If you’re running a business, it’s important to make sure that you’re doing everything possible to get your website in front of as many people as possible. SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of optimizing a website for Google search with the goal of earning higher web traffic levels and improving the visibility of the site. SEO encompasses both on-page factors (like content and keywords) and off-page factors (like link building and social media engagement).

There are a few different ways that you can use SEO to improve your marketing efforts. Let’s quickly review the most important ones:

Keyword Research:

The first and most important SEO technique is keyword research. You need to find the right keywords that people are searching for in order to drive traffic to your website. The best way to do this is to use a tool like Google Keyword Planner. Once you’ve found the right keywords, you can start incorporating them into your website content.

On-Page:

Once you’ve done your keyword research, it’s time to start optimizing your website for those keywords. This is called on-page SEO, and it includes things like adding keywords to your website’s title and meta tags, as well as creating keyword-rich content. For example, if you’re a plumber, you might want to write a blog post about “The Top Ten Plumbing Tips for Homeowners.”

Off-Page:

It’s just as important as On-Page SEO. It includes things like link-building and social media engagement. The goal is to build authority for your website so that Google will rank you higher in the search results. The best way to do this is to get high-quality links from other websites. You can also improve your Off-Page SEO by being active on social media and promoting your website content.

Local:

If you’re running a local business, then it’s important to Optimize your website for Local SEO. This includes things like optimizing your Google My Business listing and adding your business to local directories.

Mobile:

In today’s mobile-first world, it’s important to make sure that your website is Optimized for Mobile SEO. This includes things like making sure your site is responsive and fast-loading.

Voice Search:

With the rise of voice search, it’s important to Optimize your website for Voice Search SEO. This includes things like using long-tail keywords and natural language in your content. For example, if someone is searching for a plumber on their Amazon Echo, they might say “Alexa, find me a plumber in my area” so you want to make sure that your website content includes those keywords.

Email:

Don’t forget about email marketing! SEO can also be used to improve your email marketing efforts. For example, you can use SEO keywords in your email subject lines and content to make sure that your emails are more likely to be opened and read by recipients. You can also use SEO to segment your email list so that you’re sending the most relevant and targeted content to each subscriber.

In conclusion, SEO can be a complex topic, but hopefully, this quick overview has given you a better understanding of what it is and how you can use it to improve your marketing efforts. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments below! Thanks for reading!

Interested to find out more? Browse the rest of our blog for other marketing tips. If you’re ready to create your first email, survey, sign-up form, or landing page then register for a free trial to get the tools you need to build powerful marketing campaigns!

The post SEO Explained: What It Is and How You Can Use It appeared first on VerticalResponse.

Holiday shopping is a bit different this year because of the pandemic. People will continue to shop, but the battleground is now online.

Since the onset of the pandemic, eCommerce sales grew more than 30%.

This will likely continue for a while. The pandemic is driving an online surge in holiday shopping. Thus, you need to learn some of the best SEO tips that will keep your business a step or two ahead of the competition.

Continue reading below for some of the best holiday SEO tips you need to know.

The Mother of All SEO Tips: Start with Your Keywords

SEO and keywords are inseparable. Hence, you should start taking your SEO game a notch higher by updating your keywords.

Revisit your website’s traffic and check your current rankings and analytics. What you want to check are the pages that are doing fairly well. These are the pages that you should not touch.

Also, identify the pages that are not doing quite well in terms of traffic. Check the keywords in these pages and see which ones you can tweak or improve on.

Your goal is to integrate keywords that you can relate to the holiday season. You can use Google Trends as a guide for identifying some of the trending topics for the season.

Know What Your Market Wants

Aside from looking at the latest trends, you need to find out what your target market wants for the season. Thus, conduct a survey to find out what your local customers are looking for this year.

In your survey, identify the specific products they want for Christmas. Also, find out which of these products are a bit hard to find locally. Ask about the method of shopping or delivery they prefer.

How about safety measures? Find out their minimum standards in terms of safety measures. Additionally, determine the payment methods they prefer for the season.

Put Up Holiday Season Pages

You also need to up the ante in your SEO game by creating holiday season pages. The first order of business is to determine the categories that will work best for the season.

If your product offerings cater to each member of the family, you can come up with pages like “The Best Christmas Gifts for Moms and Dads.”

The same thing goes for children, of course. And if you wish to push it further, you can come up with a page containing discounted items for grandparents.

Also, you want to make sure that the key elements are foolproof for the holidays. This means the page titles and meta descriptions fit seamlessly into the season.

Use Social Media and Google Support

If your business is also on social media (as it should), you need to use the latter to promote your holiday pages. Your social media accounts, like Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest, can serve as your visual search engine.

Do the same thing with your Facebook business page. Use it as a platform to share your holiday season pages.

Also, consider using Google and its different tools to your advantage. For starters, there is the Google Shopping feature that allows free product listings.

There is also the Google My Business option that lets retailers showcase their products via display messaging.

Re-Use Old Content 

Keeping your content fresh and timely for the season is great. But that doesn’t mean you cannot get a little boost from your older content.

Practice re-using your old content by giving them a little twist. If you launched a Black Friday promotional last year, give it a little tweak and use it this holiday season.

Revisit the products that came with them and replace them with new ones. If you’re carrying items from other brands, review the ones that are not making any noise and replace them with the popular ones.

Reusing old content from last year will save you time and resources. It will keep you from creating completely new pages.

Focus on Speed and Mobility

As customers will place their orders left and right, you need to provide top-notch service. You can only do so if you focus on optimizing your site for speed and mobile use.

Though these two are non-negotiable in SEO, we cannot remind you enough of their importance, especially during times wherein website traffic is heavy.

Thus, check the speed of your website and see if it can accommodate the traffic this holiday season. Do the same thing with your mobile website. Keep in mind that the majority of online shoppers use their mobile phones for buying stuff.

You should also consider automating your email responses for your Christmas campaigns. This allows you to respond to customer inquiries faster.

Pay Extra Attention to Customer Reviews

Last but not least in our SEO tips for the holidays is staying on top of your customer service. This means paying extra attention to customer reviews and feedback.

Manage customer reviews as meticulously as possible. You can use online software that helps you track any new reviews that customers post on your site.

You can assign someone to monitor your website and social media profiles. They should keep watch of any negative reviews and act on the complaints accordingly.

Having too many bad reviews will reflect badly on your online rankings. But if you can address the concerns fast, you can retain the customers and turn things around.

Let’s Work on Your Email Marketing Needs this Season

By following these holiday SEO tips, you can increase your site’s visibility and attract new leads for conversion. And if you need to work on your email marketing but you already have a lot on your plate, we will gladly help you out.

We offer email marketing solutions that you will find useful during the holidays. Connect with us and sign up for a free trial today!

The post Holiday SEO in 2020: What You Need to Know appeared first on VerticalResponse.