SEO for Startups – How to Optimize Your Business!

Search Engine Optimization, or as you may know – SEO, is one of the most important things when creating a successful business. Whether you like it or not, everything is happening on the internet, and SEO tools will quickly help you get in the face of your customer.

The central concept is pretty simple – you want to create your site so that people looking for a product or service and typing it into Google or Bing will see your site as one of the first.

As we all know, the second page of Google does not matter, so you need to be on the front page to get a lot of traffic.

In this article, we will get you through the essential SEO rules and teach you how to navigate this crazy world full of excellent advantages for your startup. Google Analytics – we are expecting guests!

Table of Contents:

• SEO for Startups – How to Optimize Your Business!
• What Is SEO?
• On-Page SEO
• Keyword Research
• Article Optimization
• Title
• Paragraphs
• Media
• Linking
• Outbound Links
• Internal Links
• Loading Speed
• Responsive Design
• Rich Snippets
• Off-page SEO
• Guest Posts
• DoFollow vs. NoFollow
• Free Guest Posts
• Paid Guest Posts
• Cross-posting
• Posting
• Commenting
• Forums
• Q&A and Review Websites
• Links
• Government and Educational Websites
• Analyze Competitors’ Links
• Adwords
• Link Recycling
• Social Media Promotion
• YouTube
• Pinterest
• SEO Trends
• Voice Search
• Visual Search
• Google Good Practices
• SEO for Startups – Conclusion

What Is SEO?

SEO, as we’ve stated before, means Search Engine Optimization. It means all the necessary elements required to get to the top level in the search engine. It would involve using the key phrase, creating great content, and using good photos that relate to the article. If you use some of these tactics, you will quickly see that your website will gain a lot of traffic and, with that – a lot of potential customers who will be more than willing to invest in your business. And, if you have ever used the internet, you know that being at the top of the front page of Google is everything you need to be successful.

Additionally, it does not require any costs from your company whatsoever. It may “cost” some time and money that you invest, or if you decide to hire someone, but it is otherwise free and full of potential.

However, if you decide to hire someone, we can recommend a game marketing agency – GamerSEO. There's no better choice if you want to rank higher in search engines with your gaming or software-related content. Simply fill out their contact form, and they will contact you asap.

Investing in getting results from SEO is also cheaper than overall marketing on some other website or billboard. People search for things mainly on the internet, looking for better prices or checking the quality of service.

On-Page SEO

Let’s now talk about some facts on the matter. The most important thing to understand is that this is a vast subject, and multiple players in the market are using these tools. So, you have to be on top of things if you want to beat the others who are also trying to get to the top.

In this section, we will describe all the ways you can upgrade your website so that you would end up higher in SERP (Search Engine Results Page). Every single search engine has it. The idea is to unify with the standards set in this ranking.

Here are some of the ways you can improve your website ranking.

Keyword Research

This is one of the most important things you can do, and you will quickly see that even slightly improving your keyword ranking can do wonders for your website. Of course, it depends on your business type, so the results will vary.

You can use a keyword research tool to find the best ones for your website; Google Search Console or KWFinder is a good start. In the end, though, think about the user. What would they type in if they wanted to find something your business deals with? And then – go from there.

Article Optimization

Here you can find the elements that are most likely to improve your ranking position continuously. Article optimization is essential in your SEO strategy.

Meta descriptions, content marketing, quality sources, and keyword rankings will influence your SEO efforts and bring organic traffic to your website.

Here are some ways to improve your content strategy and reach a high search volume.

Title

It’s a good practice to put the target keyword in the title. It will show not only in the search results but also in the URL itself. And if not, you should most definitely put it in the URL.

Also – be sure to be precise and concise, as SEO experts like. You should keep your title tag/URL short and concise. How to accomplish that? Well, first of all – don’t appear weak!

And by that, we mean to use words with some power. You want to find the “BEST” movies of 2012 and “BEST” artists of the XXI century. People are looking for the top, so be on the top. Powerful modifiers can upgrade your startup's SEO strategy.

Paragraphs

You need to optimize your paragraphs to get some high attention value and make the most out of your article. Remember to use Heading 1, then 2, then 3, etc.

