Regular readers of my articles know I have a one-word answer for any small business looking to improve search engine optimization: content.
It's really that simple. Yes, you can do many other things to improve your window and door website's SEO, but nothing matters more than content. Many say content is king—I think it's the entire royal court. Nothing makes the search engine "spiders" happier than websites that are rich in original, relevant content and that organically include top-performing keywords for, in our case, windows and doors.
Other than well-written, feature-rich descriptions of your window and door products and services, what's the best way to infuse your site with lots of great content? A blog, of course. But here is where a lot of small businesses get nervous.
Companies fret over who's going to write the blogs, what to write about, how much to write and how often. All are valid questions.
You'll find a lot of information online from analysts explaining why a particular length—say 1,200 words—and frequency (e.g., 10 times per month) is best for SEO. There's undoubtedly some truth to those statistics, but I don't recommend being overly ambitious with blog post length and frequency.
Instead, keep it reasonable. If it's too much of a hassle or expense, it won't get done. You want a post to be long enough to be valuable, so try for at least 500 words. Blogs also should be updated regularly, so try for at least once a week. And the old Ford slogan applies: Quality is Job 1.
Using a freelancer for blogging needs is an option, but realize the expenses can stack up quickly. Good writing costs money. There are lots of cheap writers out there, but they're rarely good. It doesn't help your reputation to have posts with spelling or grammar errors. Worse, some unethical writers might plagiarize from other sites, which could get you in big trouble. If search engines discover stolen (or "spun") content on your site, your SEO will plummet.
If you have the time and/or money to amp it up, start by increasing to two times a week but keep the post length about the same—save extra words as original content for later posts. And remember, longer posts will cost more time (from yourself or a staffer) or money (from an outside contractor).
Final tip: integrate high-performing keywords into your posts, but always make it sound natural. Write for people, not for search engines.
