Printers and SEO: 4 Key Website Takeaways That Affect Your SEO

Over the last several weeks, we’ve talked a lot about SEO – everything from What Good SEO is Not to How SEO Greatness Starts with Content to the Impact of Social Media to How to Do it Right.

You’ve probably come to understand the importance your website plays in your SEO, and thanks to the power of the internet, you’ve no doubt come across a wealth of information on the topic. But, like all good internet diets, which one works, and do you have to care about ALL of it?

Let’s simplify things. When it comes to SEO for your website, if you can keep the following in mind, you’ll be doing just fine.

1. Valuable Content (for your customers, not you!)

Chances are, you’re tired of all the “Content is king!” or “Greatness starts with content!” talk. (Actually, that last one was pretty good, don’t you think?)

But, tired or not, there’s some truth here that you need to allow to soak in a little.

The key thing to remember is:

Don’t put your focus on the word content. Put your focus on the word valuable. Content is really pretty easy. (Have you read the internet lately?) Valuable content is not as easy. If you want valuable content, run everything you produce through two simple tests:

1. The So What? Test: Have you ever read something and thought to yourself: “So what? Who cares?” Your content needs to answer that question by providing a solid takeaway that’s useful for the reader. Nobody likes to feel like their time was wasted. Don’t waste your readers’ time by having them read things they don’t care about.
2. “So that you can…”: Let’s say you recently purchased a new digital press, and you’re super excited to let your readers know about it. Or, let’s say it’s your business anniversary. Both of those are great things, right? But your reader is probably thinking, “So what? How does that help me?”
   To answer the “So what?” question, remember these four little words: “So that you can…” When you’re able to frame your content with the benefits to the reader, suddenly, you’ve gained their interest! Here’s an example:

   “Acme Printing is pleased to announce the purchase of the Print-O-Matic 6000 as we’re celebrating our 25th year in business!”

   While the printers out there might be curious about the Print-O-Matic, do you think this grabs the attention of your reader? Or do you think they’ll find themselves asking “So what?” A more effective approach would be to rework your content to list the benefit to the reader with “So that you can…”:

   “Looking for printing that stands out? Acme Printing has recently purchased a new Print-O-Matic 6000 so that you can look your best on paper in half the time!”

2. Social Media (Share! Share! Share!)

SEO is all about who you know, or better yet, who you’re connected with.

As adults, we never really outgrew the elementary-recess mindset of avoiding (and not playing with) the kid who’s all alone on the playground. For some reason, things that stand alone scare us. We’re social creatures, and for better or worse, we tend to find and build trust in groups.

The key thing to remember is:

The same is true with your website. If your website stands alone and is not connected to any social media “friends,” you’re going to have a hard time playing (a.k.a. competing) in the digital sandbox. By building your audience through links, click-through-rates, and great video, you’ll be able to not only boost your SEO efforts but upgrade your playground status as well.

3. Keywords (Unnoticed by Readers. Noticed by Google.)

Printers love SEO and SEO loves printers. If you want to be a printer with great SEO, you need to do the things that printers with great SEO do.

After reading those last two sentences, did you think, “Boy, keyword-stuff much?” Yuck, right? Not the type of content you want to read or create.

The key thing to remember is:

Keywords are important, yes. But keywords work best when they go unnoticed by the reader because they’re part of the natural flow of your content. Remember what Wendy Piersall says, “Google only loves you when everyone else loves you first.” When you have a website with natural-flowing, USEFUL content, people (and Google) will find you.

4. Fast, Friendly, and Responsive

Did you know that your search engine ranking, your bounce rate, conversions, user retention, and most importantly your revenue are all affected by your website’s speed? In fact, a delay on your website as small as one-second can cause as much as a seven percent decrease in sales according to StrangeLoop.

Responsive websites that are easy to navigate make for improved site usability – in other words, visitors are more likely to stick around. (Side note: Remember, it’s hard to navigate something that’s not there. Gone are the days of one-page websites. Allow your visitors to channel their inner Magellan and make it easy for them to explore and circumnavigate your impressive website!)

The key thing to remember is:

Speed, responsiveness, and usability all go together. Because responsive websites don’t need to redirect to give your visitors a more optimized view, they load faster, allowing your visitors to get to where they want to go. And, if your web page loads faster, it increases your SEO rankings. It’s a happy little cycle you’ll want to take steps to get on.

With anything, first comes knowledge, then comes action – one-step-at-a-time action. What will your next action step be to continue your SEO efforts?