7 Powerful SEO Strategies You Shouldn’t Ignore

There are several search engine optimization (SEO) strategies floating around the internet today. How do you know which ones work and which ones don’t?

Going after the most popular SEO strategies may not be your best option because your competitors are doing the same. But what about SEO strategies that others ignore?

Whether you’re doing your SEO on your own or having someone else do it for you, ensure not to overlook these 7 strategies. These could open opportunities for you to get new leads today!

1. Optimizing Your Google My Business Page

Google considers your Google My Business (GMB) page as the landing page of your business. Claim and optimize it.

Make sure to complete all necessary information and that they’re all accurate.

Add your company name, address, and phone number (NAP), as well as a complete list of all your products or services. Ensure that you’re in the right business category.

These pieces of information must be identical across all your pages on the web, including your website, social media pages, online directory listings, etc.

Also, optimize your business description for keywords relevant to your business so people can easily find you when they search for your products or services.

2. Getting Quality Reviews

Consumers are not only using Google to look up brands, but also to gauge the quality of their products and service delivery. The most discerning of consumers heavily rely on social proof before hitting the Buy Now button.

Getting reviews also provide the following benefits to your business:

• You can use reviews in developing a more customer-focused marketing strategy
• Feedback from people outside your business help you better understand what you’re doing right and/or the things you need to improve on

Remember to reply to reviews, especially the bad ones. Actively responding and offering solutions to bad reviews shows prospect customers that you care about your clients.

Did you know that your reviews and ratings can generate more traffic and leads for your business? More quality reviews and 4.5-star ratings tell people that your company is credible and trustworthy, making users more likely to click on your site.

So never underestimate the power of reviews in shaping people’s perception of you and directing more people to your business! Start accumulating real and honest reviews on your Google My Business page.

And be prepared to see the difference.

3. Uploading Photos and Videos

First impressions still matter online, and what better way to establish a great first impression than uploading high-quality photos and videos on your GMB page.

Humans are inherently visual beings. The brain processes visuals 60,000 times faster than plain text. One study also found out that visual content is more effective in capturing internet users’ attention and spurring them to perform an action.

So in conclusion, if you want to increase people’s engagement rate with your content, take advantage of high-resolution visual assets. Google My Business offers different visual content options to choose from when you verify your listing.

Not sure which photos to upload? Google has a few suggestions:

• At least three strong exterior photos, taken at different times of the day and showing each direction people might approach your business
• A minimum of three photos of your store or shop’s interiors
• Photos of your most popular products or core services you offer
• An image of any common areas in your business (e.g. the reception area or waiting room)
• For restaurants, bars, and cafes: images of your popular food and drinks
• For hotels: images of your guest rooms and popular amenities

You can visit Google My Business’ Help page for detailed instructions on adding photos and videos on your business profile.

When you’re able to attract people’s attention to your business through your stunning visuals, they’re more likely to click on your page and learn more about you. 

4. Optimizing Your URL

A URL refers to the address of your webpage. Every URL points to a specific location on your website. Your URLs are the first thing users see on Google and they help direct people to the pages they want to visit.

A well-structured URL looks like this:

https://localseosearch.ca/services/global-full-search-engine-optimization/

Since URLs play a vital role in shaping a great user experience, it’s essential to optimize them and get their structure right.

Here’s why:

• They describe what your page is about. A descriptive URL makes it easier for search engines to crawl and understand the content of your page. For users, a well-crafted URL informs them ahead what they can expect to see once they get to the page.
• They help search engines provide better results to users. Albeit minor, URLs are useful in determining whether a certain page matches or is relevant to a user’s search query. This is why it’s important to incorporate keywords in your URL.

How do you optimize your URL structure so that it contributes to a pleasant user experience and garner clicks to your page? Here are a few tips:

• Insert keywords related to your service. The more specific you get, the better.
• Avoid cramming too many keywords into your URL. One or two keywords would suffice.
• Use words that people understand.
• Keep your URLs short and simple. They should read as natural as possible.
• Write for your users, not for search engines. Remember to give users exactly what they’re looking for.

5. Internal Link Building

What is an internal link? It is any link from one page to another page on your website. Internal linking is an essential SEO ranking factor due to the following reasons:

• They help users easily navigate and find important pages on your website
• They help organize the flow of information on your website
• Internal linking distributes the authority of a page throughout your site

Building internal links within your site also helps Google to evaluate the relationship of your pages, the relevance of each page, and the value of your contents.

Here’s a quick guide to creating a solid internal linking strategy:

• Define your site structure. Decide how you want your pages and content grouped, linked, and viewed by your site visitors.
• Identify your most important content. Ideally, it should be the page/s that you’d like people to find first when they’re searching for your products or services.
• Add contextual links. When you’ve published articles that fall under the same topic, link them with each other. This signals Google and your readers that those articles are related. Plus, you encourage your reader to read on further and stay longer on your site.

For example, if you’ve written an article on ‘The ultimate guide to preventing periodontal disease,’ you can add links to relevant articles like ‘What is periodontal disease?’ and ‘Teeth and gum care.’

• Add navigational links. To increase its link value, you can also add links to your homepage or service pages in your blog posts.

6. Publishing Content Regularly

Fresh and authoritative content isn’t just beneficial for your SEO, it also improves your chances of appearing on search queries on a given period.

A lot of people are on the lookout for new content. When a user searches for blog articles published within the past 3 months, you need to have had published something during this period so your website will show up in the results.

This is why it’s important to make consistent content publication part of your SEO strategy. In addition to increased exposure, you’ll also want to churn out content regularly as Google is more likely to rank websites that continuously offer fresh and valuable information to users.

The more you provide value, the better you position yourself as an expert in your niche and the more prospect customers will trust you.

Produce content on topics related to your expertise, or answer frequently asked questions from your customers. If you lack the time to do so, consider outsourcing the job to a third-party SEO or digital marketing agency.

7. Optimizing for Local Searcher Intent

Make sure to optimize your website for local intent, especially if you’re a small business operating in a town or city.

If you want to successfully capture locals within your area, or for your company to be known for specific services in your region, optimize your pages for local keywords.

Sure, you may want to aim for generic keywords in the hopes of attracting more people to your business. But ranking for broad (and often competitive) search terms would be difficult.

You’ll want to focus your SEO efforts on capturing a local market and target specific keywords that these people are using to find your services. The more specific you get with your keywords, the higher your conversion rates.

And hyper-specific keywords often have less competition. These keywords may have lower search volumes, but they convert better than generic ones.