What you want to do is to divide your article into three parts:

• First paragraph
• Body paragraphs
• Final paragraph

When it comes to the first one – just be sure to get your focus keyword in there as soon as possible. Preferably even in the first line.

On the other hand, body paragraphs should be rich in keywords, focus keywords included. Do not stuff them, as Google will punish that. Instead – try including them more naturally so that they would be thematic, not random.

Lastly, the final paragraph. Some people do it, and some people don’t. If you decide to add it to your article, add CTA at the end. Ask them to like, subscribe, call their friend, or whatever. Be interactive. Most of the time, people will not do anything unless asked to, so capitalize on it. Additionally, it’s a great summary for those who do not want to read the entire article in order to find out something about the topic.

Media

Embeds, pictures, banners, and everything in between. They can be your friends, or they can destroy your whole business. You will quickly lose your rankings if you add fewer do-follow links that create your page as a jumping pod for others.

On the other hand, if you want people to stay on your site, you must understand that the times when people would be reading pages after pages of dry content on the website are long gone. If you do not have a picture or a video to keep their attention, they will not participate in your little social experiment when you ask them to read a book.

Be interesting! Talk to your UI/UX people about improving the user experience and attention span with cool designs or placing graphics in some particular order. Remember, the longer people stay on your site, the better it will be placed.

Linking

There are two types of linking in general: outbound and internal. Outbound links send you to another website, and internal links send you to some other part of the website you are currently on. Let’s look at each one of them in detail.

Outbound Links

Outbound links maintain your visibility. Bots think of them as part of redirecting traffic somewhere else.

What does it mean? The site you are linking to is considered to be trustworthy. The more links are sending users to this website, the more likely it will show up in the top results. If the results you are linking are valuable, it will also improve your status. Quality websites can be dozen times more valuable than something that is much weaker.

Of course, there is a debate about DoFollow vs. NoFollow links here. DoFollow links tell search engines – hey, I like this site; I can vouch for them. NoFollow links say you can go there, but we don’t care.

Some companies tend to price their DoFollow links higher as it increases the visibility of the site they are linking to.

Internal Links

The same thing links internally, so there is no distinction between DoFollow and NoFollow. All should do DoFollow to your website. You should add internal links to some corners of your page but keep it under 100.

It also helps your users to gather some more interesting information on the subject and they will spend more time on your website. It creates better user experience.

Loading Speed

Another critical aspect of getting your SEO score up is to have your website's loading speed as low as possible. Google has introduced an update to its algorithm where they point out that the website’s speed influences its SERP ranking.

Consider compressing pictures and keeping videos on a separate server so that your website would not take ages to load.

Responsive Design

This one may not seem important, but trust us – you need to pay attention to it. Google recommends using a responsive design for your websites; if they recommend something, you know it’s essential.

What does it mean? Well, your website should work for all screen sizes. It seems pretty obvious, right? Well, not quite. There are multiple resolutions, orientations, and many different aspects, especially regarding tablets, and getting the right design can be tricky at times.

Rich Snippets

If you have ever searched for something with Google, you can sometimes see a few lines under the URL. Well, you can change it and use it to your benefit.

Use rich snippets to get the focus keywords out there to optimize your article.

Your search ranking will increase with more keywords in the first few lines. Some people use it even as a form of advertising. You can add some phone numbers or email addresses if you want.

Off-page SEO

Now that we know everything to make our website more attractive it’s time to improve it from the outside. Off-page SEO solutions could be getting some advertisements on different websites, getting high-quality content that will get quoted multiple times, and any other activity that influences our ranking.

On-page SEO can be done strictly in-house and with no costs involved. Off-page SEO services can inflict some costs on the company. Link-building and social media marketing are essential to top the list, so do not underestimate the power of off-page SEO! Here are some of the ways to improve your position in SERP ranking.

Guest Posts

There are multiple ways you can utilize guest posts to your advantage. It means that whenever some other website sends its user base out there to your company through a link, you will get a point in the SERP ranking system. The more points you get, the higher your company will be in the overall ranking.

