If you’re reading this, I assume you’re interested in marketing or online marketing. I’ll tell you the truth – we don’t really use secret recipes or have a magic formula for marketing. We might not use the same strategies that large organisations do, but we’ve found what works for us. The following are the top SEO tactics we use at Gmail:
1. Build a brand
When it comes to SEO, a key principle is to build a brand. This sounds pretty simple, right? You just have to create content that people want to read about or watch. But, surprisingly, a lot of websites struggle with this. They don’t have a clear strategy, and they don’t take the time to find out what their users want. As a result, they don’t have a clear brand identity. It’s like they have so many ideas that it’s hard to know which one to focus on.
We believe that content is important, but so is creating an identity. Your brand will guide everything you do – from the topics you write about and the types of articles you produce to the way you engage with your audience. You can’t just produce whatever you feel like producing and hoping for the best. You need to be deliberate and think through every aspect of your brand identity.
So how do you build a brand? Start by considering the different types of people that are interested in your product or service. What do they want? What do they need? Who is your ideal buyer? Once you have a clear image in your head of who this person is, you can develop content that they’ll appreciate and value. Take your time finding the right words for different situations. If you’re writing an article to persuade someone to do or buy your product, you need to consider what terms they’ll most appreciate and value in reading or listening to your content.
2. Keyword research
We don’t just sit around and wait for search engines to bring us traffic. Of course we want to be found when people type in keywords we’re equipped to handle, but generating that traffic is really a process. It doesn’t happen overnight. It requires a lot of patience and a plan to ensure you get the best results from your efforts.
You have to consider search engines, social media, and other platforms when you’re developing content for the web. Not only does this help you target the right audience, but it also allows you to develop content that will perform well on all platforms. If you’re only thinking about one place, you might accidentally create content that won’t be effective on others. You have to consider all of them or risk losing out on valuable traffic and followers.
3. Article directories
There are hundreds of article directories on the web that you can contribute to for free. To get started, simply find a suitable category (e.g., Tech, Lifestyle, etc.), locate the corresponding blog section, and start typing. You’ll see a drop-down menu with a host of topics that you can contribute to. Just pick a topic that interests you and start typing. When you hit publish, you’ll see a little grey box at the top of your article. You can contribute to as many blogs as you like with that single grey box.
You don’t need to have a significant audience to get approved for these blogs. You just need to be able to type with some coherence and demonstrate that you’ve done some research into your topic. The more you contribute, the more opportunities you’ll have to expand your reach and establish yourself as an authoritative voice on your topic. Keep an eye on your dashboard to see how many articles you’ve published and how many times they’ve been downloaded or opened.
4. Backlinks
If you’re writing about a topic that’s already well-established in internet culture, you might not need to do as much research to find the best keywords to target with your articles. You’ll simply need to identify the key players in the field and understand the competitive landscape. Once you’ve established yourself as an expert, you can start building a network of reputable websites that agree with your stance.
This is also known as link-building or inbound marketing. Instead of focussing on getting a bunch of flashy ads to push a product, inbound marketing is all about attracting, engaging and nurturing a network of people who are interested in your content. You can use free tools like Google’s built-in search results to easily find the backlinks to your site. Just remember to monitor and analyze your results regularly to determine the effectiveness of your efforts.
5. Content Calendars
If you’re driven by keywords, you might not be doing enough to establish credibility with your target audience. Establishing trust is incredibly important in all of your marketing efforts. You might not need to manipulate people into trusting you – they might already do this on their own. You can use content calendars to establish yourself as an expert in your industry. Just get your team of writers to sit down and commit to writing content that’s aligned to a schedule. This will help you plan content releases and ensure that you always have content to promote.
Establishing trust in your audience is important – maybe even more important than getting the right keywords. There are three ways to earn trust:
Expertise
Having knowledge and understanding of your industry is a great way to earn trust – if you can demonstrate that you’re an expert, people will naturally believe you when you give advice on the subject. It’s important to note that being an expert doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to be an ‘old hand’ in your industry. You simply need to have the necessary knowledge and understanding to speak with authority on your topic. If you can display these qualities, you can be assured of earning the trust of your audience. This will improve your branding, SEO, and even your engagement with your followers.
Authenticity
Speaking from experience, people can be really skeptical of anything they read on the internet. They’ll often disagree with whatever is said without even understanding what the issue is. One way to gain credibility is to simply be yourself. People will connect with you and your opinions because you are giving them genuine content. Even if you’re wrong, at least you’ll be right for once. Being yourself means being honest and open about your limitations and mistakes. Sometimes, this will even lead you to admit that you’re not an expert in the first place. But, in every other case, it means that you’re being true to yourself and your values. In these instances, people will appreciate your honesty and understand your motive for speaking freely.
Scarcity
What does scarcity mean in marketing? It means you’re limited in what you can offer. For example, if you’re selling fashion accessories, you have a certain number of items in your shop. If you run out of stock, you’ll have to stop taking orders until your supplies are back. This is known as a ‘stock situation’ and can be a good thing or a bad thing. If you’re in a good position, then your customers will appreciate your honesty and understand that you’re not going to take advantage of them. If you’re in a bad position, then people might get angry with you for messing with their favorite fashion accessory and stop supporting your business.
If you want to establish yourself as an expert in your industry, you have to become an expert in something. Once you’ve done this, you can start contributing to websites and forums where your expertise can be used to its full potential. Just remember to be yourself and believe in what you’re saying. Some of the biggest names in business have used this strategy effectively – why not you?