GETTING TO GOOGLE'S TOP SPOT:
That’s what this is all about.
In this guide, we follow the mantra KISS (keep it simple stupid!).
This simple, business-friendly, actionable guide to SEO has exactly what you need
to improve your rankings right now.
We will guide you through 8 simple things any business owner can do.
Press the beautiful download button to get started — print it out, email it to your team,
share it with your friends, take it to the airport, read it in the bath.
If anything feels overwhelming or a little too technical, feel free to reach out to the Yakk team.
We do SEO every day, all year round. (Plus all things digital marketing.)
That’s what this is all about.
In this guide, we follow the mantra KISS (keep it simple stupid!).
This simple, business-friendly, actionable guide to SEO has exactly what you need to improve your rankings right now.
We will guide you through 8 simple things any business owner can do. Press the beautiful download button to get started — print it out, email it to your team, share it with your friends, take it to the airport, read it in the bath.
If anything feels overwhelming or a little too technical, feel free to reach out to the Yakk team. We do SEO every day, all year round. (Plus all things digital marketing.)
When you want to find something
that exists in our universe, where
do you go?
To the… internet?
Yes! And where on the internet
do you go?
Um, to Google?
Yes! And once you’ve typed in your search
(say for “best cordless vacuum cleaners”),
you’ll get pages and pages of blue links,
with 10 links per page — but which ones
do you actually click?
I will probably just go with 1 of the
first 5 links toward the top.
Yes! And what about those
links at the bottom of the 1st page?
Well, sometimes, but mostly
I won’t bother.
And the 2nd page of Google?
There’s a 2nd page of Google?
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is about how you rank — how your website pages get found — on Google based on the particular search terms people use.
SEO does apply to other search engines besides Google (such as Bing and Yahoo!) which are collectively known as Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). But because Google is what almost everyone uses for searching these days and it’s more relatable than saying “search engines” or “SERPs” let’s just stick with saying “Google” with the proviso that SEO doesn’t apply to Google only.
Good SEO versus bad SEO is the difference between appearing at the top of Google (above your competitors) and the bottom of Google (below your competitors) to prospective customers.
Most of these customers aren’t going to click on every link on Google’s 1st page and do a detailed analysis of each competitor, looking at how all the companies and their
products compare. They are generally looking for a quick result.
SEO is the long-term strategy for gradually moving up, ahead of your competitors, from page 7 to page 1, and from #10 at the bottom of page 1 to number #1 the top of page 1, without having to pay money for Google Ads, which can cost anywhere between $1 – $10+ per click (depending on how competitive the search term is).
Of course, you can pay for Google Ads at the same time as doing SEO (paid ads is also something we provide guidance on), but SEO is the cornerstone of an unpaid (or “organic”) website promotional strategy.
SEO helps you rank on Google and attract people who are actively looking to buy — these are HOT LEADS.
SEO also allows you to connect with people who might be interested in learning more about your products or services, but not looking to buy right now — these are WARM LEADS.
Your “warm audience” makes up the majority of potential customers who are online at any given time and a smart SEO strategy looks for ways to draw their attention and capture their details (i.e. to build your all-important email list).
Because SEO can be a complex topic, here we will explore just a few very basic things to improve your rankings — easily actionable tips that you can do yourself.
If you come across anything that you can’t work out, or if it all seems a little bit overwhelming, feel free to reach out to the team at Yakk.
Keyword research is a vital first step.
You’ll need to know the most searched words and phrases for your industry.
This way, you can target your content to be in line with popular keywords,
otherwise you might be developing an SEO strategy around keywords that no-one is searching for.
Do some research on what people are typing into search engines.
Here are 3 great tools that can give you this information quickly:
Semrush magic keyword tool.
Google ads keyword research tool.
Answer the public.
Be creative and think about the various kinds of search term combinations (and questions) your ideal customer may be typing into Google. Just remember that some keywords will be more popular than others in terms of search volume, meaning these can be highly competitive spaces.
Once you’ve got a shortlist ready, keep this keyword list handy.
We will be using these keywords in the following tips.
Optimising your website for search engines can be a confusing process but fear not! We have prioritised the most important components for you.
This is just scratching the surface of SEO optimisation and your competitors could potentially be 10 steps ahead, but this can get some good runs on the board for you right now.
We are going to look at how to update 3 vital components, along with best practices.
If you are using a popular web builder such as Wix, SquareSpace, or even WordPress there are ways that you can change these cotnts without knowing any code! (For example, you could use the free tool YOAST to help with this.)
Once you’ve got a shortlist ready, Now, about that keyword list we made before…
We will be using these keywords in the following tips.
Grab it out as we will use those terms here.
A title tag is a piece of code that lets Google know what that page is about. This is what is populated into the title on Google search results and the top of the tab in your browser.
a) Make sure your title tags are different on every page. Think about what that page is about, and match it with a keyword you have found in your research.
b) Your title should not be longer than 60 Characters, or they will get cut off.
c) Use this structure where possible…
“Primary Keyword” | “secondary keyword” | “location” | “brand name”
Optimising your website for search engines can be a confusing process but fear not! We have prioritised the most important components for you.
This is just scratching the surface of SEO optimisation and your competitors could potentially be 10 steps ahead, but this can get some good runs on the board for you right now.
We are going to look at how to update 3 vital components, along with best practices.
If you are using a popular web builder such as Wix, SquareSpace, or even WordPress there are ways that you can change these cotnts without knowing any code! (For example, you could use the free tool YOAST to help with this.)
Once you’ve got a shortlist ready, Now, about that keyword list we made before…
We will be using these keywords in the following tips.
Grab it out as we will use those terms here.
A title tag is a piece of code that lets Google know what that page is about. This is what is populated into the title on Google search results and the top of the tab in your browser.
a) Make sure your title tags are different on every page. Think about what that page is about, and match it with a keyword you have found in your research.
b) Your title should not be longer than 60 Characters, or they will get cut off.
c) Use this structure where possible…
“Primary Keyword” | “secondary keyword” | “location” | “brand name”
When creating your H1, you should follow these criteria:
a) Make sure you have only 1 per page, otherwise Google can get confused as to exactly what your page is about.
b) Utilise the keyword list that you have gathered in your research.
c) Keep this keyword different to the one you have used in your title tag, but keep it relevant to the content on the page.
d) Keep the length of this title between 20 and 70 Characters.
When you’re building your site it is essential to maintain a simple linking structure
on each page with a clear primary focus.
Why?
If the user has to waste time clicking around your website to get the information
you initially promised — or gets confused because you have too many other options
going on — Google isn’t going to be happy.
When you’re building your site it is essential to maintain a simple linking structure on each page with a clear primary focus.
Why?
If the user has to waste time clicking around your website to get the information you initially promised — or gets confused because you have too many other options going on — Google isn’t going to be happy.