Finding the motivation to start a blog was the easy part. Now you’ve gotta make it work and start generating new leads through your content.

But how is it done? You’ve probably been reading a lot of stuff about SEO with the incredible result of being more confused than ever. 

And it’s a sensation I shared, too, the first time I approached the world of copywriting.

While incredibly helpful, SEO is also one of the most challenging concepts to grasp when writing content. 

And believe us, the risk of getting it wrong, basically nullifying all your hard work in writing and planning, is extremely HIGH.

That’s where an SEO consultant might come in handy and save the day! But first, let’s take a look at all the basics things you need to know about SEO…

SEO: What The F* Is That? All You’ve Always Wanted To Ask…

The first time I had to write something from scratch for a website, I was flabbergasted with the news that my perfectly crafted article was, in fact, a pile of fuming sh*t. 

Why? I asked, trying not to cry in front of my editor. Well, for starters, the format was wrong. That wasn’t good for rankings and user experience. Then, in the attempt to showcase all the magnificent words I’d learnt during my years studying, I’d inadvertently omitted keywords and instead used a lot of overly complex, flowery language.

What’s worse? I had tried editing the SEO section on WordPress, thinking of it as “just hashtags for Google”.

And boy, if that wasn’t a wake-up call: I knew how to write, but I didn’t know anything about content marketing. Luckily, I had the chance to study and learn my way through this!

So, believe me: nobody is more shell-shocked than I am with SEO. 

That’s why I’ve decided to write a short, easy and fun introduction to this tool that every blog should start profiting from.

The Basics:

The acronym SEO encapsulates the terms “Search Engine Optimisation”. As you might have grasped, it’s a way through which search engines “rank” your website, thus redirecting organic traffic there.

We probably all know what search engines are -Google, for example- and what they can do for us -saving our lives countless times. And yet, not unsurprisingly, using search engines regularly and knowing how they work are two different things. 

For instance, I used to think of search engines as confused, bottomless containers of information that just collected websites. That’s it. How did I think it worked? I didn’t. I just assumed that the results were random. And sure, search engines – notably Google – evolved tremendously in the last couple of years, but nothing was ever left to chance! 

You can’t explain SEO if you don’t know what happens behind the scenes of search engines and what’s the trick to make them work in your favour. 

There’s a specific process through which a website pops up on the first page of results and others don’t, and for me, it’s nothing short of magic: it all happens thanks to algorithms. 

Now, Google is known to be using 200 algorithms to select appropriate content based on your research, and you might start seeing how this can turn into an uneasy fit. I mean, before it’s even considered to be vaguely relevant, your website has to go through some kind of Squid Game!

How do you get to have the algorithms on your side? It’s hard work that often requires a team effort. Mainly because, of course, Google never fully discloses how its algorithms work!

It’s generally acknowledged that rankings depend on several key factors such as relevancy, authority, usefulness and user experience.

These are the things that can either turn your website into a success or not.

How Does That Work, In Practice?

You have a pet food business, and as a part of your marketing strategy, you started writing weekly blogs about anything related to your field. You use the right keywords with the proper techniques, follow the SEO handbook (by which I, of course, mean Hazel, our resident SEO guru), and upload it.

It’s well done. So well done that, when someone googles something related to pet food, your website pops up on the first page. 

Having a high Google ranking makes the difference between your website going wholly unnoticed and it having lots of healthy organic traffic.

To be appropriately ranked, you must consider all of the things we’ve just mentioned without impacting the overall quality of your content.

Meaning that bombarding your readers with repeated links and keywords will negatively affect the user experience, thus lowering your ranking.

It’s a process that takes patience, experience, and many mistakes to learn. And maybe you really don’t have the time to do that on your own. 

Sounds Difficult: DO I REALLY NEED THIS?

Yes, mate. You do. Sorry to break it to you this way. 

Remember when I compared search engines to bottomless pits of information? Well, I wasn’t wrong on that part. 

As it turns out, every time something goes live on your website, it ends in that slimy pit where nobody may ever find it.

And that’s what algorithms are there for: when someone searches for something, they quickly run a scan through all the content that seems relevant for that research (likely, something that mentions a particular keyword) and deliver you with the relevant results.

Try it for yourself: search for something that you need. Almost instantly, the page will reload into a new one showing the results (and Google will also go as far as telling you all the content that’s related to your search). You’ll usually find advertisements on the top, and after those, your organic results will show up.

You must optimise your website because that’s the quickest way for a potential customer to know that you even exist. SEO has proven to be the most effective tool for boosting your brand visibility, traffic, and conversion rates.

And it’s also the cheapest way to do so! We know it doesn’t seem like it when you look at the cost of an SEO retainer. But when you consider that SEO never dies, and the work you put in only compounds over time, it’s far more cost-effective than throwing money away on PPC campaigns that will only last as long as you keep throwing money at them.

Yeah, Not Interested: What Would Happen If I don’t?

If someone doesn’t know you exist, they’ll keep going this way, buying from your competitors who worked hard to strategise their SEO. With the vast majority of sales happening after a quick search on Google, you will lose most of your chances to attract a new audience. 

Your website will appear on the second or third page, and nobody will trust you enough to buy from you.

If you happen to have an existing customer base, they might still decide to buy from you, although chances are that you won’t profit from them as you would from new, fresh clients.

