If you own a business you have a website- you have to in this day and age. Your website probably has a homepage with a toolbar at the top that has buttons for About Me, Get a Quote and Services. You even have some professional photos of you and your employees looking your best. Your website wasn’t something you took lightly.

Now that your website is launched, you are good to go, right? Anytime someone does a Google search for your service+ city you should come up first, correct?

Wrong.

There are a number of things you need to optimize on a consistent basis to make sure your website is truly an asset that brings you business and increases your bottom line. Below I have included some ways that will help you rank higher and increase traffic to your website.

If you are on a tight budget, you may not be able to afford the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) services to optimize your website to its fullest potential. Until you can, use these four basic DIY SEO methods to start gaining traction on Google.

What You Should Focus on for DIY SEO

Meta Titles

Meta Titles are one of the most powerful tools to increase your website’s rankings. In layman’s terms a meta title gives searchers and most importantly, search engines (like Google) a short title of the content on a particular page. For this reason alone, choosing the right meta titles is paramount for attracting traffic to your site.

So, what goes into crafting a good meta title? Something called keywords. Keywords are words or phrases that appear frequently on the page and are relevant to the subject.

As an example, if you’re webpage has an article about losing weight, keywords you might consider for your meta title would include fitness, diet, healthy, exercise and cardio. These words are all associated with weight loss and let both the reader and search engine know what the page is about. An SEO expert can use keyword research tools to discover traffic and difficulty so your website reaches the right customers for your business.

If you are a local business, add your city and state. For example, Nutritionists Bend, Oregon.

Your meta title should also not be more than 70 characters. Stick to the keywords that mean the most without the tagline or phone number.

Meta Descriptions

Much like meta titles, meta descriptions are used to help someone doing an internet search click on your link. Found under the title on a search page, meta descriptions look like code and provide a description of a sentence or two about what the website is about.

Even though Google doesn’t use a ranking algorithm for meta descriptions, they do help increase your click through rate which helps the search engine determine if your site is a quality result.

So, what makes a good meta description?

The first characteristic is length. You want your meta description to contain enough information so that the web searcher knows what your website is about, but you don’t want to make it so long that it takes forever to read. While there is no hard and fast rule when it comes to length, most meta descriptions are between 90 and 150 characters.

Because your meta description is an invitation to visit your page, it should be clear and actionable. The use of simple words that get to the core of what your website is about is key.

Lastly, all effective meta descriptions have a call-to-action. If you’re selling a product, tell the reader a little about it and to find out more. Consumers want information quickly so they’ll be much more enticed if you encourage them to take advantage of a free sample, 30-day trial, free shipping, etc.

If you have trouble coming up with good meta titles or meta descriptions, hiring a qualified copy writer can do wonders for increasing your traffic and therefore your bottom line.

Contact Page

Another critical component of high-ranking SEO sites has to do with your contact page. Something that often gets overlooked is the correct spelling of your business name, address and phone number. It’s also a good idea to include a Google map of where your business is located as well as a Google street view.

The contact pages for the majority of websites are little more than an afterthought. They usually only contain some basic text like the business name, phone number and address. There might be a few fields you can fill out with your information if you wish to inquire more but not much else.

In order to make your contact page more appealing, consider adding some graphics that complement your business whether they are of the office or the products the you offer. Your contact page is also a great spot for testimonials. After all, if someone has clicked all the way through to this page, they are considering getting in touch. Why wouldn’t you want to have some positive reviews posted to push them over the edge?

Google My Business

Google My Business is a free tool that lets you manage how your business appears on the search engine. This is especially beneficial if you’re a local business. When people google things local plumbing companies for example, chances are good they need a product or service and are likely going to make a purchase. Why shouldn’t they use you?

Setting up Google Business Page is free, only involves a few steps and can do wonders for your business. First, create an account, claim and verify your business. Next, optimize your listing to your liking with appropriate information and images. Lastly, download the Google My Business app and you’re all set!

After you launch your Google Business Page, ask clients to leave you a review. I do this by emailing a link to the Review form. Businesses that have more reviews will rank higher on the Google Business listings.

Even if you have a business that offers the best products, services and prices around, you’re going to struggle unless your website is SEO optimized. The number of consumers that shop at brick and mortar establishments is becoming less and less. Instead, they are turning to the Internet for virtually all their consuming needs. For this reason alone, having the know-how to optimize your website is critical if you want to be successful. If you take the time to monitor and improve the items above, you’ll quickly find that your ranking will increase and your bottom line will grow as a result.

If you decide to work with an SEO expert, contact me, Gillian Rowley, at Get Global Marketing. I will take you beyond DIY methods to increase your rankings on Google with clients that will build your business. Contact us in Bend, Oregon today!