You may often hear the term SEO, short for Search Engine Optimisation, in relation to any digital or online businesses. Do you have any idea what it means? Even if you are aware of its meaning, do you know how important it is for every kind of business in 2020?
Hi everyone, I’m Noor Anand Chawla, a content creator, lifestyle blogger and columnist for many newspapers and publications. I learnt about SEO or search engine optimisation after years of struggling to make a presence for myself and my blog online. However, after I dedicated some time to it, the hard work and research paid off, because it brought me to Rank 19 in the World’s Top Lifestyle Blogs of 2020.
My blog and writing skills connected me to many talented bloggers and writers in our community, and soon brought forth other professional opportunities as well. Heena Sodhi Khera, founder of women’s community networking group Queen’s Brigade, reached out to me to teach what I have learnt over the years, and thus began my journey of conducting content creation workshops. At first glance, it may seem like content creation is limited to blogging and influencer content, but trust me, there is a lot more to it! Every business can benefit from basic knowledge of SEO principles, and learning easy methods to create the right content that helps them grow organically online.
Most women today are independent-minded and look forward to having their own entrepreneurial ventures. These could be home baking services, tutoring children or their own corporate ventures. Hence, I could not imagine a better topic than ‘SEO for business’ as my chosen subject for the #WSWBlogHop. As an introduction today, I would like to share the top five reasons to learn SEO principles to leverage the online presence of your business right now:
- IT WILL HELP YOUR BUSINESS RANK HIGH IN ORGANIC SEARCHES ONLINE
When someone needs a reference or genuine review, do they turn to social media first? No! More often than not, they first ask someone they trust. In a world where we spend more time online than offline, the entity we trust is increasingly becoming Google or other similar search engines. So, for example, if you run a business of manufacturing and selling luxury teas, it is extremely important that your website pops up when people search for ‘Indian luxury teas’. The same goes for home-chefs in a particular locality, designers of clothes or whatever else your product or service may be.
- IT WILL HELP YOU BUILD A GENUINE AND LOYAL CUSTOMER BASE FOR YOUR BUSINESS
The people that find you organically through search engines are much more likely to become regular patrons of your business, than those that reached you through advertisements or other referrals. After all, they put in all that work to seek you out on their own, which makes their interest more genuine. It is extremely important in this case to ensure that you rank high on organic searches for your business.
- YOU WILL NOT HAVE TO RELY ON EXPENSIVE DIGITAL ADVERTISEMENT MODELS, SUCH AS GOOGLE ADS TO GET TRAFFIC TO YOUR WEBSITE
We are all aware that the digital space is overly-saturated with content. We also know that paying for Google Ads is an easy route to reach the top of the search engine. However, most new businesses need to count every penny and by adopting sound SEO principles, they can save on exorbitant Google and social media ad budgets.
- EVEN IF YOU OUTSOURCE YOUR SEO CAMPAIGN TO A PROFESSIONAL, YOU WILL HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE TO HELP YOU PICK THE RIGHT PROFESSIONALS TO FIT YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS
As an entrepreneur, you may be too busy to dedicate time to building your SEO presence online. It is easy to outsource this portion of marketing to a professional who specialises in SEO optimisation. However, with thousands of people calling themselves experts and professionals, one must be wary. Many of these have no knowledge whatsoever and are just trying to earn a quick buck. Having knowledge of basic SEO principles, allows you to hire the right professional and stay cognisant of this aspect of your business without wasting any money.
- IF YOU ARE A BLOGGER OR CONTENT CREATOR, THEN OPTIMISING YOUR POST ACCORDING TO THE LATEST, EVER-CHANGING SEO PRINCIPLES IS ESSENTIAL FOR SUCCESS
Do I even need to expand on this point?! I am sure every blogger and writer reading this post is already aware of the incredible importance of SEO skills to make a mark online! However, if for some reason you struggle with it, I advise you to do some research. Take a class or just read up on it. Being equipped with basic SEO knowledge helps you grow tremendously online, allowing you to work less by creating a few high-quality posts as opposed to writing numerous posts that do not perform well. Quality over quantity any day!
Having explained the merits of learning SEO principles to take your business or blog to the next level, I am not about to leave you hanging! In my content creation workshops, I teach the basics of SEO as well as provide guidance specific to your genre and website. You know where to reach me if you are interested in learning more, and I would be most grateful to you if you were to recommend my services to people that may need to learn SEO optimisation for their businesses.
As Urvashi Nenawati, the host of this wonderful blog hop claims, women must support women in order for us to grow together professionally and personally. More power to us all!
This post is a part of #WSWBlogHop. We are part of the women supporting women community and we believe that we should support, empower each other and grow together.
*This is not a sponsored post.
**Copyright in pictures and content belongs to nooranandchawla.com and cannot be republished or repurposed without express permission of the author. As I am a copyright lawyer by profession, infringement of any kind will invite strict legal action.