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If you’re in the process of launching an online business, you’ll probably look back on the experience one day as one of the most exciting and nerve-racking things you’ve ever done. When you’re in the initial stages of launching a new website, you’ll probably be checking your analytics reports constantly throughout each day wondering when – and if – visitors will finally start to come.
In the meantime, you’re probably going to look for advice about search engine optimization (SEO) and how to get web traffic. When you do that, you’ll see one particular recommendation over and over: You should use Google AdWords and bid on keywords while you wait for organic traffic to materialize.
Why Might You Need an AdWords Alternative?
There are two big problems, however, with relying on AdWords to bring traffic to a new online business. The first problem is that you may not have the capital. There’s so much competition on AdWords that you can easily blow through your marketing budget with little to no revenue to show for it.
The second problem with AdWords is that it isn’t available to everyone. If you run a hemp-based business like VSAVI, for instance, you can’t bid on AdWords; you’ll be banned from the platform.
If either of the above situations applies to you, you’re going to need a way to get web traffic without AdWords – and that’s going to require SEO. Here’s the good news about SEO, though: It might seem like a complicated, arcane skill, but it really isn’t. SEO is simply the act of making the purpose of each page on your website as clear to Google as it can be. There’s really no mystery to SEO, but it does require a good deal of effort.
Here’s how to do it.
Spruce Up Your Site’s Technical SEO
The first thing that you should do as you try to drive traffic to your website is to evaluate the site’s technical SEO. Technical SEO encompasses everything other than the website’s written content; you’ll evaluate the written content next. Every page on your website has a main idea, and the main idea of a page should be a keyword phrase that people are likely to search for online – the keyword phrase that you’re hoping will bring people to that page. When you evaluate your website’s technical SEO, your goal should be to make sure that the main idea of each page appears in each of these locations.
- The URL slug, e.g. “mywebsite.com/products/green-shirt”
- The meta title and meta description
- The page’s main title in <h1> tags, and usually at least one subheading in <h2> or <h3> tags
- The file name of at least one image, e.g. “green-shirt.jpg”
- The alt text of that same image
A good way to find out whether your website’s technical SEO is already correct is by picking a product page and viewing the source code. Many website content management systems – such as WordPress and Shopify – do some of the things mentioned above automatically. In other cases, though, it may be necessary to extend the functionality of your CMS by installing a plugin.
Does the page have more than one image? Use additional images after the first to optimize the page for secondary keyword phrases. In the “green shirt” example mentioned above, for instance, some additional image file names might include “v-neck-shirt.jpg,” “athletic-shirt.jpg,” and so on. Think of the keyword phrases that a person might use if they wanted to find a product like the one you’re offering.
Refine Your Site’s Commercial Content
After you evaluate your website’s technical SEO, the next step is to audit your commercial content. Commercial content includes your home page text, your product descriptions, and any informative text on your site’s category and brand pages. Remember that every page on your website presents an opportunity to rank for a specific search term. The goal of your product pages is obviously to generate traffic when people search for specific products – but don’t forget to add text to your category pages as well because those pages may generate traffic for more general search terms.
Every product on your website should have a text description that’s unique and not copied from another website. When you write your product descriptions, focus on answering the questions that people might have if they’re shopping for that type of product. What is this product? What does the product do, and what problems does it solve? What are the things that people should know in order to have the best possible experience with the product? If you answer those questions, you should have little difficulty coming up with text that’s sufficiently lengthy and helpful.
It’s wise to link to higher-level pages such as category and brand pages from within your product descriptions because doing so helps to reinforce the importance of those pages.
When you write text for your product and category pages, focus on the user intent behind the search terms you’re trying to target. The text shouldn’t be about defining what products are; it should be about buying those products.
Use Your Blog to Cultivate Awareness and Authority
When you’ve read online about SEO and traffic generation, you’ve undoubtedly seen one piece of advice repeated endlessly: You need to add a blog to your website and update it regularly. Most new online entrepreneurs, however, approach blogging in the wrong way. They focus on commercial content – writing product reviews and comparisons, for instance – because they’re hoping to convert blog visitors into customers. Although adding commercial content to your blog can be a good way to move the needle once your website is established, it’s not the best way to utilize your blog when your website is new.
Your website’s main commercial pages – your product pages, for instance – will always be the content that’s most likely to lead to purchases. That’s why you should always audit and optimize your commercial content before starting work on your blog. Blog posts, meanwhile, are more likely to generate brand awareness, mailing list signups, and organic links – which can help your commercial content to rank for competitive search terms.
When you write content for your blog, focus on informational content first and commercial content second. Use your specialized knowledge and discuss how to fix problems or have a better experience with the types of products you sell. Focus on becoming known as a recognized expert within your field. When people who have read your content are ready to buy the types of products you sell, they’ll know your company’s name and will associate it with trust, reliability and expertise.
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- Mail.ru
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- Yummly
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- Subscribe
- Skype
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- LiveJournal
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- Copy Link