November 18, 2016, by The Ingenuity Lab
Top SEO Tips for Start-ups
What is SEO?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the name given to the activity that attempts to improve search engine rankings. In our digital era, it is one of the most important aspects to consider when building a business. It enables you business to become visible to potential customers and clients, is an effective branding strategy and helps drive more traffic to your website.
During last week’s Autumn Seminars, we were lucky enough to have SEO expert Adam Vowles deliver a session on optimizing SEO. Adam is currently Head of Digital Marketing at TWDG, a digital agency based in Nottingham and founder of AdamVowles.co.uk.
Some of The Ingenuity Lab members at the Autumn Seminars
In case you missed out on the fantastic event that was the Ingenuity Lab’s Autumn Seminars, Adam has compiled his six top tips that can help you make the most of SEO…
1: Data is everything
Adam delivering his SEO session at our Autumn Seminars
Marketing, specifically digital marketing, is run by data. Collect as much as you possibly can in every aspect of your marketing. You can still be creative, but your data will ultimately will give you the ability to determine if your campaigns have been a success or not.
A marketing campaign without data has a ‘hit and hope’ mentality that is destined to fail.
The more data-backed the decisions you make, the higher your chances of success.
2: Design is half the battle
“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works” – Steve Jobs.
Design is so much more than how your website looks.
You should never underestimate the importance of design. Design impacts both user experience and trust.
Website rankings and traffic mean nothing without conversions. If visitors do not trust your website, they will not convert into a paying customer – which is the whole point. Make sure your website design reflects your desired brand image.
3: Pick the right tools for the job
Online marketing is an industry overflowing with tools, and you can easily spend a small fortune each month trying to make sense of which tool is best for you.
Ultimately, tools are only as good as the user. You can usually find free tools that perform just as well as premium versions.
Any tool that promises the world, should be avoided at all costs.
If you are seriously thinking about running an SEO campaign, make sure you take a look at:
- Ahrefs (the biggest and best backlink monitoring tool – seriously don’t waste your money on anything else)
- Majestic (Trust Flow / Citation Flow Metrics)
- SEMRush (Competitor Analysis)
- Serpbook (Rank Tracking)
- Scrapebox (The swiss army knife of SEO!)
4: Infographics work really, really well
Picking the right SEO systems is just as important as picking the right team
Infographics are a great tool for a search engine optimisation campaign. Bloggers and audiences love them as they can condense a powerful message into a format that is easy to digest.
Even if you are not a pro designer, tools such as Canva.com make the process easy for anyone.
Your data points are the most crucial aspect of an infographic, they must be filled with relevant data and interesting information that tells a story.
5: Develop a mobile first mentality
The web, and Google, has historically been used on a desktop. The number one method for search is now mobile. This goes further than just making sure that your site has a responsive design that performs well on phones and tablets.
Pay close attention to your analytics data on how users engage with your mobile site. Is the design intuitive? Are you funneling your visitors to the correct information? Are there barriers that are preventing the customer journey?
6: Collect an email list
This isn’t SEO, but email is one of the highest converting channels in marketing, so collect emails at every opportunity. Make it worth it, exchanging something for an email address works well.
Try giving away an eBook or a resource in exchange. Remember, people only give away their email if they trust you and they are getting something in return!
We hope you can take Adam’s advice and use it to help maximise your marketing potential over the coming months. If you would like to find out more about SEO and the services Adam offers, please visit his website.
Please do ensure you subscribe to this blog to keep updated about our events and activities! You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.
No comments yet, fill out a comment to be the first
Leave a Reply