How to Use SEO for Business Growth Over Time

SEO tin interaction your business’s maturation and profitability.

And by the extremity of this guide, you’ll cognize precisely however you tin leverage SEO to turn your ain business.

But let’s commencement with the basics.

What Is SEO?

Search motor optimization (SEO) is simply a integer selling signifier aimed astatine improving your business’s visibility successful hunt engines utilizing integrated (non-paid) tactics. 

Instead of paying for ads, SEO helps your website people fertile higher connected hunt motor results pages (SERPs) erstwhile users hunt for applicable keywords (words/phrases users benignant into hunt engines).

For example, your imaginable customers mightiness hunt for keywords similar “best question bags,” “durable question backpacks,” oregon “lightweight carry-on luggage” if you merchantability question bags. And spot results similar these:

The 4 Main Types of SEO for Business Owners

You tin interruption SEO down into tons of antithetic types. But determination are 4 wide categories that concern owners should attraction about:

• On-page SEO: This focuses connected optimizing your webpages to assistance them fertile higher successful SERPs for your people keywords, which tin bring much imaginable customers to your site
• Technical SEO: This involves optimizing your site’s method show to amended the idiosyncratic acquisition and marque it easier for hunt engines to find, understand, and store each of your important pages
• Off-page SEO: Off-page SEO involves gathering backlinks (links connected different sites that constituent to your site), engaging successful digital PR, and different off-site activities to amended your business’s online visibility
• Local SEO: This focuses connected improving your business’s visibility for section hunt queries, and is often centered successful portion astir optimizing your Google Business Profile

Why Is SEO Good for Business Growth?

There are tons of reasons wherefore you should put successful SEO arsenic a concern owner. But these are the astir important ones from a maturation perspective:

Drive More Sales

Effectively implementing SEO tactics improves your website’s visibility successful SERPs for applicable keywords, which helps you pull much organic hunt traffic from radical who mightiness go paying customers. 

Hepper, a favored furnishings company, saw a staggering 2,964% summation successful revenue wrong 2 years of investing successful SEO. 

They utilized Semrush to place the astir applicable and high-impact keywords for their concern and created 5,000 high-quality blog posts targeting those keywords. 

This is evidently an utmost example—you don’t request to commencement penning 5,000 posts. But adjacent astatine smaller scales, the other postulation that SEO tin thrust to your business’s website tin adhd up to meaningful income increases.

Increase Brand Awareness

Higher hunt motor rankings marque it much apt that your imaginable customers volition spot your marque successful hunt results, which increases your marque awareness.

Aside from visibility, it besides keeps your marque top-of-mind with your audience. 

When imaginable customers spot your tract ranking each clip they hunt for thing related to your business, they’re much apt to comprehend your concern arsenic a credible and authoritative source. 

This repeated vulnerability tin physique spot with your people audience. Making them much apt to take your concern erstwhile they’re acceptable to prosecute oregon marque a purchase.

Reduce Reliance connected Paid Ads

SEO helps businesses chopped their dependence connected paid advertizing by driving accordant integrated postulation without the request for continuous advertisement spend. 

While paid ads tin supply contiguous visibility, they are often expensive. Especially successful competitory industries wherever cost per click (CPC) is high. 

For example, sectors similar ineligible services oregon security often spot CPCs ranging from $50 to $100 oregon much per click.

Online veterinary wellness and wellness level BetterVet is simply a bully illustration of conscionable however impactful SEO tin beryllium compared to ads. 

In December 2022, BetterVet struggled to summation their integrated hunt traffic. This near the institution heavy reliant connected paid advertising. 

But by the extremity of 2023, BetterVet made a singular turnaround by focusing connected SEO to turn their integrated hunt postulation by implicit 2,000%. And this allowed them to importantly trim their advertisement spend.

Achieve Long-Term Results

SEO tin present long-lasting results that proceed to payment your concern implicit clip without overmuch enactment beyond the archetypal clip and effort you invest.

You tin proceed to thrust integrated hunt postulation to your website for months oregon adjacent years.

This is due to the fact that integrated hunt motor positions are determined by Google ranking factors—not however overmuch wealth you spend.

How to Use SEO for Online Business Growth

SEO has a batch of moving parts, truthful commencement with these cardinal steps to get the astir retired of your efforts:

1. Perform Keyword Research

Keyword research is the process of uncovering the astir applicable and invaluable keywords you tin make contented astir to assistance your tract look successful hunt results erstwhile imaginable customers hunt for them. 

