As a CEO or entrepreneur, you know that it takes more than a great product or service to build a successful business. You also need to make sure your target market can easily find you online. That’s where search engine optimization (SEO) comes in.
SEO is the process of optimizing your website for Google’s search algorithm so that your site appears as high up as possible on the list of search results. This is important because research shows that people are more likely to click on a result that appears on the first page of Google, and they are even less likely to click on a result that appears on the second page or beyond.
In other words, if you want people to find your boutique brand online, you need to make sure you’re doing everything you can to optimize your site for Google. Fortunately, we’ve got 5 tips to help you do just that.
Do Your Research
The first step to any good SEO strategy is research. You need to find out what keywords your target market is searching for so that you can include those keywords in your website’s content. There are a number of different tools you can use to do this, including Google AdWords Keyword Planner and Moz Keyword Explorer.
Make Sure Your Site Is Mobile-Friendly
These days, more people are using their smartphones and tablets to access the internet than ever before. In fact, according to StatCounter, mobile devices accounted for 51.3% of global internet traffic in 2018. What does this mean for your business? It means that if your website isn’t optimized for mobile, you’re going to lose out on a lot of potential customers.
To make sure your site is mobile-friendly, start by running it through Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool. This will give you an idea of how Google sees your site and whether there are any improvements you need to make.
Use Relevant Keywords Strategically
Once you’ve done your research and created content that’s optimized for mobile, it’s time to start thinking about where to place your keywords. A good rule of thumb is to use them in the following places:
The title tag
This is the main heading that appears at the top of each web page.
The meta description
This is the short description that appears under each web page title in the search results list.
The URL
Use keywords in your web page URLs whenever possible. For example, if you’re optimizing a page about women’s jeans, try to use a URL like www.exampleboutiquebrand/womensjeans instead of www.exampleboutiquebrand/products/1234.
The H1 tag
This is the largest heading on each web page and should be used sparingly (i.e., only once per page). Like the title tag and meta description, it should contain relevant keywords for each page.
Throughout the body text
In addition to using keywords in the places listed above, be sure to sprinkle them throughout the body text of each web page as well (but don’t go overboard!). A good rule of thumb is to keep them limited to 2%-5% of the total text on each page.
Optimize Your Images
Whenever you upload a new image to your website, be sure to save it with a descriptive file name and fill out the alternate text field with a brief (1-2 sentence) description of what’s in the image using relevant keywords—Google can’t read images, but it can read the alternate text! For example, if you have an image of a pair of women’s jeans on a model, try something like “woman wearing blue denim jeans with front pocket detail” for the file name and alternate text fields
Last but not least, don’t forget about Local SEO!
If you have brick-and-mortar stores (or even if you just offer local delivery), be sure to set up a free Google My Business listing for each location and fill out as much information as possible (including all relevant keyword fields). Doing so will help ensure that your boutique brand shows up when people search for relevant terms like “women’s clothing store” + “city name.”
Conclusion
By following these five tips, you can help make sure your boutique brand’s website appears as high up as possible on Google’s search results list—and that means more potential customers will be able to see what you have to offer!