How to be a SEO (search engine optimisation) Knight!

Dominating the prime spot on search engine results is a constant battlefield. You may think that you only have a fleeting chance at SEO glory amongst the big players, however, this is not the case no matter how small your brand is. What it means is that you clearly have a challenge on your hands if you want to nab that top spot from the key contenders. It’s true, you don’t have a roundtable full of SEO knights, but there are ways in which challenger brands can make an impact in search engine results, and these are my tips in doing so.

Armour up with keywords

Start by listing all the possible words that potential visitors would use to find you online. The amount of results for search terms is endless. That’s why it’s wiser to select more precise terms to describe your business and products to define your niche or speciality. Rather than selecting ‘photographer’, you may want to go for ‘scenic photographer’ as it is more specific and will have less competition than the former option.

Gather the social network team

Determine which social networks your target audience frequents, and make sure you have a professional account on that platform. Creating and maintaining a social presence is key to helping drive traffic to your website, and grow your business.

Revise tactics & stay in the know!

The rules of SEO today might all change tomorrow if search engines bring out new algorithms. Why does this matter? Each change a search engine makes may have an effect on your rankings, therefore requiring you to tweak your SEO strategy. I would suggest keeping on top of the news, particularly in the SEO and marketing realms.

Begin the blog battle

As a smaller business, by nature, your website is going to be smaller in footprint. With less content and pages, it can make the job trickier to boost your SEO efforts as there will be less opportunity for you to rank. Start by posting relevant content on a regular basis (think twice a week). A short, sharp post focusing on a topic will work best.

Create brand allies

If you work with other companies, encourage a link back scheme – where both websites include a link to the other respective site. Link backs are a great way to build SEO oomph, and this can also be done for any media coverage you secure.

Go forth and start your journey to that coveted number one slot in search engine results. Use your skills, armour, tactics and allies to help you. Whilst there may be a challenge ahead of smaller companies looking to compete with the bigger competition, there is certainly opportunity out there.