How to do SEO on your own (if you’re crazy enough to attempt it)

SEO is a unique form of internet marketing that comprises many different strategies in order to build a website’s online reputation. Each of the strategies must work in tandem so that Google can find the website and rank it higher on the search results pages.

Since SEO is both a science and an art that requires an intimate knowledge of a rapidly changing industry, most large corporations have entire teams and departments devoted to search engine optimization and many small businesses have contracted with SEO companies to optimize their online presence. However, some small business owners tackle their SEO on their own in an effort to bootstrap and save money.

DIY SEO can be a great way to cut back on your marketing budget if you do it right. However, you definitely want to have a clear understanding of the many different SEO strategies and which ones will work best for your industry and market before you start. SEO isn’t a couple activities that you do once and check off the list. Effective SEO strategies must be done constantly, consistently, and frequently in order to have long-term effects.

For example, you can optimize your website on your own, especially if you are your own webmaster and have a working knowledge of web design. Plenty of tutorials exist that will teach you about title tags and meta descriptions, etc. And website optimization is one of the few strategies that you can do once and call it good (barring any significant product and location changes in your company).

As another example, you can create your own Google places listings (as well as Bing, Yelp, Foursquare, etc.). The tricky part of business profile listings is consolidating multiple listings into one main listing. Often businesses have partial listings from past years that someone incorrectly set up. Removing those listings and telling Google which actual listing you want is quite a process and should not be taken lightly.

Most other strategies are ineffective if done once or twice. For example, you can find various online directories (kind of like telephone books for the internet) to submit your company info. However, you need to consistently find different directories month in and month out in order to stay current. Many other keyword building techniques also need to be done consistently, spread out throughout the month. Skip a month or otherwise disrupt your consistency and you ruin the efforts you put forth previously.

Above all, SEO necessitates a solid content marketing strategy. You need a consistent corporate blog, you need to share content with other websites and industry leaders, and you need to be active on social media in a meaningful way. Good content marketing requires more than just “someone who can write” and a Facebook page. Good content marketing requires a long-term plan and an innovative writer who perceives industry needs, creates ideas that draw readers to your website, and engages with customers in likeable ways.

In short, in order to do your own SEO, you must have a clear understanding of the SEO industry and its constant changes, a large network and a very skilled and creative writer (or three), and enough spare time to dedicate to consistently fulfilling each SEO strategy. Effective SEO is much more than optimizing your website and creating a business listing on Google places.

The main advantages that SEO firms have over doing SEO yourself are the resources and knowledge to enact each SEO strategy quickly and efficiently, and the time and resources to keep up with the constantly-changing search engine algorithms. Don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions about SEO and how Boostability can meet your SEO needs.