3 Simple Steps to More Traffic and Clients

If you want to reach more people online, maybe you’ve done a bit of research into SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). SEO is the process of making your site more visible on Google and other search engines.

The idea of being found by droves of potential clients for free is very alluring and SEO is indeed a fantastic way to get clients. But it’s a vast and technical subject and a source of much frustration for people. To be perfectly honest, you can get quickly overwhelmed by all the articles and advice online. It’s hard to know what advice is reliable and relevant to your needs!

In this article, I introduce a way of getting leads and clients online with SEO without getting too bogged down.

Don’t Google it! Not yet…

When you want to optimise your site for search engines, the best place to start is OFFLINE!! Whaaaat? Yep, my advice is to start your SEO project with the human beings you wish to serve rather than technical tools and fiddly strategies.

STEP 1: Start with humans

• Who are your potential leads and clients?
• What questions do they have?
• What words do they use to search for answers to their questions?

Ask 5 people who you could describe as your “ideal client” about how they talk about and research their problem.

I specify Starting with humans because you can easily slip down the rabbit hole of hacks, tips and strategies to “trick” Google into listing you top of the search results pages. When you start with the people you wish to serve, you’ll know the words they use when they Google their questions. Keep note of this information. You’ll need it later to create content that resonates with them.

Get the SEO Explainer Series

I’ve created a free, video series about SEO to help you understand the core concepts and most important tools to start working on your website’s SEO. 

It’s not all about knowing the latest algorithm

Unless you’re becoming an SEO expert, you’re not obliged to know all the criteria and requirements for being well ranked on Google. It’s more about understanding Google’s role than trying to trick the (very smart) Google bots.

STEP 2: Understand what Google is

Google wants to provide the best and most relevant links for the terms searched. Best and most relevant… what does that mean really?

Best?

Your site should be well structured, easy to navigate and fast-loading. If your site is “good” in Google’s eyes it meets these standards. It also gives your site visitor a good experience which means they’re more likely to stick around! Win-win!

Relevant?

If your site is up to date with fresh content it will be seen as relevant by Google. If your site gets a lot of traffic, social shares and links from other reputable sites Google will see it as a well-respected site and is more likely to rank it higher in the search results pages.

How closely do the words match up? Is the vocabulary on your site matching the terms that people search? (See Step 1). When your site’s content matches what people are searching, you’ll be ranked higher because your content is relevant. This is the starting point of understanding keywords and phrases. Learn more in my free training here.

Showing up on search results pages is half the battle

When your site, or specific page of your site is ranked high on the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) you’re doing great! The next challenge is to get people to click through to your site.

STEP 3: Get the click

The top results on SERPs are usually ads and well known websites. If your site is listed among them your task is to get people to choose your listing and not the others. This is called “Click Through”. Showing up in the results is not going to get you any clients, but getting a higher click through rate means that your site is getting traffic and traffic means more eyeballs on your offering.

Write a good title and description

You can define how each page of your site shows up on SERPs. It’s a little copywriting exercise that can be made easier if you really understand what your potential site visitor is looking for. 

The meta title is the bright blue text in the SERP’s listing. Use it to catch people’s attention.

The meta description is your opportunity to ‘tease’ the content of that page. Use this space to help the reader decide to click.

Add this to your website’s pages

If you’re site runs on WordPress you can use the Yoast plugin to take control of how your site’s pages and posts are listed.

If you’re using Squarespace, Wix or Weebly, each page and post has an SEO tab where you can tailor how your site appears.

Want to know more?

I've created a free, video series about SEO to help you understand the core concepts and most important tools to start working on your website's SEO.