DoFollow vs. NoFollow

As we’ve explained, the main question stays the same regarding linking. Are those links DoFollow or NoFollow? When it comes to SERP ranking, NoFollow links do nothing for you. People may still visit your site, but it will not give you any additional points.

It is entirely different from a DoFollow link. Every DoFollow link adds a point to your result and allows you to grow your website. So, ask for DoFollow links. It may be an additional cost because the companies know how important those are.

Additionally, if the website linking to your company is listed high, it will be more valuable than a link from a company that is ranked much lower.

Free Guest Posts

If you are not getting cited by multiple companies, you can always try free guest posts on various sites that provide this service. Of course, those are probably not the holy grail of linking, but if you gather enough of them, you will quickly see the impact.

Paid Guest Posts

If you were to advertise yourself with a DoFollow link on some high-traffic and high-value website, that would significantly increase your ranking in the search engines.

But – those things don’t come cheap. Although some posts may cost 10 dollars, prices can go even up to few thousand. Calculate if it is optimal for you and your business, as it may bring more people to your site than even creating a TV ad.

Cross-posting

But if you don’t want to pay and your site is quite good, you can always propose a cross-posting, commonly known as a follow-for-follow situation.

This will benefit both of you and can lead to other partnerships in the future.

Posting

Of course, you can go a completely different route, and that is – posting. Use your social media, create company ones, be active on some forums, and just overall – wreak havoc on the internet to your advantage.

The more people know about your company, the more they will be able to click on the link leading to it. It is that simple! Or, at least, it seems. Let’s get into some details then!

Commenting

So, one of the tremendous off-page SEO strategies is telling everyone how great your site is and leaving a link if they may be interested. Of course, it does not have to be so crude, you can do it much more gently if you want, and it will bring better results.

The best way to go about it is to comment on some posts related to your start-up and be professional and precise. If people find your answers interesting, they can get interested in your start-up and pay a visit to your website.

Forums

Another exciting aspect is getting involved in some forums. Especially if you are an expert in some obscure branch, people will take your opinions or services seriously, and you’ll quickly gain a following that can be later redirected to your website. Of course, only link it in some places, as people will probably treat it as spam.

If done correctly, forum posting can bring you some quality traffic and improve your overall business twice a fold!

Q&A and Review Websites

Additionally, if you know your stuff, you can also go to Reddit and check if some Q&As are happening where you can share your expert knowledge. You can even create a Q&A session for your website and promote it.

That way, you will be able to reach many people and, additionally, get them invested in your start-up. It shows excellent results, especially for new businesses on the market. Remember to find some threads that are in some way connected to your activity.

Also, be sure to catch up with all the popular review sites on your side of the business. Maybe create your own Google account to answer all the questions people may have in their Google reviews.

Add some insightful thoughts in some comments on other businesses and be active within your bubble. It may not give you some traffic straight away, but if you keep pushing, you will see a lot to gain in terms of contacts, business opportunities, and market recognition.

Links

Search intent may be necessary, but the click is what matters. It is best to have a wide selection of places to put your links and benefit from free off-page SEO optimization.

We will also review your links and see how those can be improved upon. So, without further ado, let’s get started with some linking!

Government and Educational Websites

Government and educational websites are some of the most trusted in the wide interweb. So, to get on top of the rankings, it is best to utilize them to your advantage. You can start by adding links to some of the sources provided by the .gov or .edu websites.

There are many ways to go about it, depending on the type of start-up you are working on. It may not be easy to get to the top, like a White House website or something. But – if you can get even into something obscure and link yourself there, it will significantly benefit your company and the SEO ranking.

Analyze Competitors’ Links

Search rankings tend to favor something they already know. So, if you have some competitors in the area, why not use their previously found knowledge and get yourself linked in the same places as they do?

It may feel like cheating, but why would you try and invent the wheel once again when you can just as easily copy an existing concept and add to it in the process?

How to accomplish that? Well, Google a “backlink checker tool” and see which company has the best SEO optimization. Then – try to link your materials there as well. Result - profit!

Adwords

If you can’t fight them, join them. Getting started with some great AdWords campaigns can make your business more visible. Of course, it depends on the resources you have to spend, but the Adwords campaigns are pretty compelling.

