If you know me in the business world, you know that I am passionate about SEO (search engine optimization). This interest in how I can get found online - and help others do the same - stems from the nerdy little girl who went to a special Governor's School for Math and Science in high school! However much I think that girl has changed and moved on to different things, the side of me interested in the technical still makes an appearance every once in awhile.
The truth is, a lot of small business owners and creative entrepreneurs do not prioritize SEO. I have heard even well-known creatives in the industry remark on how they leave that to smarter people or those with more technical skills. I am happy to say that through the years that my business has grown, I have been able to improve my SEO to the point where it is one of my top two referral sources - not just for web traffic, but for potential clients and brides as well!
If you have been putting off even the thought of SEO, I have five compelling reasons to not ignore this area any longer...
1) Your website is the face of your brand. And if the face of your brand is all over the internet, why wouldn't you want to get found? It may seem intimidating to even think that your website can rank highly on other search engines, but letting that fear keep you from even trying is the biggest mistake you can make.
2) Social media is constantly changing. I get it - I use Facebook and Instagram daily, and some of my inquiries have come from these and other social media sites. The problem is that they are constantly changing. If you are a small business owner, you probably know that there are big changes coming for Instagram soon. It's crucial to not rely too heavily on one source for most of your web traffic because when the changes come, your business may lose big.
3) Word-of-mouth referrals are valuable...but they don't always come. I often got frustrated at the elusive word-of-mouth referral when I first started my business. Although they come on a regular basis now, getting started in a brand new city is hard - and you can't yet rely on other people to spread the word about you. This was my initial motivation to improve my SEO. Three years into my business I have quit my day job to work at this full time...so yes, I did see some amazing results from my hard work!
4) SEO is not as hard as you think. Trust me on this one! I have studied, researched, tested, and learned so much about SEO in the past three years that I know it's more than possible to do it! It is a huge topic - and it is scary at first - but through resources such as Moz Blog, you can understand it with time.
5) You can always get help! Some people outsource their SEO - and that's great! I never have because as a start-up business, I chose to prioritize other areas. I currently offer SEO training to small business owners and creative entrepreneurs (email me for more details!), and I have seen other business grow and improve significantly because of it! In addition to that, I have an exciting announcement in just a couple weeks about another opportunity to fast-track your SEO and grow your business. Subscribe to the newsletter to hear all about it!
Don't wait until tomorrow - start thinking about what you can do to make your business grow by getting found online, and start working on SEO now!
