I hear it all the time. I want to do [XYZ business thing] but I don’t have any money. I know cash flow can be tight. And paying for ads or other placements can eat into your precious marketing dollars. When it comes to SEO, there is good news. It’s possible to improve your SEO without spending a dime. You don’t always need expensive programs to get more traffic to your site, but you will need to take time to work on these important SEO factors. Here are 5 ways to boost your SEO without any money.

Optimize Your Website

What does this even mean? It means ensuring you have everything on the backend setup for you to succeed. You want to be sure your site description is accurate, that each page loads quickly, and that you don’t have image files that are too large bogging things down. It means that you get rid of 404 errors and that you remove any scripts that could become problematic for your potential customers. Additionally, it means setting up analytics and ensuring it runs properly in the background.

Create a Google My Business Listing

Want to get found locally? You need a Google My Business listing. Even if you offer services remotely, you can easily create a listing so that people can find you and your services. Writers in New York want to get found nearby, but also from all the way in Arizona if they take on clients from all over. A Google My Business account is free to setup and helps people find you no matter where you are located.

Focus on Specific Keywords

It’s time we have a conversation about keywords. Your keywords should be based on what real people search for when they look for businesses like yours. Whether they are looking for mechanics in Houston or hair stylists in Colorado Springs or even writers near me, you want to use keywords and phrases that describe some of the things that you do. By focusing on certain keywords and phrases you’ll improve your search engine rankings for those search terms and eventually get more traffic.

Do you know what keywords your competition gets found using? Start thinking about the ways that you search for businesses and use that to help you formulate possible keyword phrases for your businesses. Additionally, your keyword research should involve using a tool to find relevant words. You can use one of these free keyword tools here or spend big money on the best tool around with SEMRush.

Write Relevant Blog Posts Frequently

There is no need to write a post every single day unless you really want to. But when you’re working to improve your SEO rankings for specific search terms, you need to write content on a regular schedule. Whether you post business tips twice a week or you offer advice for people who need car repairs, these regular posts will help you tremendously. Don’t keyword stuff, but make sure you incorporate the keywords you need the most in each post. Google and other search engines like it when websites make frequent posts. It helps them start to rank higher in those search terms.

Make Your Site User Friendly

Consider the user experience when you design your site. What actions do you want your visitors to take? Your site should be designed around what you want people to do when they land on your site. Do you want them to book a call, read through endless blog posts, or leave an email address with you? By making your site easy to navigate, search engines will think more highly of your website and give you better rankings. Additionally, the more time people spend looking at content, buying products, etc. the better your SEO will be.

Final Thoughts

There are countless ways to improve your SEO. Start by doing these simple tasks and you’ll be one step closer to front-page news in Google searches. Focus on keywords that connect with your content and represent what real people need and how they search. When you do these things, you’ll be amazed at what happens next.

Want better blog posts that include more relevant keywords? I can help. Contact me today to get started with one of my blogging packages.