When you’re running a business, it’s important to have a site to establish your name. It takes time before you receive a return on the money and resources you’ve invested on your site though. You can’t afford to sit back while you wait for that to happen either.

Search engine optimisation helps your web pages to rank higher in search results or SERPs. It becomes easier for you to gain traction and drive traffic without breaking the bank. The best time to get started is when you’re yet to launch your website but also works when it’s already live.

For many entrepreneurs and individuals, SEO may seem like rocket science. The objective sounds simple but the techniques and methods involved take a while to master. However, you mustn’t let this stop you from developing a working SEO strategy for your new site.

#1 – Select a reliable web hosting service

According to research, the typical user is going to wait a maximum of three seconds for a page to load and no more. That’s why the first part of your strategy must be to secure an excellent web host. The quality of the host will always affect the performance of the site.

There are many hosting providers out there so you have to ask yourself the following questions:

• Are they able to meet the specific needs of your website?
• What is the subscription period or length of the contract?
• How reliable is their server and their uptime?
• What are their guarantees and refund policies like?
• What are your options when you want to upgrade?
• What are the main features of their hosting services?
• What services and products are they offering as add-ons?
• Are they capable of supporting e-commerce functions?
• Are there any differences between sign-up and renewal rates?
• What kind of dashboard or control panel do they have?

#2 – Choose the most suitable domain name

See that your domain is in line with the rest of your marketing. Since data, traffic, and the like are attached to separate URLs, having a new domain means starting over with your optimisation. If possible, pick a brand that contains or sounds like an industry keyword.

You may be wondering how to pick the best domain for your company, so here are a few tips:

• Go for popular domain extensions like .net, .org, or just .com.
• Think of a creative name that people are more likely to remember.
• Keep your address over 6 characters but below 14 for conciseness.
• Select something that is easy for potential visitors to type, even on mobile.
• Make it easy to pronounce for voice search optimisation.
• Steer clear of numbers or hyphens as they only complicate things.
• Put keywords somewhere in the beginning of your domain name.
• Consider the long-term so don’t be too niche with your brand.
• Check that no other business is using it or has trademarked it.
• Give domain name generators a try for some inspiration.

#3 – Use Google Search Console

Search Console is a tool that enables you to track errors and issues related to servers, security, and site loading. It’s also used to check if any adjustments or changes made to the site were implemented properly. For the system to begin gathering info, have your website verified first.

Here are a few of the elements you’re able to monitor or evaluate with this tool:

• if you’ve submitted your sitemap
• if you have any index or crawling errors
• if you have issues with page speed
• if you have organic keywords driving clicks
• if your web pages are performing well

#4 – Look at your direct competitors

Now that you’ve taken care of the basics, it’s time to consider the competition. This doesn’t necessarily mean sites that are selling the same things as you, but those who are producing the same kind of content and using similar key terms.

After identifying who you’re directly competing against, analyse the keyword gap by:

• Compare your root domain with that of your competitor
• Look at the keywords that you’re sharing or overlapping with
• Filter the words and phrases that are most relevant to your brand

#5 – Form your keyword map

What connects user queries with your content indexed in search results are the keywords. The objective of Google is to present people with the most relevant and valuable results according to their search intent. With the right terms, your pages may be exposed to more prospects.

The secret to choosing low competition keywords is by asking:

• Does it match the queries users are typing?
• Does it have a high or low search volume?
• Does it fit your offerings or overall brand?
• Does it have a lot or little competition for rank?
• Does it bring up relevant pages in the SERPs?

#6 – Optimise your URL structuring

We’ve mentioned previously about including keywords in your domain, but it’s also worth including in your URL. It’s the perfect place for keywords that you’ve been meaning to use but aren’t sure where to put. Doing so ensures that you have as many phrases and terms covered.

Bear in mind that changing a URL is going to be a struggle once you’ve published a page. In the event you have to make any adjustments, plan for a proper redirection from the old one to the new so all backlinks are maximised.

#7 – Plot your editorial calendar

To boost your appeal and rankings, you need to be consistent when publishing content. If you don’t know where to start when forming your content strategy, follow these steps:

• Carefully pick out the keywords you wish to use first and the pages you wish to add them to
• Produce content that has a good amount of keywords, including in the headlines and metadata
• Monitor how your content is performing in search engine results pages on a regular basis
• Be consistent when you are publishing any new articles or blog posts

#8 – Examine UX and Core Web Vitals

The user experience refers to how visitors feel when they are using your website. This is measured according to three metrics called the Core Web Vitals, namely the stability of the content, the browsing speed responding to user input, and the loading speed of page content.

The easiest way you may measure how you’re doing with your vitals is by using PageSpeed Insights. This is a tool that allows you to determine if there are any errors on a page and how you may resolve them. Any scores that are in red or yellow are those that need improvement.

#9 – Make information as accessible as possible

Getting your website to be accessible means giving everyone access to your content and information regardless of their physical capabilities or condition. This is considered a ranking factor since people are likely to bounce if they have a hard time navigating your interface.

Have your copy indexed and crawled properly by:

• Opting for colours or hues that are appealing to the eyes
• Labelling buttons and other elements correctly
• Adding alternate text to all of your images

#10 – Work to promote your website everywhere

Though you may have implemented some SEO measures already, it doesn’t mean you may rest on your laurels and watch the traffic come in. You must work to have your copy and pages exposed to your target audience. Consider where you’ve already established yourself and start there.

There are countless ways you may use other mediums to attract traffic to your site. This may be through your social media profiles, your email subscriber list, or even with traditional media like brochures or flyers. Be patient though, as it takes a while to build a momentum.

Work with an SEO expert

Remote Workmate understands that implementing the above strategies requires much time and effort. In most cases, entrepreneurs and managers are unable to handle them on their own. This is why our staffing agency is more than happy to find you a virtual assistant to help.

Not only do we check our existing talent pool for candidates that meet your requirements, but also we look for additional applicants for you to select from. We also handle the onboarding of your Workmate along with HR management and payroll.

Let’s discuss your needs for a virtual SEO expert on an obligation-free call that you may schedule today. Simply click the blue button here to get started on your recruitment journey.