Just add all the necessary targeted keywords, or other SEO tips may be useless. And don’t be ashamed of using paid products. Every SEO agency used them once or twice to boost their views.

Additionally, if you want to use it as a free tool, it’s a great way of understanding how the system works. You can always just look up the phrase you want in AdWords ad copy and see some quality keywords for your on-page optimization. Digital marketing is all about recycling, and using Google ads creatively is no different!

Link Recycling

Speaking of recycling – it’s a great way of getting your links to cycle again and again. This way, you will be able to have more content without putting the same amount of effort into creating it.

The first thing you want to do is to repair all the broken links. Check if every single one is working correctly and fix it. You can find multiple tools online, so make good use of them.

Additionally, have you ever thought about recycling your posts? As you have probably seen many times with multiple publications online – they tend to change their titles a lot. Like a lot, a lot. If you see a news article, you can notice that the overall post can vary at least three or four times slightly in a matter of a few days.

Why do they do this? Well, it’s pretty simple. You can get some views on a single post, but people will quickly get tired of it. Then, you republish the post with a similar story and a slightly different approach in the title, and voila - you have a new article with new users interested in the content.

In most cases, though, especially in startups, republishing articles can be used to implement SEO tips and tricks into the article, add some relevant content, etc. It will also get some boosted views at the beginning, so it pays off in the end.

Social Media Promotion

Promoting your links can also be done through social media. There are two major platforms that can help you with SEO: YouTube and Pinterest. You can use whatever platform you feel comfortable with, but those two are some of the major players in the SEO industry.

Why? Let’s just say that one company that is pretty big in the SEO industry has bought Pinterest and already has Youtube. So you know, it runs in the family.

YouTube

YouTube is one of the biggest video-hosting platforms in the world. It is becoming increasingly popular as time passes, and even big advertisers can’t overlook its impact. Moreover, YouTube videos often appear on the first page of SERP.

So, if you are about creating good off-page SEO, you can boost your page views by redirecting the traffic from YouTube to your website.

Remember to put all the necessary keywords in your description and add some crucial links. Youtube linking is NoFollow, but if you get big enough there, you will surely benefit either way.

Pinterest

Pinterest is great for every startup SEO practice, where it is essential to show the visual side of things. Pinterest posts often appear in Google image results, so you also need to optimize your descriptions and pictures.

Remember to add long-term keywords that get better results with this medium. Also – be creative! Adding all the SEO tips to your post is crucial, but if you have excellent content and great graphics, it can bring people over even faster.

SEO Trends

Lastly, let us go over some of the latest SEO trends we have noticed are happening in the SEO community. Those are not exclusive in any way, but they can show you where the concept is heading and some of the advantages of using it in the future.

Voice Search

Voice searching is getting more and more popular with the introduction of Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri, and many others. Why is that? Well, people feel like it’s a lot easier to say something to your phone than to type it out. And for some reason – they say completely different things with their voice than they would type.

People are straightforward. They want to get to their point as quickly as they can. But it is much easier to say something quickly than to type it out, so their searches tend to be longer and more detailed. It is something that the SEO community and search engines must adapt to.

Visual Search

After Google announced its partnership with Pinterest, the number of results from this website is steadily spreading over the search engine. There is also a great increase in mobile searches of visual media. People are taking photos and searching for them on the internet if they want to find out more about something.

Google Good Practices

Google has been trying to combat many problematic practices for years now, and it seems they are finally succeeding. It all comes down to promoting long-term growth with some good content.

The SEO world has been struggling with something called the black-hat practices for years. You have probably seen those sites back in the day. Full of only keywords, duplicated content, nothing substantial added to the conversation, and oftentimes scamming users with some shady services.

SEO for Startups – Conclusion

Thank you so much for checking out our article on how to best optimize your content for your startup. We feel like SEO is getting more and more popular, so it is great to start your journey as soon as possible.

It may feel a bit tricky and unintuitive initially, but you will quickly notice that you can get great results if you start early with your SEO implementation. As we’ve stated before, if you are not on the first page of Google, you rarely get the traffic that could help you grow your business. And your competitors are probably already using SEO to get ahead, so there is no reason to just let them have it.