The Ins and Outs of SEO - What Interior Designers Need to Get Started

A well-planned website can significantly drive awareness and even leads to your design business. Unfortunately, many interior designers make the mistake of creating static websites and then leave them alone, thinking they will be recognized by search engines. But that strategy can be detrimental to your business goals. If you want to maximize your online efforts, you should know search optimization (SEO) basics.

Let’s begin with this: SEO is the process of optimizing your website to have better traffic by showing up in search results. Well, how do you do that? I will lay out some pretty easy steps to follow to help you get started with SEO basics to help your website thrive.

What is the Purpose of SEO?

Having SEO in place is so important when you run a website for your business. Think about how many times you have done a google search in the past few days, weeks, or even months? Did you happen to click on something located on the first page of your search results?

Most of us click on websites from the first page and never move to the second page. Research shows 71% of search engine traffic never leaves the first-page search results, so it is critical you show up on page 1. If you want to be found on the first page like those you saw, you need to understand SEO and implement it into your website. Here are a few steps to get you started and on the right track to being found in a quick Google search.

Step 1 - Focus on Keywords.

You must optimize your website with keywords that will bring in traffic to your site. These keywords will be used throughout your website in different areas like your website content, headers, URL, and meta tags. There are different ways to perform keyword searches to ensure that your website uses the correct keywords.

There are two types of keywords – short and long tail. Keywords are used by web users to search for the information they need. For instance, if I am looking for an interior designer in Denver, I would type in the search engine “interior designer Denver” That would be considered a short keyword search. What if I am looking for a designer that specializes in high-end luxury kitchen design? Then I might type in “award-winning high-end luxury kitchen design in Denver.” This would be a long tail, as it puts together several key search terms to narrow down the search.

There are several ways you can research search terms that pertain to your business. One of the simplest ways is to brainstorm a few keywords, then plug each word in the search engine. As you type, you will see additional terms that may also be related. Make a note of all these search terms.

Another easy way is to use Google Trends. You can research how often the keyword is being searched and how it stacks up to other keywords similar to it. This is a great way to find relevant keywords and prioritize traffic potential.

Step 2 - Set yourself up for Local SEO.

If you are going to have a business and cater to a local audience, you need to be set up for Local SEO. Local SEO just means that your business can be found locally online. According to the Search Engine Journal, 90% of consumers use the Internet to find local businesses, and nearly 30% of all mobile searches are locally related. This is an important step for interior designers focused on a specific geographic area.

They include:

• Adding your business to Google My Business
• Producing local content
• Embed Google Maps on your website
• Add your store to local directories
• Optimizing your website to your geographic location

After you have accomplished all of these steps, you will be all set up for Local SEO, and local viewers will be able to find you when they search for you.

Step 3 - Have Valuable Content.

When conducting a quick google search, 75% of visitors click on a site that appears on the first page. The websites that appear on page one are often well planned with SEO-rich content throughout the entire page. Therefore, Google recognized that information using complex algorithms as valuable content to answer the search terms.

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Let’s be honest; this is exactly what you want to happen for your website. That is why your website must be full of valuable content for people to find. Whatever your design expertise, you want people to find your website easily. You want them to search for your search terms, and your website appears on page one.

Creating a solid content strategy is key to your success with Google. Begin reevaluating your current pages' content to determine if it is truly valuable per the identified keywords? Can you easily add more keywords without it looking staged or unnecessary? Then determine what content is needed to help you rank better. Look at all new content through the SEO lens will help. Be sure not to stuff keywords into your content. Your pages should read and flow naturally. Google will pick up on keyword stuffing.

Finally, evaluate the quality of the content by looking at it from a visitor’s point of view. Would you want to click on it in a Google search? Does the content serve a purpose and answer key questions. These are important questions to ask yourself when forming your content.

Step 4 - Better your SEO Strategy.

There are several ways to enhance your SEO strategy. First, you want to focus your efforts on ensuring that your organic traffic is always increasing, so it is important to track that as often as possible. You can increase your organic traffic with social sharing, word of mouth, and email marketing, among other ways. Be sure you are sharing links to your content through all marketing channels. If you haven’t connected to Google Analytics, it is an important aspect of measuring your progress.

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Another way to better your SEO is to increase your CTR (click-through rate). This information is another indicator found in Google Analytics. Your CTR is the number of times someone clicks on your website address when they find it. Your number one goal of your website is to improve your visibility and traffic. Your CTR is something that you want to always continue to increase. Having great keywords and content will help keep these numbers increasing. Whatever you can do to grab your viewers' attention is what you want to aim for.

One more way to better your SEO is to track your bounce rate. Your bounce rate determines the number of visitors that leave without interacting with your content. You want to see a low number. Set a goal to keep people on your website as long as possible.

Every part of your website has to work together to make someone want to stay connected. Evaluate each link, form, and opportunity to interact, guaranteeing that people stay on your website for longer periods. For example, you want them to come to the website and fill out a form or purchase a product or service. If they jump on and immediately jump off, then you need to figure out where the disconnect is happening and do your best to fix it.

Backlinks are another great way that shows you have a great website. Backlinks are like votes. The more votes you have, the more users will want to visit your website. Backlinks are links that other websites have linked back to your website, basically endorsing your website and telling others that it is a good and reputable source.

The more backlinks you have, the better; however, be mindful of not buying backlinks. If you do not have backlinks, you will need to figure out why and make those changes. It could just be a simple content or keyword issue that could be a quick fix to get you more backlinks. To increase your backlinks, identify opportunities with top referral sources, partner with affiliates, or create content that others want to share with others.

Another area of your site that is important is your page speed. You need to make sure that your website runs at an average page speed compared to websites like yours. There are ways to find this out. Google has another great resource that is free for users. You can run your speed test for your website at any time at your convenience.

Some Final Thoughts

Regardless of what type of website you design, you have to remember these key SEO initiatives to drive traffic to your website. Make sure that you have great keywords in place and you are using a great content marketing strategy.

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You also want to make sure that you are running speed tests and analytic tests often to see how you are doing compared to the previous months. Keep a close eye on backlinks, CTR, and bounce rates. This will help you determine what areas you need to improve and the areas that are working well.

If all of this sounds overwhelming to you and you just have too much on your plate to handle with the rest of your business, take the time to hire a marketing team or consultant that specializes in these areas. Then, with a little investment, you can maximize your website to drive more business. If you choose to do it alone, remember these steps and tips. Do some research, and you will be well on your way to having a great website with great SEO.