The internet is an incredible tool for expanding your audience and creating business opportunities worldwide. However, with such a huge mixing pot of ‘commerce and connection’ comes a great deal of competition.

Even on just a local scale, there are likely a lot of people doing the same thing as you and marketing themselves as ‘the best’. When trying to get your foot in the digital door, one of the most important things you should consider is how and why potential customers are searching for print products and services like yours. This is where ‘Search Engine Optimisation’ comes in.

What does that mean?

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the process of tailoring your digital content and appearance to improve your rankings in organic search results. Search engines choose who ranks where by sending bots through the skeleton of your website that analyse relevance and authority. Relevance refers to the how useful and relevant the content and code is for the topic that is being searched. Authority refers to whether or not the website is trustworthy, which considers things like security and reviews/referrals.

Where do I start?

There are many easy things you can do to improve your search engine rank. This guide provides simple adjustments that can frame a more in-depth SEO strategy, but it is only a starting point. That being said, it is always better to be actively optimising your content rather than not. Even if the changes seem miniscule.

• Clean up your act.

If you do not already have a google my business account, get one. If you do have one, then make sure everything on it is kept up to date. Even if you are just an office, google likes when you list your opening hours. All reviews should be responded to, even if they are negative. Oh, and don’t forget to add some relevant and quality photos. Make sure this information is the same across all search engines and prominent business databases. MOZ has a really useful tool for checking this.

• Get keyed up

Keywords and phrases are a huge part of Search Engine Optimisation. These are the terms that are both most relevant to your business and to the search queries you want to rank for. For example, a bakery might consider keyphrases like ‘fresh bread’ or ‘pastries’ as those are what potential customers will search for. When choosing which terms to focus on, it’s important to consider their popularity as well as how competitive it is to rank for them. Finding a happy medium is key, but fortunately there are many keyword analysis tools you can use to do this.

• The writing is on the wall

If you have a blog or resources page, then content-led optimisation may be the perfect choice for you. When you consider how and why customers search for you, think about the actual queries they might put into the search bar. If you’re struggling you can try using Answer the Public, which shows you the most searched questions based around a keyword or phrase of your choice. Then, use those questions as a framework for your content strategy. Answer them in your blog. Use the key terms frequently and make the title similar to the search query.

• You’re only as strong as your weakest link

There are three kinds of links that can help improve your perceived authority. The first are internal links, which are any links that take a viewer to another page on the same website. These help the bots understand the structure of the website and how easily the user journey flows. Second is backlinks or inbound links, which refer to links that redirect traffic from someone else’s website to yours. Like a referral from a friend, this shows the search engine that you are trustworthy and respected. The final link type is outbound, which you’ll likely guess refers to links on your website that direct users to someone else’s.

These four tips can help push you up the ranks, or at least give you an edge over the names below you. However, a stronger, more dedicated SEO strategy is necessary if you’re in need of a huge result. If you’d like some assistance with your digital marketing endeavours, we can help! Perhaps you want to start an optimised blog to educate your customers about your sector of the print industry? Or maybe your whole website could do with an overhaul? Contact us to see what we can do for you…