides value when people click around your pages, other people linking to your site also tells search engines that your site provides value.

Don’t forget about the user experience

Be sure to make your content easy to read, visually attractive, and mobile-friendly. Ever read an article that promises the top seven ways to do something but makes you read through each paragraph to find out? Or have you ever landed on a page that wasn’t optimized for mobile devices? Chances are you didn’t stick around long.

Headings, bullet points, and images can help a user scan through your page without having to expend too much energy. Make it as easy as possible for a user to find what they’re looking for in your content. If a site visitor has to take extra time to read through dense paragraphs, they are less likely to stay on your page. Conduct audits of your pages to determine how easy they are to navigate.

Creating your own SEO strategy

Developing your own SEO strategy is a multifaceted process that requires understanding your audience’s motivations, learning how your competitors position themselves so you can stand out, and creating engaging content that delivers value. Remember that SEO is an ongoing journey. Just because your pages appear at the top of search results one day, they may not the next. The same goes for your competitors. Search engine results are always changing, and by remaining adaptive, your content can rise above the rest.