More Products, More SEO Power
Products for Boosting SEO
Selling products and services on the internet is always enticing. Many of my past clients thought of the prospect of a website like a golden goose. They thought the website goes up, and money comes in. Sounds great right? Unfortunately, unless you already have a substantial reach, getting your website live is only the beginning of the journey to making money online.
In this post, I’m going to talk about search engine optimization (SEO). SEO is one of many ways to get people to your site. SEO is the strategy or discipline of increasing search engine website traffic. If you are trying to increase your website visibility with SEO, this post is for you. First I am going to talk about posts because products and posts are very similar.
Blogs Are Important
Many people don’t believe blogs will help their business. I spend plenty of time creating blogs for businesses. At this point, I clock in more hours writing copy for online platforms than I do building websites. I have lots of reasons why many businesses should put effort into a content strategy. Here are some reasons why blogs and content, in general, are important.
- A consistently updated website adds to the visitors perspective of your credibility for your website itself
- Content, that relates to the subject area of your business, positions you as a thought leader and authority
- More content means more words for search engines to index. Search engines are not humans. Algorithms don’t have a human heart. They try to figure out what we want but being a robot comes with limitations. For better or worse, algorithms/robots will generally favor quantity because they are not as adept as humans at evaluating quality.
The quantity of your content is important. Always write good content, that people want to read. However, keep in mind that the content that you create needs to be created. Created content doesn’t need to be flawless and perfect. The most important aspect of a content strategy is that content is being generated. The process of gradually creating better content starts with creating content.
Don’t Forget About the Technical Aspects of SEO
Don’t get it twisted. Google has invested substantial effort in ensuring a quality experience for its users. Here are some qualities that Google looks for in a website.
- Site speed
- Mobile and desktop usability
- Accessibility for people with disabilities
- Spelling and grammar
- Information architecture
All of the above items are important. Every website I make checks off all these items, and I continue to check-in and make sure these items are in order. So what do the above items have in common? They are set up correctly once, then only minor updates are needed periodically in the future. A content strategy requires a gradual workload for the life of a business website.
I’ve Heard Fewer Choices, Means Higher Conversions
Yes, you can create a convoluted and superfluous architecture of information. This is certainly a danger for a business website that aims to sell a product. However, we are talking about converting search engine sourced website visitors into paying customers. Every purchase requires the buyer to have confidence that your product will solve their problem.
If you have positioned yourself as an authority on social or other media, it’s not as important for a website to build trust. The website would need to simply carry the visitor’s previously existing confidence into a different medium. If you are a social media influencer with a loyal following, I would estimate earlier sales across the board and a simpler website may be a valid strategy.
Conclusion, So Let’s Bring it Back to Products
Everything above applies to products and blogs equally. What does this mean for your website? This means that you should try to list products, even if you believe the said product will never sell. Post products to test the market. Post products to test new product ideas. Post products to add credibility to other products. Post two products in the morning, and post two products at night.