You simply can’t keep squeezing the same clients all over again.

So, at some point, they’ll leave. And that will be entirely your loss.

When in doubt and thinking about digital strategies seems to confound you, try and tackle the issue from another perspective.

You would never decide to open a shop in a location nobody can reach, right? But, if with an actual shop, there’s only this much you can do to improve the road network to receive more customers, with a virtual one, you can literally have new clients delivered to your doorstep in the matter of just one click.

And that is exciting. And it’s also why you should start thinking about strategising your SEO in a consistent, professional and reliable way. 

The best way to do it? Well…

Meet Your New Friend: A SEO Consultant!

What if we told you that all the problematic things we mentioned can be achieved with the help of a specific professional figure who devoted their time to perfecting the art of SEO.

What is it that an SEO Consultant does?

#1 Help Develop (And Run!) Marketing Campaigns

One of the most fantastic perks of having an SEO Consultant is that they can monitor every tendency in your target audience, thus being of significant help in developing and running successful marketing campaigns.

Not only will an SEO Consultant be able to tell you how to optimise your content, but they will also provide you with helpful insights as to where you should share it.

#2 Manage Pay Per Click Campaigns

So far, we’ve mainly focused on organic traffic, as it is the most important one for your business. 

But a good strategy involves using a pay per click campaign. 

With PPC Campaigns, you will increase your revenue by placing strategic ads. 

An SEO Consultant will be in charge of that for you!

#3 Use Monitoring Tools 

Is your campaign working? You should be able to answer that question instantly. But, instead, you’re wondering if you’ve used the best possible keywords and if your customers are actually happy.

A successful campaign needs to be monitored closely by someone who knows how to intervene when it’s needed. 

#4 Stay Updated On Algorithms

With the success of your campaign in the hands of Google’s algorithms, staying updated on them is truly a necessity.

An SEO consultant will make sure that you follow the new regulations to achieve higher ranking levels.

#5 Link Building 

A relevant part of SEO is strategising how you use links on your website. An SEO Consultant will be in charge of studying what needs to be linked and how you can profit from that.

#6 Improve User Experience

Are your users happy? Is your website user friendly according to Google’s algorithms? Monitoring your user experience will be a significant part of your consultant’s job, along with collaborating with your web developers to improve whatever needs to be updated.

Are You Telling Me That A SEO Consultant Will Spare Me the Headache?

Yes, that’s literally their job. While they do the hard work, you can simply relax and focus on what you know how to do best.

Or you can simply relax; we won’t judge you if you do ;) 

By hiring an SEO Consultant, you won’t need to spend days on hand trying to figure out how to make your optimisation work and obsess over your ranking.

So… Do it!

I Need One: How Do I Hire One?

We appreciate your enthusiasm. That’s why we have a couple of suggestions on getting started and hiring the perfect consultant!

#1 What Are Your Goals?

Before hiring any professional, the first thing to keep in mind is your goal. Knowing what you’re trying to achieve will help you select the best option when considering packages, services, and proposals. 

What is it that you want to get through the right SEO strategy? We’re going to take a guess and say:

Higher rankings.

An ongoing backlinking strategy to consistently boost your domain authority.

Or do you need some more comprehensive help?

As we saw earlier, SEO is a holistic approach that tackles multiple aspects of ones’ website, and you might already know in which areas you need more help.

The best thing you could do would be to ask for a free audit and then set realistic goals with a professional that can tell you what needs to be done first!

#2 What Is Your Budget?

This is a fundamental aspect to take into account. 

Hiring a professional can be expensive, we know. But it’s a sum worth investing because all the money you’ll invest in SEO will come back to you one way or another.

You can look for a professional whose prices match your budget but bear in mind that cheaper fares generally mean that the person you are trying to hire doesn’t have much experience and might not be able to deliver the results you had hoped for.

A professional with higher expertise and high-level clients will rightfully charge more expensive fees with more guarantees of success.

However, there are several affordable packages that you can start from and optimise your strategy right away.

#3 Find The Right Person…

Hiring someone often comes with loads of stress and expectations. That’s why to find your SEO Consultant, you should start looking for an agency that can provide you with a better and more comprehensive type of support.

While you might think about browsing for freelancers on various platforms, keep in mind that unless you already have some names in mind, you will have to go through an extenuating process of scrolling through profiles trying to find “the right guy”.

You want your business to have a stable and predictable strategy, and while freelancers certainly are fabulous, they might not be interested in a long term commitment to your company. 

#4 Look At Their Portfolio!

When looking for someone in marketing, always request to see their portfolio.

Ask for data case studies and see for yourself if they did an excellent job with their other clients. 

If they have proven themselves to be worthy of your trust, look no further and hire them!

#5 Dream Bigger: Ask For More…

Although SEO is essential, you need way more than just that to develop a killer marketing strategy.

If you want to go big, invest in hiring a marketing agency. It will provide you with all the right tools to cover every aspect of your business – from SEO to Social Media and Web Development – and ensure you get the desired result sooner.

Book Your Consultation (IT’S FREE!)

Look no further if you want to get over and done with all this SEO blabbering. Book your free audit today, and let’s start getting some traffic going!

Book Your FREE Consultation Now…