Let’s talk today about Search Engine Optimization—known widely as “SEO.” You know—the “magic fairy dust” that ranks your website higher on Google and generates more site traffic, leads, and, ultimately, business. 

But what is SEO, really? And how do you boost your SEO? 

While SEO covers a lot of ground—from content quality to user experience (UX), clean code, site load times, and ADA compliance, to name a few—we want to share three things you can do today to begin boosting your SEO without spending a dime. 

Welcome to keyword hell

First, let’s paint a picture of a not-so-distant SEO dystopian past: 

The year is 2011, and you’re looking for a developer to build you a website for the organic bakery you’re starting up (yum) in, say, Carlisle, PA. You don’t know where to start, so you Google “website developer near me.” You start searching through the results, clicking on the first search result (after scrolling past those stupid generic ads). You realize you’re quickly lost on the website you’re taken to. The website has about 10,000 pages, each saying nothing except strings of buzzy keywords: 

“Looking for a website designer or website developer in Carlisle, PA? We have experience helping Carlisle, PA residents build websites in Carlisle, PA.”

“What in the keyword hell is this!?” you wonder aloud. “This doesn’t even say anything! How is this helpful?” 

Annoyed, you click back on your browser and open the next search result. You’re met with the same keyword-heavy nonsense again. You rinse and repeat this process for about two minutes before giving up on your search entirely and making yourself a sandwich.

Gaming ≠ Gaining

These were the early days of SEO, where algorithms relied heavily on keywords. The more keywords a site used, the higher it would rank on searches. The result led to upticks in site traffic while bounce rates skyrocketed (i.e., site visitors wouldn’t stick around).

Over the years, companies like Google got smarter and began realizing that users weren’t interested in seeing a string of keywords. They were interested in getting their questions answered.

hese were the early versions of SEO, where algorithms relied heavily on keywords. The more keywords a site used, the higher it would rank on searches. The result led to upticks in site traffic while bounce rates skyrocketed (i.e., site visitors wouldn’t stick around). 

Over the years, companies like Google got smarter and began realizing that users weren’t interested in seeing a string of keywords. They were interested in getting their questions answered. 

No more attempting to game the algorithm to gain clicks.

Which brings us to modern-day SEO. 

No more attempting to game the algorithm to gain clicks. Today, search engines are concerned with quality, not quantity.

Google wants to provide its users with the search results most likely to be the most helpful to them. That’s it! Here’s what this means for you:

1. There’s no “magic bullet” to SEO anymore—you can’t game the system.
2. Your website should be a resource—the better the resource, the more Google likes you, sends traffic your way, and leads to site conversion (i.e., people taking action through your site).

How can I boost my SEO?

By this point, you should better understand what modern SEO is all about. Armed with the knowledge that overused keywords are out and helpful content is king, here are three easy, free ways to start boosting your SEO today:

• Create a frequently asked questions

• Claim your Google My Business profile

• Ask for Google Reviews

Write down Frequently Asked Questions

This one is easy. You’re in business to serve your customers or clients. Think about all the questions you’re asked regularly and write them down! 

Think about the questions asked and helpful information to know:

• During the “shopping around” phase before someone does business with you
• During the onboarding or purchasing process
• After someone becomes a client or customer

You are an expert in your field. That’s why you’re in business, after all! 

Use your expertise to answer every question you possibly can before someone asks. Write these questions down, answer them clearly, and add them to your website! You might add these questions as FAQ sections or add them to existing content on your website.

Not only will you start seeing a boost in your SEO, but you’ll also start seeing better leads and better business come through your site because visitors know what to expect from you. 

That’s a win on every front.

Claim your Google My Business profile

Another easy step you can take today to boost your SEO is to make or claim your Google My Business profile. 

Your Google Business profile is that business pop-out on the right side of a Google search query that provides helpful details and reviews about a business.

Making (or claiming) your business profile boosts your SEO and allows you to post photos, locations, business hours, and descriptions of your services. A robust Google Business profile is like an attractive window display—it provides a quick, helpful view of your business for passersby. 

And, importantly, it allows you to collect Google Reviews.

Want to throw some fuel on your SEO fire? Start asking your clients or customers to leave you a Google review.

Ask for Google reviews. 

We’ve saved the best for last. 

Want to throw some fuel on your SEO fire? Start asking your clients or customers to leave you a review. Just completed a sale and you’ve made a happy customer? Ask if they’d be willing to leave you a Google review. 

On the admin side of your business profile, Google even gives you a direct link to your reviews that you can share. Easy breezy, baby.

A few important notes to increase the effectiveness:

• Authenticity matters. People want to read candid experiences and reviews from actual clients. When you ask for a review, personally reach out instead of sending a generic e-blast. And, instead of simply asking for a five-star review, ask if they’d be willing to share what it’s been like to work with you. If you’ve done your job right, your happy customers should be excited to share how you’ve helped them!
• DO NOT ask your employees or their spouses to leave a review. These are easily identified as disingenuous and can actually hurt your SEO. While tempting to look at the number of reviews rising, this does nothing to help you in the long run.
• Always respond. People want to know you’re engaged with your clients or customers. Whenever someone leaves you a nice review, post a public response thanking them for their kind words. If someone leaves a negative review, it’s an opportunity to do a little public relations work and publicly address their concerns, apologize, and show that you’re a genuine human being.

Why do Google Reviews matter?

• Google ranks highly reviewed businesses higher. If someone is looking for the best cup of coffee near their AirBnB, Google figures a coffee shop with 1,000 glowing five-star reviews is likely to be a better match than the coffee shop with 10 three-star reviews. 

• Google reviews allow prospective customers/ clients to hear from those who already do business with you. What better way to understand what it’s like to do business with someone than to hear from actual, existing customers? 

Start boosting your SEO today!

By this point, you should have a solid understanding of what modern SEO is and isn’t. As we said at the top, SEO is deep and multi-layered—there is no single magic bullet. However, you should have a few tools in your toolkit now to start boosting your SEO for free today.

If you’ve implemented the steps above and are interested in taking your website, marketing, and SEO efforts to the next level, get in touch with us. We’re here to help!