SEO Consulting: Key Steps to Improve Your SEO
If you are looking to expand your consulting business, you need to include search engine optimization (SEO) in your strategy.
SEO services involve many tactics that help your website rank better in search results for relevant keywords. When potential customers search for those terms, your website will be one of the first things they see. They can then click through to your website, bringing you more leads.
So how can you get started with SEO for consultants? In this guide, we'll give you six practical tips for growing your consulting firm with SEO. Just keep reading to learn how to get started with SEO consulting!
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What is an SEO consultant?
An SEO consultant involves a series of tactics that help your website rank better in search results for relevant keywords. When potential customers search for those terms, your website will be one of the first things they see. They can then click through to your website, bringing you more leads.
What are the benefits of SEO for consultants?
Benefits of SEO for consultants include:
- Attract new customers
- Build brand awareness
- Become a thought leader in the industry
Basically, with SEO, your consulting firm can generate quality traffic to drive revenue.
How to do SEO for consultants in 6 steps?
Learn how to do SEO for consultants with this six-step guide:
1. Choose the right keywords
Keywords are an important part of any SEO strategy. What are keywords for SEO? They are terms and phrases that users search for when they want to find information.
To be successful with SEO marketing for consultants, you need to identify the keywords your potential clients search for. You can then target those keywords with your content.
When it comes to SEO consulting, some of your keywords will be terms like “business management consulting” or “best interior design consultancy”.
However, many of your keywords will be related to problems your customers have that you can solve or their questions that you can answer. For example, if you are a human resources (HR) consultant, one of your keywords might be “how to create a new employee training program”.
To find keyword ideas, enter some phrases relevant to your business into a keyword research tool like KeywordsFX. When you enter a term, the tool will give you a list of related keywords to look at.
You can also use Google Search Console to see what terms people searched to find your site on Google.
2. Create high-quality content
Once you have a list of keywords, you can create content based on those keywords. In order for that content to rank well, you need to make sure it's high quality.
One of the best ways to ensure your content is high quality is to focus on satisfying search intent. Search intent is what the user wants to learn or achieve by conducting a search.
For example, if someone searches for “IT consulting prices,” they might want to know how much it costs to hire an IT consultant. If someone searches for “how to secure your office network”, they are looking for a list of tips or steps.
When creating a piece of content, try to fulfill the purpose and answer the question as thoroughly as possible. Google prefers comprehensive content slim content.
Another way to think about serving search intent is to try to make the content as useful to the reader as possible. It will provide value to the user, often through factual advice or accurate information.
3. Incorporate your keywords strategically
In order for a page to rank for its target keyword, you'll need to include that keyword on the page. You'll want to use it throughout your writing, as well as in some specific strategic locations.
Using your main keyword throughout your content helps both readers and search engines determine the context of your page. Try to use it over and over, but make sure it sounds natural.
Don't force your keywords into sentences that don't belong — a technique known as keyword stuffing can lead to lower rankings.
You'll also want to use variations of your main keyword and closely related keywords. For example, if your keyword is "business management consulting prices", you may also want to use "business management consulting costs".
Some other places where you'll want to use your target keywords include:
Title tag: Your page title shows up on search engine results pages (SERPs)
Meta Description: A short description of your content showing up on the SERPs
URL: The web address of your site
Headings: Headings and subheadings, such as H1, H2, and H3 headings, appear throughout your content and help organize your page
Image alt tag: Tag used to describe images on your page.
4. Link Building
Backlinks, which link to your website from other websites, are an important factor in SEO for consulting firms. The more links you have from authority sites, the more Google believes your site is authoritative, which improves your rankings.
You can earn backlinks organically by creating content that other websites want to link to on their site. Certain types of content, such as infographics, original research, and statistics compilations, are especially helpful for earning links.
Another way to earn links is through outreach, which involves contacting the publisher and requesting the link. For example, say you read a blog post that could benefit from including your infographic. You can email the blogger and ask them to add your infographic to their section with a link back to your site.
5. Establish a social media presence
Social media is not a direct ranking factor that Google considers when ranking content. However, a strong social media presence can indirectly increase the performance of your search engine.
When you and other users share your content on social media, more people will see it and your chances of earning links will increase. Your social media presence also helps build your brand, potentially encouraging people to click on your website in search results.
To increase search engine rankings, establish a strong presence on the social media sites your target audience uses and regularly post engaging content. A social media marketing agency can help with this.
6. Provide a positive user experience
If your website offers a good user experience, visitors are likely to stay longer. As people stay on your site longer and visit more pages, this behavior sends a positive signal to Google. It indicates that search engine users have found what they were looking for on your site.
So, how can you create a positive user experience? Here are some of the most important factors to consider when it comes to user experience and SEO for consultants:
- Web Design and Layout: Design your website plays a huge role in creating a positive first impression. Users are also more likely to stay on your site if it's visually appealing. Use a consistent, professional design on your website and ensure a user-friendly design.
- Navigation: Make it easy for users to navigate around your site and find what they need. If users can't easily find the information they want, they'll likely look elsewhere.
- Mobile-friendly: Today, more than half of website traffic comes from mobile devices, so your website needs to look good and work properly on mobile devices. Mobile-friendliness also affects your search engine rankings. Use responsive design to make sure your website works on all types of devices.
- Page loading speed: Users expect a website to load quickly. If yours isn't there, they'll likely click the search results again and try another site. You can use a variety of page speed optimization tactics, such as file compression and reducing redirects, to improve your site's load time.
Start your SEO campaign with a SEO company
Ready to get started with SEO for consultants? These six tips give you the fundamentals you need to know to start improving your site's search engine performance.
If you want help implementing these tips or taking your SEO strategy beyond the basics, consider partnering with WebFX. We are an award-winning digital marketing agency with over 10 years of experience and we have brought in over $3 billion in revenue for our clients over the last 5 years.
To learn more about how our team of SEO experts can help you grow your consulting firm, request a free quote online or call Viet SEO on +84917212969.