How bash you execute keyword research?

You tin bash it successful a fewer ways, but utilizing a reliable keyword probe tool similar the Keyword Magic Tool is the astir businesslike option. 

Simply motorboat the instrumentality and participate a seed keyword (a wide word related to your business, product, service, oregon industry). 

Select your people state from the drop-down paper and click “Search.”

Next, you’ll spot a database of related keywords. Along with further metrics for each keyword, like:

• Search intent: The intent down the hunt (more connected this below)
• Search volume: How galore searches the word gets each month
• Keyword trouble (KD %): A people retired of 100 indicating however pugnacious it is to fertile successful the apical 10 hunt results for that keyword (lower is easier)

Use filters to place the astir applicable and promising keywords from the list.

For example, the “KD %” filter lets you place keywords that are easier to fertile for.

Simply prime “Easy” oregon “Very Easy” to find keywords with debased competition. 

You mightiness besides privation to filter by hunt intent to lone spot keywords that are apt to pb to a conversion.

There are 4 main types of hunt intent:

• Navigational: The searcher is looking for a circumstantial website oregon leafage (like “youtube” oregon “facebook login”)
• Informational: The searcher is looking to larn much astir a taxable oregon conception (e.g., “how to unclog a drain”)
• Commercial: The searcher wants to bash probe oregon comparison options to pass a determination (like “best gaming laptop” oregon “monday vs asana”)
• Transactional: The searcher is acceptable oregon astir acceptable to instrumentality enactment (e.g., “buy nike shoes” oregon “subscribe to spotify”)

Business owners are typically astir funny successful commercialized and transactional intent keywords. Because the radical searching for these are person to making a acquisition decision.

To filter for these keywords, conscionable click the “Intent” drop-down, prime the checkboxes adjacent to “Commercial” and “Transactional,” and click “Apply.”

As you place promising keywords, jot them down.

2. Build Topic Clusters

A topic cluster is simply a radical of connected pages connected a website that are each focused connected a main topic, and utilizing them tin assistance you physique topical authority that leads to amended rankings and much spot among visitors. 

Each clump has a main pillar leafage that gives a broad overview of the topic. And past determination are respective subpages (or clump pages) that dive into related subtopics successful much detail.

By gathering taxable clusters, you make a well-organized web of related content. This makes it easier for some users and hunt engines to find accusation connected your site. 

And due to the fact that this attack helps you physique your site’s credibility successful a peculiar taxable area, it’s peculiarly utile for concern owners.

Use the Keyword Strategy Builder to physique taxable clusters.

Start by entering up to 5 keywords you’ve identified during the keyword probe phase. 

Then, prime your people marketplace determination and click “Create list.”

The instrumentality volition make a ocular representation of suggested pillar pages and subpages. 

Scroll down to the array to spot the keywords and metrics (like hunt intent, hunt volume, and keyword difficulty) for each pillar and clump page. 

Choose the topics that look the astir promising based the displayed metrics, truthful you tin commencement creating content.

3. Create High-Quality Content

Creating high-quality content that targets your chosen keywords is astir apt to fertile and thrust postulation to your site.

Use ContentShake AI to make high-quality, SEO-friendly contented for your business. 

Simply motorboat the instrumentality and participate the taxable you privation to cover. Then click “Generate article.”

The instrumentality volition suggest a station rubric and people keywords. And you tin customize settings similar connection number and code of voice.

Tick the container adjacent to “Add an other SEO boost” to further optimize the content. And the 1 adjacent to “Add applicable Unsplash images” to automatically incorporated banal images. 

When you’re ready, prime “Create article.”

ContentShake AI volition make a implicit draught that you should reappraisal and edit thoroughly earlier publishing. Because AI-generated contented tin sometimes beryllium factually incorrect, deficiency a quality touch, oregon miss nuances that resonate with your circumstantial audience.

Make changes to the draught by clicking “Go to editor.”

Start improving your nonfiction by checking the tool’s SEO, readability, and code suggestions.

Then, adhd your ain acquisition and expertise to tailor the contented to your concern needs. 

You tin past people the station straight to your WordPress site, nonstop it to Google Docs, oregon stock it with your team.

4. Improve Your Website’s Technical SEO

Your site’s method wellness matters for SEO due to the fact that Google uses assorted idiosyncratic acquisition signals successful its ranking systems.

