By Rhonda Campbell
Years ago, search engine optimization (SEO) was seen as adding as many keywords to an article as a customer would stomach. This approach romanced search engines more than real, live human beings. What happened?
Articles became stilted, painful for customers to read. They also started reading more like ads (as if people don’t have to push through enough ads on and offline as it is). Content at small business websites covered as broad a range of topics a major national newspaper. . . . A surprising thing happened.
Even with the stilted writing, the approach worked for awhile. It’s a reason so much online small business content continues to focus on keywords. If you’ve been searching for information on the Internet for just a few months, you’ve probably come across your share of keyword stuffed articles, reviews and white papers. Fortunately, Google was paying attention.
It kept changing its algorithms, pushing small business owners to focus on quality (and dare I say customers) instead of keywords. Although the jury remains out on just how much Google’s algorithm changes have helped improve online content, what is clear is that quality is trumping quantity.
That’s a good thing. If you’re a small business owner who wants to be part of a quality team, showing your customers that you respect their intelligence and their time, consider incorporating one or more of these tips into your online content strategy:
- Write with current and prospective customers in mind (this cannot be overstated; keep your customers in mind)
- Keep articles/blogs at your website focused on topics related to your business
- Add the same 5 to 8 keywords to half of all articles you post at your small business blog or website (again ensuring that these keywords are directly related to your business)
- Limit the use of keywords to four times per article, web page or blog post
- Submit content to directories, social media networks, etc.
- Re-purpose content and use it in press releases, media kits, advertisements, catalogs, newsletters, white papers, etc.
- Edit content; it’s so easy to overlook mistakes
- Write about topics, current events, etc. you’re sincerely interested in. Passion has a way of coming across on the page
- Fill in the “alt” tag for images
- Save images as “featured images” so they come across when you post content at social media networks
- Add a byline (author’s name) to articles/blog posts as search engines like this
Just as you may have done when you first started your business, it’s easy to focus on your wants (i.e. customer sales, personal finances) while creating online content. But, just as you’ve likely learned, after years of managing a company, that your wants aren’t what your company is about — at least not if you plan on being successful — your goal to get your company a top search engine rank might not be a winning proposition.
Customers want to be the center of attention. Make them feel that way by giving them tips, advice, humor, entertainment that makes them feel better and you could build a large clientele off of word-of-mouth or click-shares. That might not only translate into more customer sales, it might also translate into greater customer trust, a sure win.
