You may have heard the term SEO or Search Engine Optimization. At its core, SEO is about optimizing your website to be discovered through a search online. Stripping away the tech jargon, let’s walk through the steps of SEO.

Everybody uses the internet to find and buy things.

Companies that want you to find them online have two main choices:

• They can pay for their site to show up in search results, OR
• They can develop ways to show up in search results organically or through non-paid means. If you don’t have the money to run paid ads, you have to rely on organic search.
• BOTH are needed, (but we’re going to focus on the organic method first).
• Your business is probably not the only one of its kind. Even if it were, it wouldn’t mean that people could easily find it online. It takes the right type of content in order to make this happen.
• Your business is probably not the only one of its kind. Even if it were, it wouldn’t mean that people could easily find it online.
  Showing up in local listings and having online reviews also adds credibility, improves search ranking, and builds your business’ reputation.

There are (naturally) lots of articles, tips, and tricks out there that discuss SEO. We won’t go into all of the details here. But it’s important to know that quality content is one of the best tools for being discovered online.

Hitting the Inbox (Email Marketing)

Every business owner needs to obtain emails from potential customers. But there are good (and not-so-good) methods for doing this.

• For example, it can be annoying to see a pop-up message when first landing on a website. Plus, it’s important not to send emails too frequently.
• The process begins with building a list of email addresses; there are multiple ways to do this, some more effective than others.
• Since many websites capture email addresses from visitors, people’s inboxes end up inundated with emails.
• Most emails don’t get opened. However, if you’re doing well, expect an open rate between 15-20% — that’s great!

It’s fairly simple to automate email messaging so that it doesn’t take up too much of your time. And many tools for email marketing start out at low-cost or free! Having quality content for your audience is crucial.

Brand Loyalty (Social Media)

Social Media is now an integral part of everyday culture. In only a few decades, it has also segmented into multiple platforms. The main reason social media is such a powerful tool is because of this specialized segmentation. Marketers can be very specific in the type of customers they wish to target.

• Facebook remains the largest social media platform worldwide. But there are newer platforms on the rise, like Instagram, Twitter, and more.
  Different platforms have different benefits depending on your business–you can focus on the platforms that best suit your needs.
• The advantages of social media also present the biggest challenges on the flipside. Followers are accustomed to a constant flow of content every single day. Businesses have to work into that flow to grab the attention of users.
• It makes more sense to focus on a few platforms rather than spreading across too many platforms at once. Good planning combined with automation makes this process much easier.

Having quality content for your audience is crucial.

Spreading the message further (Paid Ads)

If you’ve followed the other steps accordingly, then stepping into paid advertising shouldn’t be intimidating. When you rush to paid advertising without a plan, the return on investment won’t be there. Further, it takes time to see the investment ultimately pay off. This is why paying for ads can be a significant obstacle for many solopreneurs.

• It often takes months to begin seeing results from paid ads online. Determining your budget for 3-6 months is a good idea.
• People’s search habits are constantly evolving, which means that a paid ad strategy needs to adapt to these changes.
• Making sense of the data is also important, and if you’re not familiar with running paid ads, you won’t always understand how to tweak your messaging accordingly.

Quality Content Comes From You!

You may have noticed that one key element gets repeated throughout, and that’s having quality content. The only way to have truly unique content is speak with your authentic voice. But it should be more than just promoting yourself. Your audience should feel as though you genuinely care about meeting their needs.

One way to think about your approach is through focusing on three aspects of communication:

• Be informative — offer your knowledge and experience
• Be instructive — educate and teach people what they need to know
• Be inspiring — tell your story by being vulnerable and open

Another way to think about this is to educate, inform and help– this is a great way to capture the attention of first time visitors to your site.