When your tract loads quickly, has nary breached links, and is casual to navigate, it tin pb to amended rankings. Plus, ensuring a affirmative acquisition means users are much apt to enactment and explore. 

So, place and hole immoderate method issues that whitethorn beryllium affecting your site’s performance. 

How bash you bash this?

With a instrumentality similar Site Audit. 

It performs implicit 140 checks for some on-page and method SEO issues. And provides actionable recommendations connected however to code them.

Just motorboat the tool, participate your domain name, and click “Start Audit.”

Follow our configuration guide to acceptable up your project. 

Once it’s complete, you’ll spot SEO issues by class successful the “Thematic Reports” section. Like crawlability, HTTPS, and tract performance.

Click “View Details” nether immoderate conception to spot circumstantial issues related to that category.

Or caput to the “Issues” tab to spot a afloat database of errors, warnings, and notices for your site.

Work done these issues to amended your site’s method SEO.

5. Manage & Optimize Your Business Listings

Business listings are citations that show important accusation astir your concern (name, address, telephone number, website, and opening hours), and they’re large for improving your visibility.

You tin make listings connected platforms similar Google, Yelp, and Facebook to scope radical who usage these sites to hunt for businesses similar yours.

These listings tin besides amended your chances of appearing successful applicable section hunt results. Because hunt engines propulsion accusation astir your concern from these listings and usage them to verify accuracy erstwhile determining what to show successful section hunt results.

Here’s what section hunt results look similar successful Google:

And here’s what they look similar successful Bing:

While listings are valuable, it tin beryllium pugnacious to negociate listings crossed aggregate platforms.

To simplify the process, usage the Listing Management tool. 

To get started, conscionable hunt for your concern successful the instrumentality and prime the close 1 that appears.

Then, you’ll spot accusation astir the directories you’re listed successful (and the ones you’re not). And immoderate discrepancies you should fix. 

Fixing these issues volition guarantee users (and hunt engines) tin find the close accusation astir your business. 

If you opt for a paid plan, you’ll besides beryllium capable to automatically administer your concern accusation crossed listings. And adjacent respond straight to Google reviews successful the tool. 

6. Build High-Quality Backlinks

The much high-quality backlinks your website has, the amended it whitethorn fertile successful hunt results. 

Backlinks from reputable, high-authority sites enactment a spot similar endorsements for your website. They awesome to hunt engines similar Google that your contented is invaluable and trustworthy. 

How bash you get high-quality backlinks to your site?

One mode to bash this is by moving a nexus gathering campaign. This involves identifying imaginable websites that could nexus to your contented and reaching retired to them directly.

Use the Link Building Tool for this.

To get started, motorboat the instrumentality and participate your domain. Then, click “Start Link Building.”

Follow the prompts to decorativeness setup, past caput to the “Prospects” tab to spot a database of suggested sites to scope retired to.

Review the database carefully, and determination the astir promising prospects to the “In Progress” tab by clicking the “To In Progress” fastener adjacent to each one.

You tin straight interaction these prospects from wrong the tool’s interface. 

Just trade a personalized email asking the imaginable to nexus to your site. This is easiest if you’re capable to urge a invaluable portion of contented they tin nexus to. 

Finally, show the advancement of your run successful the “Monitor” tab to spot however good your efforts are paying off, truthful you tin set your strategy arsenic needed.

7. Track and Monitor Your Progress to Improve Your SEO Strategy

Getting the astir retired of your SEO efforts involves tracking show to get ideas connected ways to improve.

The circumstantial metrics you way volition beryllium connected your goals. But immoderate communal ones to way include:

• Organic traffic
• Keyword rankings
• Click-through rate
• Conversion rate

As much visitors onshore connected your site, you tin monitor:

• Which merchandise pages oregon blog posts pull the astir traffic
• Which pages your visitors walk the astir clip on
• What contented generates the astir engagement
• Which pages thrust the astir conversions

You tin find a batch of this information utilizing tools similar Google Analytics (with conversion tracking acceptable up).

You tin past analyse high-performing contented to summation an knowing of wherefore it performed truthful well. And past use those insights to your caller contented and immoderate low-performing content.

Use SEO to Grow Your Business

It should beryllium wide by present that SEO tin assistance you turn your business—without requiring you to put heavy successful ads. 

And portion it often takes clip to spot results, you tin velocity things up with the close SEO tools.

Sign up for a free Semrush trial to entree 55+ tools you tin usage to get started.