Start-up entrepreneurs, this is for you. As a company that provides “SEO Vancouver”, we know that getting discovered is incredibly important for companies trying to court PR and venture capitalists. SEO can help. That’s why we’ve created this 5-step DIY checklist to increase your visibility on Google.

We’re going to work under the assumption you’ve already researched your competitors and have a list of target keywords. If you need help with SEO keyword research, check out this beginner’s guide by Moz. We also recommend using the Google Keyword Planner, but you’ll need to set-up a free AdWords account to gain access.

5) Start local

Google is big on localization. It wants to recommend businesses/organization/services in the neighbourhoods where people work and live. As part of choosing your keywords, remember to include the city. For example, let’s say you’re spearheading an environmental firm that has come up with a revolutionary way for cleaning up hazardous spills. You’d probably want to target a keyword phrase like “hazardous spills Vancouver.” Think about what people will be “Googling” when searching for your services/products.

4) Write awesomely

Writing great SEO content is a step that can’t be ignored. In highly competitive niches, you may need a couple of articles a week—and it’s got to be stuff that knocks the competition out of the water. Getting a prime placement on Google is only half the solution. Google offers access to an awful lot of amazing people who do the same thing as you, so you’ve got to be just a little more amazing, heartfelt, and convincing to get that call, that sign-up, or that RFP.

3) Structure your content

Remember that keyword phrase we talked about? Each page on your website can support one. And that keyword phrase needs to be placed on strategic locations on that page. This includes the URL, the header, the first sentence, image names, and alt tags. Try to pepper in the keyword phrase throughout page content at a rate of about 2-3%.

2) Internal linking

Relevant SEO terms should be linked on different pages. For example, let’s go back to the environmental firm example.  Perhaps you’ve got one page optimized for “hazardous spills Vancouver,” but maybe this isn’t your only service. Maybe you also provide “mould remediation.” You should mention this in the text—and create a link to that page. For example, we’re going to include a link about our amazing copywriting service in Vancouver right here, because it’s good for our SEO!

1) External linking

This is the big one. Link building is all about who’s sharing your articles, where you’re being tagged and named—it’s about establishing credibility from third party sources, and it’s not easy. Link building is one of the big ongoing activities in all firms offering SEO, because building quality links is hard. Social media certainly helps, so post regularly and try to build up a following of people passionate about your brand. If you’ve got a close-knit community of people who love and support what you do, ask them to like, comment, and share—it all helps.

This article isn’t extensive, it provides an excellent launching point for creating an SEO strategy. To learn more abouts services for SEO Vancouver, check out our blog or give us a ring.