How to get your Business on the First Page of Google
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SEO is not a fun subject for most business owners, and rightfully so, since it's sometimes so complicated to figure out. Not today! This episode features SEO queen and consultant Maddy Shine, who is diving deep into the topic of SEO for business, specifically on keywords. What are they, how does Google use them, how do we find the right ones...Maddy's answering it all and more. If you run a business, this is an episode you literally can't afford to miss, and you'll be on the first page of Google in no time!
Check out Maddy’s Website: www.business-shine.co.uk
Follow Maddy on Instagram: @maddy.shine
HOW DID SHE GET HERE?
Maddy Jones, who refers to herself as Maddy Shine, her Instagram name, is from London, England and runs an SEO consultancy company called Making Your Business Shine. She’s been a full-time SEO consultant for 5 years, after doing it on the side for 2-3 years before that. Maddy started designing websites pretty much from the second she got online, and then studied business and marketing at university.
She worked for various online companies for about 8 years before deciding she wanted to work for herself. She was in love with SEO and the idea of connecting with other people through the internet, so it seemed like the perfect fit that she’s help other businesses make their SEO better. She loves taking information that most people consider dull and making it fun and exciting.
WHAT ARE KEYWORDS AND HOW DO SEARCH ENGINES USE THEM?
Keywords are actually phrases (a string of words) that you need to use on your website to show what type of customers you want to attract, what you do, etc. to attract more business to you. This helps Google understand what you do so that when people search for that phrase you come up.
HOW DO WE FIND OUT WHICH KEYWORDS WE SHOULD USE?
The reason it’s not a single word is because it’s much too generic. If you’re a New York wedding planner, you wouldn’t want to focus on the phrases “wedding” or even “wedding planner” because it could bring up wedding planners all over the world, blogs that mention wedding planners, and even directories. You need to start by making a list and brainstorming ideas of what you do, how you would describe it, what you’re selling, where is it offered, and what is unique about what you’re selling. Maybe instead of a New York wedding planner, you might be an alternative planner or you mainly plan elopements. You need to use this list to create several keyword phrases that work for you.
When it comes to your keyword phrases, you really need to niche down and get as specific as possible.
For location, you need to focus on ranking where you have content to back it up. If you want to rank in 4 cities, but you only have portfolio work in 2 cities, then you need to focus on ranking in those two cities because that’s what you have to show. You also need to think about who you’re selling to. If you consider yourself an alternative wedding photographer, you need to consider if potential clients are actually searching for that. They may instead use words like colorful or some other adjective.
HOW MANY KEYWORD PHRASES SHOULD WE TRY TO RANK FOR?
So this all goes back to what content you have. If you are fairly new then you may have less locations, keyword phrases, etc. because you have less content to show for it. Don’t ever only try to rank for only 1-2 phrases though, because it’s doing you a huge disservice. 10-15 phrases is recommended, but you could have more if you really have portfolio content from tons of different locations. If you have a long list, that’s fine, but try to have 5-15 focal ones that are your main phrases.
Related Post: Fundamentals of SEO and the Terms you need to Know
IS THIS SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE UPDATED REGULARLY?
SEO is like all of your other marketing, so it needs to be continuously updated and checked. It’s not a “one-and-done” type of thing. The main thing you need to keep checking is the performance and popularity of your keyword phrases. You may think a phrase is pretty popular when it may not be searched as much as you think, so you need to use a tool to figure out the popularity of each phrase you’re using.
There are tons of (both free and paid) tools to check this, so just find one that works for you, and it will give you an indication of what’s popular. You’re looking for phrases that are high-volume, meaning the phrase is searched often. The tool will also tell you if the phrase is high, medium, or low in terms of if your competitors are trying to rank for that phrase as well. You’re looking for those magical phrases that are high in searching but low in competition.
WHAT IF YOUR BUSINESS IS MAINLY ONLINE OR IT’S ALL OVER THE PLACE?
Your search volume for any way you describe your business will inevitably be much lower. So if you’re a Facebook Ads specialist, you may not get very relevant hits when you type that in because there’s not a lot of people searching for that, so you have to think of what questions your clients might be searching for. If you have content (such as blog posts) that are answering those questions, then you’ll rank high when they search for those answers.
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