SEO Best Practices for Sustained Business Growth
It’s 2024, and it’s a jungle out there, folks. So please put on your safari attire and strap on the elephant rifle because it’s about to get real….
That is, it’s competitive. Your competition is relentless, consumers are more picky, and the costs of marketing your business are going through the roof.
So, where does search engine optimization fall into this battle scene? Is there even a place to optimize your blog in 2024? To that, we answer a wholehearted YES. Indeed, we’re a bit biased when it comes to SEO, but the numbers don’t lie:
- 80%+ of consumers still run to Google as the first step in researching a new purchase
- Online reputation and reviews drive trust factors and conversions
- Ads are delivering diminishing returns as consumers are becoming “ad-blind” and are unwilling to be “sold” to
- 70-80%+ of web users AVOID paid ads altogether, clicking ONLY on organic listings
- Over 55% of purchase transactions can be traced back to sites found through search engines
So, with those numbers in mind, optimizing your site should be priority # 1 in 2024… If it is not or hasn’t been up until now, you’re already falling behind in the pack.
With PPC costs rising out of control and display ads losing effectiveness, SEO can yield a respectable ROI and is still an excellent long-term play dollar for dollar.
While every dollar invested in paid ads yields a 1:1 ratio of “impressions” or views, optimizing your site can generate exponentially more clicks, views, and engagements over time (sometimes for years to come).
Additionally, because SEO’s primary focus is generating high-quality content, others often share your links and brand name organically (and sometimes virally) as people find your content useful or relevant to them and their social or work circles.
One press release submitted for SEO (i.e., backlinks) can go viral across news syndication to 100s of thousands of sites, reaching an audience of millions overnight. This is especially true if your syndication gets picked up by Google News.
Thus, your $125 press release may have yielded an ROI reaching the 1000s% range in the above example.
Can SEO be Effectively Executed on any Budget?
With paid media and ads, your dollar only goes so far. If you have a fixed budget of $500/mo, that $500 comes and goes with the clicks and impressions, never to be seen again.
With search engine optimization, you can allot as little as ZERO dollars (or rather some sweat equity) or as much as your budget will allow.
No matter your organization’s scenario, you can find creative ways to execute an ENTIRE SEO optimization strategy on a shoestring budget while yielding solid results.
The following are a few “low to no cost” suggestions:
- Offer to conduct and publish interviews of sellers of synergistic products and services on your blog. For example, if you run a fitness blog, you could contact personal trainers or supplement sellers and offer a written or audio interview to be published on your or other sites.
- Reach out to bloggers and offer a guest post swap. In this swap, they write an article for your blog, and you write one to be posted on theirs.
- Utilize some “free” press release syndication services online. Sure, you won’t get into Forbes or the Washington Post, but you’ll get good distribution regardless, and hey, it’s free.
- Reach out to social influencers or admins/moderators of social pages in your niche and ask if you can provide their readers with free content, a coupon, etc., in exchange for a backlink.
- Reach out to others in your niche but not directly competitive to you who have email lists and ask if they would be willing to email their audience on your behalf (i.e., offer something of value).
- Optimize your on-page SEO. This is free if you know how to do it yourself, or you can hire an SEO agency to help you with the process. Building backlinks without optimizing your site is like putting a turbo-charger on a Toyota Prius. It might sound fantastic, but it is not going anywhere fast.
- Hire an SEO firm to help you develop and execute a proper link-building strategy. Just make sure you vet them well, as there are, unfortunately, many scam artists in the industry…and even in 2022, this hasn’t changed.
The above are only a few ways to quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively launch an optimization campaign that will give your site the visibility it deserves in no time.
SEO Isn’t the Icing on the Cake…It’s a Critical Ingredient for your site
By now, you get that SEO is an essential asset in your marketing channel, but it is much more than that.
Search engine optimization is how you help Google and other search engines appropriately classify, organize, display, and understand your blog and site.
Optimization techniques can help showcase your business on search engines and present it in the best possible light (e.g., meta tags/descriptions = sales headlines for your business).
One of the biggest mistakes we see often is that a business develops a fantastic website with all the bells and whistles but fails to consider optimization along the way.
They end up with a shiny (albeit great-looking) website that is at a severe disadvantage when it comes to gaining visibility in the search engines. Optimization in 2024 needs to be woven into the fabric of your site and should be a key…no, critical…consideration from stage one of site development through to deployment.
If you’re sitting there thinking, “Well, I guess I’m screwed,” hang tight. A good SEO firm can help remediate SOME of the issues with your site in retrospect (and some they can’t). But it will take significantly more effort, time…and, of course, money.
But my CMS is SEO Friendly Already
This is a common misconception in 2024. For example, WordPress used to get ALL the Google love due to its integrated blog system, which enabled even the most technically inept to post fresh content to feed Google easily.
However, as the song says, “…the times they are a-changing.” Many CMSs in 2022 do more harm than good, and WordPress is one of the worst culprits.
Bloated code, slow plugins, and security issues plague WordPress and other CMS platforms, leading to slower load times (a major SEO signal in 2024), poor user experiences equating to fewer page views, higher bounce rates, and more—all of which are negative ranking signals in Google’s massive algorithm. Salterra has mastered the speed and security of WordPress websites, and it is still the most affordable web design option out there.
Why Trust Salterra Digital Services
Salterra Digital Services is a leading digital marketing agency specializing in a full suite of services designed to elevate your brand and grow your business. With a laser focus on delivering exceptional results, Salterra has cultivated a reputation for excellence in the field.
Meet the Founders: Terry and Elisabeth Samuels
Terry and Elisabeth Samuels, the founders of Salterra, have over two decades of combined experience in the digital marketing landscape. Their passion for helping businesses succeed fuels the constant innovation and top-notch service that Salterra is known for.
Terry Samuels leads Salterra’s Digital Marketing Division with sons Skyler and Brandon Samuels and a carefully curated staff of SEO Specialists. Elisabeth Samuels leads the Salterra Design and Development Division with her daughter Moraelin Bundy and her staff of project managers, designers, and full-stack developers.
Salterra’s Core Services:
- Search Engine Optimization: Mastering the art of search engine visibility to put your brand in the spotlight.
- PPC Advertising: Strategically leveraging paid advertising for optimal reach and ROI.
- Email Marketing: Crafting compelling email campaigns that foster engagement and drive conversions.
- Brand Building: Cultivating your brand’s voice, look, and feel for a cohesive and memorable presence.
- Content Strategy: Creating and distributing relevant content to attract a clearly defined audience.
- Social Media Branding: Engaging your community through tailored social media strategies.
- Web Design & Development: Crafting a strong UX/UI website that converts visitors into customers.
- Reputation Management: Safeguarding your brand’s reputation through active monitoring and positive engagement.
- SEO University: Teaching Agencies, Free Lancers, and Small Businesses Foundational Search Engine Optimization
- SEO Spring Training Conference: Salterra is the host of an annual training conference and multiple masterminds around the world.
Location:
Worldwide Reach from Tempe, AZ: Though based in the vibrant city of Tempe, Arizona, Salterra serves a global clientele, extending its world-class services to businesses worldwide.
Connect With Us:
Phone: 602-641-9797
Email: [email protected]
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