Use your content to boost your SEO ranking and improve the perception of your business - in 4 simple steps.

You can’t talk about search engine results without mentioning SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). Simply put, SEO covers a range of techniques used to obtain high-ranking placement in the results pages of search engines, like Google. 

There are so many ways to improve SEO that whole businesses are dedicated to improving SEO results for others. That’s not surprising when you bear in mind that Google considers over 200 factors when ranking a website! If you want guaranteed top rankings in search results then it pays to hire an expert.

However, by following 4 simple steps you can increase your chances of a great SEO ranking and also improve  the perception of your business.

Step One: Write great content

Write content that is useful and interesting to those who search for your products and services. Google’s search engine puts ‘authority’ pages at the top, so you should endeavour to write content that people find useful. If it’s useful it will be shared repeatedly (something that Google’s algorithms search for). Great content also helps reinforce to potential customers that you are an authority in your marketplace.

Content doesn’t have to be words. What can you provide that will help potential customers? Do you have free tools or templates you could offer? Great diagrams?

Does your website contain videos? At the moment, YouTube is the second largest search engine on the Internet which means videos get high rankings in Google search results. Could you have videos that demo products, provide 'how to' instructions, introduce your workplace or brand?  Read Create Video Content for more information.

Don’t fall into the trap of republishing the work of others – this puts you at risk of infringing on copyright and can ruin your site’s SEO rankings.

Step Two: Make sure your content is easy to share

If your content is great, visitors should be able to share it with the click of a button. Take a look at Integrating your website with social media for more information.

Step 3: Write more great content

Fresh content encourages people to revisit your site, creates more opportunities for people to discover your site, increases the chance your content will be shared, and improves SEO. It also helps the perception that you are an expert in your field.

However, don’t sacrifice quality for quantity. Check out Writing for the Web to learn more.

Step 4: Tell others about your great content

If your website is offering great information – tell others. Maybe there are other businesses or organisations who would like to link to your great content to help their customers --if they knew it existed. Many organisations have a ‘useful links’ page. In most cases you would need to approach them and say 'Hey, by-the-way, we have this really great free information we think your customers might benefit from'.

How we can help

If you have any questions or need advice, you can get in touch with the Digital Journey team at hello@digitaljourney.org.

Digital Journey works with individuals, businesses and organisations of all types across New Zealand. We provide FREE online digital assessments and resources, as well as training, coaching and project management services.

Our vision is to help everyone get the most out of the Internet, online tools and digital technology. Find out more at www.digitaljourney.org.