Brands need to be strategic with their SEO approach so that they can achieve impactful results fast.
Stridec Worldwide (“Stridec”), recently named by Clutch as a top SEO agency for the second year running, is committed to helping more businesses get found online in 2023 so that they can generate more traffic, customers and revenue, by recommending the top 3 SEO strategies that they should implement as part of their ongoing search optimization efforts.
Rising inflation, material, labour and logistic costs are hurting most businesses and the increasingly competitive markets - both domestic and overseas - are not helping either.
Against such a backdrop, businesses big and small are facing a double whammy of weak consumer sentiments and declining margins.
Therefore, it is crucial that businesses make the most out of every marketing dollar they spend, whether on paid advertising such as pay-per-click ads or organic searchability to capture more attention from consumers.
Businesses do not have the luxury of wasting unnecessary time and money on “spray and pray” methods that yield little to no returns in sales or customer acquisition.
While consumer brands have typically defaulted to social media as the go-to marketing channel, many are realizing that investing in getting their websites found on search engines, e.g. Google, yields a higher return on their marketing investment.
Unfortunately, search engine optimization as a digital marketing discipline has always been shrouded in myths, obscured by half-truths and misconceptions; and it is easy for consumer businesses to fall prey to fancy techniques or “hacks” suggested by marketing “gurus” and waste their time, effort and resources on methods that do not deliver results.
To help consumer brands stay focused on the key elements that drive the most significant impact on their search engine rankings, Stridec recommends the top 3 SEO strategies as follows:
1. Use simple language on the website
The primary purpose of a search engine such as Google is to return the most relevant results to a user’s query.
Many consumer brands however tend to overlook or forgo simple language in favour of marketing fluff: flowery and abstract-sounding copy that says a lot and yet nothing at the same time.
Such content does nothing to help get the website found on search engines and consumers these days have little patience to read through the excessive marketing literature if they can’t find the solution they’re looking for.
Because this is actually quite a prevalent phenomenon with a lot of consumer websites, brands that do make the effort to implement this adjustment to their content will see a noticeable bump to their search rankings fairly quickly.
This is an effective quick-win method that produces results fast and is a cornerstone of the overall SEO strategy that Stridec recommends to any business right at the start of their SEO journey.
Using this approach, Stridec was able to help a Singapore Italian restaurant get indexed by Google for a range of keywords related to Italian food or cuisine, as well as romantic dining, and start ranking just days after implementation.
2. Optimize the product category pages
For many ecommerce-enabled consumer businesses, being easily found on Google to drive more traffic to their websites can make a huge difference in their sales growth. Online buying is here to stay and will only grow bigger moving forward.
Creating and optimising product category pages to be highly tuned for searchability is a key success factor in this and has a direct impact on the potential sales that the business can achieve.
Key optimization areas to address include: the title and main heading of the product category page, having meaningful descriptions of the products presented on the page, as well as a question and answer section that addresses the typical concerns that a consumer would have when shopping for and buying products online.
It is recommended that the main keyword related to the product category should be included in the title and main heading text, and placed as close to the start as possible.
The keyword and its variations should be included throughout the rest of the text on the category page, in a natural manner. Otherwise, suspicion of keyword stuffing can arise, which will earn a frown from Google and result in a potential ranking decline of the website.
By implementing this, Stridec helped a florist in Coquitlam, Vancouver gain massive search exposure and traffic to its website, with notably increased sales raked up for its bridal bouquets, as well as funeral flowers and wreath arrangements.
3. Build backlinks to the website
Backlinks, which are links from other websites that point to one's own, have been and continue to be one of the most important factors for ranking well on Google.
Generally, the more links a website has pointing to it, the better the chances of ranking higher and above the competition for its target keywords.
However, not all backlinks are created equal, and some can even cause more harm than good.
The effectiveness of backlinks in pushing a website’s search rankings is influenced by a few factors, including whether the link comes from a website in a similar or relevant industry, an authoritative and well-regarded site, or a popular and well-trafficked one.
To achieve success with link-building, thorough research and preparation, as well as a clear and actionable acquisition plan, are essential. However, most consumer businesses do not possess the knowledge, skills and resources to do it on their own in a precise and sustainable manner.
It is recommended that consumer brands leave this aspect of search engine optimization to a specialized agency such as Stridec to handle it on their behalf.
Through Stridec’s help, a music school in Singapore was able to see its new website quickly rise through the search engine results and generate interest traffic for its piano lessons within months of launching it.
Play it smart, play it strategically
"There are many factors that influence how well a website performs in SEO, but not all factors create significant impact,” explained Mr. Alva Chew, lead SEO consultant at Stridec.
“It is important that consumer businesses understand this and play smart to focus their energies and resources only on those key factors that make an actual difference to their search visibility so that they can achieve their goals in the most effective and efficient manner possible”.
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About Stridec Worldwide
Stridec is a digital marketing agency that specialises in SEO and Ecommerce solutions with a mission to help brands Get Found Online.
Using its proprietary “Awesome in B.E.D.” framework, Stridec helps businesses acquire more traffic, customers and revenue to stay ahead of the competition and dominate their markets.
Stridec focuses on helping clients build long-term, strategic online assets that deliver sustainable Return on Investment (ROI) for years to come.
For more information on Stridec, visit https://www.stridec.com/.
