How to rock SEO when you don’t even know what that means

I recently presented a year’s worth of experiments and subsequent learnings on Digital Marketing to independent business owners. To my surprise, one particular bit of SEO got some major props. Even a standing ovation! (although he’s a friend of mine and was being funny).

Here it is.

One of our competitors wrote an article entitled “Is BG worth it?” As you can imagine, this competitor spent hundreds of words to basically say that “BG is not worth it” and that you should buy his brand instead. 

Pretty clever on his part. I’d imagine a LOT of consumers would Google that exact phrase. If a salesperson in any field suggests you buy the premium option, your mind will wonder, “Do I need that?” or “Is that worth the extra money?” We all do it.

So. I hijacked his title. I used his keywords and I wrote an opposition piece. Actually, if you think about it, his piece was oppositional. So mine is suppositional? I don’t know. I’ve written myself into a corner here.

Basically, I used SEO to show up for that search. It took a little bit of time, but finally, we topped the page. Without spending a dime, our explanatory, honest (well written) article from our legitimate website won the Google fight. And that, my friends, is how SEO works.

Just like anything else, SEO can be a lot more complicated. But if you want to get a kick start, here are a few tips:

1. Google your brand. Use phrases from popular objections you see in the field. “Is BG worth it” is something we’re used to seeing because we offer a premium option. Interview your salespeople. They’ve surely got pockets full of objections.
2. Look at the section called “People also ask.” Collect those questions. Those can all be individual articles. And, as you probably know if you’ve ever Googled something, these questions multiply as soon as you click one. Each article you write you should answer only one question. Keep it simple!
3. Collect these ideas in an Excel document. It’s VERY easy to quickly get overwhelmed. Copy/Paste these questions into a spreadsheet and pull from it when you’re ready to write (start with 4 articles a month). For content management, I prefer to use Airtable. It’s free and its templates are intuitive. 

If the thought of mastering SEO makes your eye twitch, start simply. Try this one SEO tactic with your website blog (if you don’t have a blog on your website, add one now!). Not every idea has to be a written article, if you prefer, do a video, just make sure you title the video and add keywords just like you would in a written article.

Good luck in your SEO trials. Like anything else, once you get started, it will seem less daunting. And at the end of the year, I hope you get a standing ovation, because it takes work to win at SEO.