SEO Best Practices to Increase Website Traffic

Just when you think you’ve figured out how Google and search engine optimization (SEO) work, Google goes and makes some changes. The challenge for the small business owner is…

• keeping up with the changes
• adjusting your marketing efforts monthly
• understanding what your potential customer is going to search for
• come up on top of Google’s Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs)
• enticing the searcher to click on your link
• driving more traffic to your website
• keeping the potential customer there until they convert into a lead or a sale

“Human search behaviors have changed, and so have the technologies used to interpret and serve up search results.” — Hubspot

How Google’s AI Overviews Will Hurt Organic Search

Love it or hate it, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is here to stay! Using AI, Google will now promote “AI Overviews” above paid ads and organic (not-paid) content in their SERPs.

What This Means for Your Organic SEO Efforts…

1. Your organic content will be pushed down and not visible “above the fold” or before the search needs to start scrolling.
2. The AI will attempt to answer the searcher’s question or query at the top. Thus, they may not need to go into the organic content unless they want to go deeper.
3. Therefore, to get noticed, you need to consistently create helpful, quality content that…
   • Answers questions
   • Solves problems
   • Alleviates your target market’s pain points

Here’s an example of what a SERP may look like for the search for “best treatment for acne scars”. (I chose that topic in honor of one of my clients, Bella Medical Spa.) The AI Overview shows at the top with dropdowns. However, note what comes up in the results — articles from spas and clinics! Unfortunately, they are not locations near me. When I added “near me” in the search, I did not get the AI Overview, but sponsored ads, then the map with the 3 closest locations. Then I got the “People also ask…” list. Below that was the top organic content listing. Funny, but the first organic listing was in Atlanta, GA, and I’m in Phoenix, AZ!

What You Need To Do…

1. Do your keyword research! What is YOUR target audience putting into the search box to find you?
2. Plan your content!
3. Blog at least 3 times a week to start to catch Google’s attention.
4. Update any of your existing content to answer questions in detail. My trick is to put the blog article back in draft mode, edit it, then republish it. Don’t change the URL (permalink). It will publish as a new post and Google will think it’s fresh content.
5. Organize your content using Pillar Pages…

What is a Pillar Page and How does it help SEO?

Pillar Page — it’s been a buzzword in the website creation and SEO world for a while. But what is a pillar page? And why do you need one?

“A pillar page is the basis on which a topic cluster is built. A pillar page covers all aspects of the topic on a single page, with room for more in-depth reporting in more detailed cluster blog posts that hyperlink back to the pillar page.” – Hubspot

So what does this mean for your blog, website content, and SEO?

First, go through your topics (categories) and select those that you want to rank for — the ones you feel describe the gist of your content. Pick a few — not too specific and not too broad. If your website is not new, here’s a free tool called Ubersuggest that will help you see what you already rank for. Another free tool to determine what topics people are searching for is the Google Keyword Tool. (Related: How to use the Google Keyword Tool & 7 Other Keyword Tools)

For example, you would think my main topic would be social media marketing — which is too broad for a pillar page. Yet “Instagram Hashtags” is too narrow. “Instagram Marketing” would be the broad topic, and then there would be links to “cluster pages” on specific aspects of Instagram marketing that go into more detail.

This video from Hubspot helps explain topic clusters…

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Plan out your pillar pages for maximum SEO

Most of us are visual organizers. I like putting ideas on a whiteboard or a flow chart.

1. Start with your broad topic. For instance, I created a Digital Marketing Glossary. From there, all the terms are linked to respective articles. So, it actually becomes an index.
2. List all the sub-topics related to that broad topic.
3. List more detailed sub-articles below each one of those.

For example, the term “LinkedIn” is linked to the main, “LinkedIn” article. In that blog post, there are links to more specific articles like, “How to Use Hashtags” and “LinkedIn Dos and Don’ts“.

Yes, this was a time-consuming project, but it was worth it. My glossary ranks for various related terms regarding digital marketing. It’s important to note that the Google search engine only sees text and links. It follows those links. That’s why you want to add both internal links — to other relevant articles within your website — and external links — to outside relevant websites (like I did with the Hubspot video above). However, when you add the external links, always have them open in a new page or tab so the visitor doesn’t lose the original website. This keeps people on your website longer. The more time visitors spend on your website, the better the chances they’ll convert.

But how do you get the people to convert and generate leads?

Here are some more articles on Lead Generation and Conversions:

• A Website that Works for You 24/7
• Lead Generation
• Calls-to-Actions that Convert

Keep in mind that as AI “improves” it will constantly change. I keep up with all this stuff so you don’t have to!

Please subscribe to my weekly Newsletter to get the latest digital marketing tips. Also, follow me on social media where I post content from various expert sources daily.

All this may look daunting, however, it’s necessary if you want your website to be effective. Remember, it sells for you 24/7! The good news is that I can help you!

Click here to schedule a free 15-minute phone consult and
review of your current marketing efforts.

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