For a business to build relationships with its target market and audience, it has to make its presence be felt and be seen first. In online businesses, that’s where SEO enters the picture. But, what if there’s only little budget available for SEO?
With the growing number of online businesses today, it takes more effort and resources to stand out and rise above the competition – especially when you’re just starting.
The Importance of SEO
Through Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or Search Engine Marketing (SEM), it is easier for a website to be seen by users and understood by search engine robots. Having the best-looking website is of no use if not partnered with SEO. Without SEO, a website, no matter how great, can be invisible to search engines.
SEO is designed to improve a website’s ranking, increase its traffic and visibility, and help it be seen by its potential customers.
SEO Tips for Start-Ups
Besides creating the best set of products, the best product photos, the best website, etc., you also have to prioritize and invest in an SEO campaign. Why? For your products or services to be seen, they need to rank high on search engines. Otherwise, all your efforts will be put to waste.
But, with a start-up business also comes a shoestring budget. Still, you don’t have to worry. Even a small budget SEO can yield a huge ROI. To help you out, here are effective SEO strategies and tips that won’t break the bank:
- Distribute a press release.
Launching or distributing a press release is one effective way to spread the news about your business, your products and services included. Unlike resorting to expensive paid advertising, press release distribution provides greater value for money.
Google’s database stores the content of your press release making it easy for users to find it when they search for you on Google. More than that, there are numerous free press release submission sites you can submit your press release to for posting.
- Start with local optimization.
Trying to rank nationally can take lots of time, effort, and more than that, budget. So if you’re just starting and trying to rank with a limited budget, focus on local optimization first. As you begin to dominate your local market, high ROI will eventually follow.
How? One way to start optimizing your business locally is by setting up an account in Google My Business, a free Google business listing service that will include your business in the directory of local businesses so potential customers can reach you.
- Arm yourself with the right tools.
In running an SEO strategy for your business, you can count on various tools to make things easier for you, depending on your specific needs. With that, here are SEO tools that can help you with rank tracking, competitor analysis, link monitoring, etc.:
- SEMRush, an all-in-one marketing toolkit for competitor analysis which also shows organic and Ads keywords for any domain or site;
- Moz, a software and tool you can use for keyword research, SEO audit and crawl, rank tracking, backlink research, and more;
- Rank Trackr, a rank tracker tool that can show you how your website is performing on different search engines on both global and local levels;
- Raven Tools, an online marketing platform that can provide you with automated marketing reports and help you find and fix your site’s SEO problems; and
- Spyfu, an SEO tool that indexes over 5 million results across 76 M domains that can help you with your SEO campaigns, keyword research, etc.
- Use long-tail keywords.
Instead of focusing on general keywords, exert more of your time and effort in specific long-tail keywords which are much easier and cheaper to rank. Though long-tail keywords may drive lower traffic, they can drive higher and better conversions.
Because long-tail keywords are much more specific and accurate to the needs and searches of users, they can provide advantages which include highly focused and relevant online searches, highly qualified traffic and leads, and lower competition.
Still feeling limited by your budget to start a robust SEO campaign after reading these tips? I hope not. Even with a small or limited budget, you can devise an effective SEO campaign for your business start-up. Go and get your business and website known to your potential customers!
