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5 Tips to Boost Your Brand SEO

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The rules of SEO are always changing. What worked a couple years ago may not work today. To take your brand SEO to the next level, follow these tips.

Design for Mobile

In most industries, most searches are now done on mobile devices. Responding to this, Google switched to mobile-first indexing in 2020. Now the mobile version of your website, not the desktop version, is indexed and used to determine search rank.

To optimize for mobile indexing, evaluate your mobile site for things like loading times and navigation. Also make sure the structural elements of your mobile site are identical to those of your desktop site.

Use Keywords Wisely

Just using a keyword isn’t always helpful. Repeating keywords too often will cause Google’s algorithm to penalize you for “keyword stuffing,” so you want to use keywords carefully.

Use keywords where they fit naturally. Content should flow for the reader and not appear stilted to use the right keywords.

Where you put keywords matters, too. Keywords in meta titles, descriptions and image tags as well as page titles, and subheadings carry more weight than keywords in the body text.

Think Q&A

More searches are questions. So, Google now offers Q&A type search results. When you type a question into a Google search, you sometimes see a box with a snippet of text answering the question. This is the answer box, and it’s becoming increasingly important.

Google’s algorithm populates answer boxes with text that directly answers a specific question. Write out the question you want to target in your content, and then provide an answer in a way that’s concise and accurate.

Keep Brand Content Fresh

Search engines still like “new” content. So, focus on making your old content new again.

Look for relevant content published in the last few years. Add new links, remove old ones, update any outdated information, and publish. This gets valuable content in front of new readers and gives it an SEO boost.

Provide Content for People

Search engines are machines, but they try to be like people. The goal is to rank highly those websites that serve user needs and interests. Google’s algorithm is designed to prioritize pages with the best user experience. If you can focus on this first, many aspects of SEO for your brand will fall into place as a result.

Tips for Your Daily SEO Routine

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Search engine optimization (SEO) is a long term effort. To achieve good SEO and to maintain your rank requires regular attention. Here are the things you need to attend to in your daily SEO routine.

Keep a Steady Stream of Fresh Content

Content is important to rank. Regularly add new content and keep existing content up to date. You don’t have to publish a new post every day. Set a schedule that works for you and stick to it.

If you don’t have time to write a new article, it’s useful to have a list of content that was published in the past that can be refreshed and republished.

New content can also take the form of comments and responses. Be sure to engage with everyone who comments on your content online.

Add Links

Look for places to interconnect content within your website, and from your website to other sites. Both internal and external links support SEO goals. As your site grows, look for ways to interconnect related content with links.

Maintain Your Site

Don’t let your site get out of date. Make sure you comply with the latest dos and don’ts for SEO. It is easier to stay on top of the latest than catch up after falling behind. Worse, lagging on these items can take your website completely offline!

  • Keep software updated
  • Unpublish outdated content
  • Keep your secure certificate active
  • Update keywords and schema

Watch Your Data

Monitor your Google analytics regularly. Google Analytics has a ton of interesting data you can use to optimize your website. Pay attention to where your web traffic is coming from and what information people are accessing most. This can give you insight into content that isn’t of interest any more, as well as topics you should add more about.

Keep Other Online Efforts in Sync with Your Website

If you are active on one or more social media platforms, regularly posting updates for your followers is a good way of showing that your account is alive and kicking. You can not only share your blog posts, but also pictures you take, events from your daily life, other articles you find interesting, and so on. You know your audience best, you know what they’ll like. And, while you’re at it, also try to regularly interact with people leaving comments on your social media pages to keep them engaged.

How to Write Content that Ranks Well

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Writing great content doesn’t automatically mean it will rank well in search engines. There are guidelines to follow if you want your content to be visible in relevant organic searches. Here’s how.

Know Your Keyword

The first step is to know what your content should rank for. These days, that is usually “keyphrase” rather than a keyword, since most users search for something more specific than a single word. Do some research using a keyword tool or even just some online searches to understand how your target reader searches for content like yours. You want to know the best keyphrase to use.

Good places to find the right keywords include Answer the Public, SEM Rush’s Keyword Magic Tool, and Google’s Keyword Planner.

Use Keywords in the Right Places

To rank, you need to place your target keyphrase in all the right spots through the text, while being careful not to use too much of it. Too many uses of the keyword is called “keyword stuffing” and that is something that will actually hurt your search rank.

In general, use your keyword:

  • In the title of your content
  • In the first sentence or two of your content
  • In subheads
  • As link text
  • In the alt text for any images
  • In the meta description for the content

Make Sure Your Text Is Worthy

Keywords alone will not get your text a high rank. It needs to be something that people value – that they click on and read. Make sure that you are saying something that is worthwhile. Write your content in a way that is easy to read and understand online, especially on small screens.

The other day I needed to find out if the buttermilk in my fridge was still fresh enough to use. (True story!) I did a search, picked a top result and scrolled and scrolled. Never did get a good answer to the question. There were a lot of words and keywords used, but the content was valueless. That content won’t be highly ranked for long.

In addition to the content, pay attention to your writing style. Keep your writing to the point. Use words that are easy to understand. Keep punctuation to a minimum. Don’t justify text and make paragraphs short. Make sure your content is easy to read.

Add Links

Be sure to link your content to related content for readers who want to know more, and for search engines that want to understand where your content fits in the world wide web. Link to content within your site (internal links) that is related and enhances the content. Link to external authoritative sites when you think such links will help the user get what they need.