It’s a cold hard fact that people rarely go past the first page of Google search results for what they’re looking for. Say what?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) plays a vital role in ensuring your website stands out in search engine results, bringing more traffic and potential clients to your site. As we move through 2024, SEO continues to evolve, and staying updated with the latest trends and techniques is essential.

But, let’s play devil’s advocate here. SEO really doesn’t have to be complicated! With a few tips and tricks, you can start attracting more visitors to your website and climb up the ladder in Google search results!

Understand Your Audience and Keywords

To start, it’s important to know who your target audience is and what they are searching for. Conduct thorough keyword research to identify the terms and phrases potential customers use when looking for promotional products. Tools like Google Keyword Planner and Semrush can help you find relevant keywords with good search volume and manageable competition.

Optimize for Voice Search

Voice search is becoming increasingly popular with the rise of smart speakers and voice assistants. Optimize your content for voice search by focusing on natural language queries and long-tail keywords. Consider the questions your audience might ask and provide clear, concise answers.

Create High-Quality, Relevant Content

Content is still king in SEO. Create informative, engaging, and relevant content that provides value to your visitors. This includes blog posts, product descriptions, and landing pages. Use your targeted keywords naturally within the content and ensure it answers the needs and questions of your audience. Not just any ol’ content will work — it needs to be posted frequently and relevant to your audience. The best way to go about this?

Make a content marketing schedule and stick to it. Mix it up with blogs and videos — blogs will provide your site with valuable keywords, and videos are a surefire way to keep your audience on your site longer and coming back for more.

While this is a time-consuming tip, it is undeniably helpful. If you’re not ready to handle content yourself, let us do it for you! SAGE Website Professional Plus includes a content package with fresh and frequent blog articles, videos, case studies, and more for your site – created by us, so you don’t have to! Also included with Professional Plus websites, the all-new Curated Product Collections are ready-made theme-based pages you can add to your site and effortlessly boost your SEO. They come pre-loaded with images, products, and relevant content so you can land further and more often in search results!

Local SEO

If your promotional products business operates in specific
geographic areas, local SEO is vital.

If you’re a business owner, naturally you want to attract as much local business as possible, so get on the map by claiming your business on your Google Business Profile.

This free listing lets you respond to customer reviews, add
photos, and make updates to highlight what’s new. By completing your profile,
your business can be located on Google Maps, and you’ll also have a chance at
appearing in the coveted top three businesses that show up at the top of search
results pages.

These convenient profiles can be a make-or-break for someone looking for a quick result in your area, so be sure to complete your profile as soon as possible if you haven’t already done so.

To optimize your Google Business Profile, ensure your name, address, and phone number are consistent across all online directories, and encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews. Local keywords and location-specific content can also help you rank better in local search results.

Build High-Quality Backlinks

A backlink is a link from one website to another. Backlinks from reputable websites signal to search engines that your site is trustworthy and authoritative. When a website links to another site, it is essentially vouching for the content on that site. Focus on earning high-quality backlinks through guest blogging, partnerships, and creating shareable content. Avoid spammy link-building practices like purchasing backlinks or mass-posting comments on blogs or social media platforms with a link back to your site, as they can harm your SEO efforts.

Optimize for E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness,
Trustworthiness)

Google places a strong emphasis on E-A-T when ranking websites. To get in the SEO game, you’ve got to play by a few rules. Unfortunately, there is no perfect manual to refer to due to Google’s ever-changing algorithm. Word on the street is the Google algorithm changes every day, but don’t let that intimidate you. Google announces the big updates that make the most impact on your ranking. By keeping up with these changes, you set yourself up for more SEO success. Using words relevant to your industry on your website helps your Google ranking. Ensure your website design includes those keywords to get users where you want them to go.

Establish your brand as an authority in the promotional products industry by showcasing your expertise, providing accurate and trustworthy information, and building a positive online reputation. Ensure your website content is up-to-date, accurate, and has an exclusive design unique to your brand.

Enhance User Experience (UX)

A positive user experience is crucial for both SEO and
customer satisfaction. Ensure your website is easy to navigate, visually
appealing, and free of technical issues. Pay attention to site speed, as
slow-loading pages can drive visitors away and negatively impact your rankings.

SAGE Websites offer a slew of these features and modern user-centric designs. With three different tiers to choose from, you are sure to find the perfect option for your brand. You can even compare them here. Change is scary; we get that, but you don’t have to know anything about website design to use a SAGE Website. Our web development team will take care of it for you! Check ‘em out, request a demo, and see where your current site differs, it just might be time for a change!

Regularly Monitor and Update Your SEO Strategy

SEO is not a one-time effort but an ongoing process. Regularly monitor your website’s performance using tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console. Keep up with the latest SEO trends and algorithm updates and be ready to adapt your strategy as needed.

What’s the Next Big Trend in SEO?

Looking ahead to future trends in SEO, search engines are becoming increasingly refined and ultimately better at delivering relevant results, especially with AI. It is predicted that content will be a key to SEO and the user experience of a website.

Sources:

Salesforce

BDC

Google Marketing Platform