When searching online, most people don’t look past the first few pages of results. Showing up as one of the first results will make sure your business is getting in front of potential customers. Ranking on one of the first search results pages can seem like a daunting task. However, by understanding how search engines work and what your customers are looking for, you will be well on your way to taking your rightful spot on the first page.

Why use SEO?

Optimizing your content is essential to attract free and organic growth on search engines. Let’s start by looking at Google. Google selects content that answers the questions of those searching. According to Moz blog, your content is deemed a good answer or relevant after Google “crawls” through your webpage and determines if your keywords align to the search query.

What does Google consider quality content?

The longer your content, the more depth and the more authority your site has. Providing longer content also allows you to have more space to use keywords. Remember Google is looking for pages that contain high-quality, relevant information about the searcher’s question.

One of the main determinants of “quality” is the number of noteworthy sites that are linked to yours. For example if your website is linked to trusted sites like Forbes.com, your website will be more trusted and assumed to be of higher quality than someone who does not have these same trustworthy links. 

3 steps to create an SEO plan for your business

1. Determine what your customers are searching for

The first step to any well thought out marketing plan is a little bit of research. Begin by asking yourself:

• What topics are of interest to my customers?
• What problems are my customers trying to solve?
• How are my customers currently trying to solve this problem? 
• What questions are they asking to find this solution?

Ahrefs blog suggests a lot of these questions can be answered by typing your search query into the Google Search bar. It doesn’t matter how long this search is, this is just for research. 

Here’s an example. Let’s say you type in “what are the best ways to save money for a vacation to Europe”. You might notice that some of the common searches you would find are “save money for vacation”. This commonality will help you to determine which keywords you should be focusing on.

2. Select your long-tail keywords

Once you have begun to answer some of these questions, you will likely begin to uncover an underlying topic that your business can provide content about. For example, say you have determined RRSP’s is a topic that your customers would like to know more about. 

To determine the questions about RRSPs that need to be answered, you can use Google’s autocomplete feature. By typing “RRSP” into the Google search bar, Google suggests inquiries such as “RRSP contribution limit”, “RRSP calculator” and “RRSP deduction limit”. These insights can help you to determine what your customers are searching for and what content you could provide for them. 

3. Use accurate meta descriptions 

Your meta description needs to accurately depict what your content is about, so make sure you’re not just adding keywords that aren’t relevant. Neil Patel shares that if a searcher selects your website to answer their query and does not find what they are looking for, you will likely experience something called the “pogo-stick effect”. This means that your ranking will be negatively affected if searchers continuously select your website and exit out to continue the search for content that answers their question. 

There are many courses you can take to master the art of SEO, from the beginner to the expert level (you might have noticed some of the links we have shared in this article).