It’s essential for startups to grow quickly during those first few years of business. Attracting new customers and building your brand are critical to your success as a new company.
However, startups are also faced with challenges that more established businesses don’t have to deal with. If you’re bootstrapping your business, you might not have the budget for paid advertising. And it’s unlikely you’ll be able to build a large team to help you with marketing right away either.
For these reasons, SEO is an important tool for startups. It levels the playing field a bit, allowing you to compete with larger businesses even if you don’t have the same resources.
What Is SEO?
If you’re not familiar with SEO, it stands for ‘search engine optimisation’. Basically, it’s the process of optimising your website to rank higher in Google search results.
The great thing about SEO is that it’s accessible to everyone — even if you’re operating on a shoestring budget. Once you’ve learned the principles of SEO, you can start attracting traffic to your website without spending money on advertising.
There are many aspects to SEO, but in this post, we’ll focus on three essential tips that every startup should know.
Tip 1: Build Your Website Properly
Good SEO starts from the foundations — your website. If you want your website to rank well on Google, you need to make sure it’s built properly.
A well-structured website that’s built with SEO in mind can go a long way in helping you rank higher in search results.
On the other hand, a slow website with confusing navigation that doesn’t work well for mobile users is going to seriously hamper your SEO efforts before you even start.
It can be tempting to DIY your website when your business is just getting started and you’re on a tight budget. But unless you really know what you’re doing, this often proves to be a false economy.
Tip 2: Do Your Keyword Research
Keyword research is the process of finding the right words and phrases to include in your website content. This helps Google to understand more about what your site and products are about and ultimately match your site with relevant searches.
To do keyword research, start by brainstorming a list of terms that are relevant to your business. Try to think about what your potential customers might be searching for when they’re looking for a business like yours. Then, use a tool like Google’s Keyword Planner to get more ideas and see how many people are searching for these terms.
Once you’ve identified some potential keywords, it’s time to start incorporating them into your website. But beware — stuffing your content with too many keywords is a surefire way to hurt your SEO.
Use keywords sparingly and make sure they’re always used in a natural, relevant way.
Tip 3: Publish Content Regularly
One of the best things you can do for your SEO is to publish regular content on your website. This could be in the form of a blog, an industry news section, or even just helpful articles and resources.
Creating new content has a few benefits when it comes to SEO. First, it shows Google that your website is active and up to date. Second, it gives you an opportunity to use those keywords we talked about earlier.
And third, it helps to build up your brand and authority in your industry. The more content you publish, the more people will see you as an expert in your field — which can only be a good thing for your business.
Your Startup SEO Strategy
SEO can be overwhelming for anyone, especially when you’re trying to build a new business.
For this reason, many startups seek the help of a professional SEO company to create their digital marketing strategy and ensure their success online.
If you’re looking for an SEO agency in Sydney, give the team at Agent6 a call. We’ve helped dozens of new startups just like yours to get the most out of their website and attract new customers with SEO.
To find out more about our SEO services and how we can help you, check out our case studies and get in touch for a no-obligation consultation.