Search engine optimization can seem complicated, but even beginners can utilize simple SEO tips and tricks to increase their page rankings on search engine result pages. From improving components of their webpages to signing up for powerful SEO analytics platforms, beginners can easily use the same techniques and tools as SEO experts.

Research Keywords and Competitors

Keyword research is essential to understanding your site’s SEO and your competitors’, but luckily, you do not have to be an SEO guru to know which keywords to use. Use free tools like SEM Rush to research your current and potential keywords related products and services, your audience’s topics of interest or other aspects of SEO. While there is a limit on free keyword searches per day, SEM Rush is useful to see keyword stats like the amount of monthly searches for targeted keywords and a rating of the competition for phrases. You can also view a list of related keywords for phrases you’re looking for to get content ideas.

Additionally, SEM experts use tools like SEM Rush to research their competitors. Use the feature Domain vs. Domain by entering your site’s domain and any of your competitors’.  Select the keyword type you want to research like organic keywords and you’ll see a side by side comparison of these sites by keyword, position on search engine result pages and more.  By knowing how you stack up against the competition, you can drive your inbound marketing and content strategy to get ahead of other brands.

Use Keywords in the Most Important Parts of a Page

Known as on-page SEO, optimizing specific parts of your webpage is key to boosting your page rankings.  Focus on enhancing your on-page SEO for page elements including:

• Page title
• Meta description
• H1, H2, H3, etc. tags
• URL
• Text to links to pages within your site

Ensure you use your chosen keywords in the above aspects of your most high-ranking pages to signal to search engines that your content is relevant to these keyword searches.

One way to avoid the guesswork out of optimizing on-page SEO, some tools like BrightEdge provide recommendations for using keywords in these page elements.  BrightEdge can alert you to whether keywords are missing from page titles and meta descriptions and even suggests which keywords to use.

Automate Your Social Media Posts

Automation is another way SEO experts make their lives easier. For social media, they frequently schedule posts in advance to continue to be on their followers’ radar and keep up with engagement.

Monitor Performance with an SEO Analytics Platform

Whether your inbound marketing strategy focuses on on-page SEO or social media marketing, an SEO analytics platform can keep track of your marketing plan’s current performance and outcomes.

A free yet comprehensive SEO analytics platform even beginners can use is Google Analytics. This tool breaks down features into categories like Behavior and Acquisition to understand where your traffic is coming from, he amount of traffic you’re receiving and which of your pages are the most popular. For example, under Acquisition, you can view the number of visits from organic sources like search engine result pages, social media networks or other sources.

As you explore all the features SEO analytics platforms have to offer, you can monitor key trends in traffic visits and which pages draw the most traffic so you can refine your inbound marketing strategy and concentrate on your highest revenue- and traffic-driving pages.

Check the Number of Outside Sites Linking to Your Pages

Your external links are a big factor in whether your pages rank on the first page of Google or hidden under your competitors’ search results.  Naturally, pages that are linked the most by outside sites are likely to be viewed by search engines as the most relevant and important.

To determine the popularity of your pages by the number of external links, sign up for tools like Ahrefs, which gives you results for domains based on the quantity of links to your site and whether sites are authoritative. It’s not enough to get the most links to your site. Your site should also earn the links of sites that are respected and have high authority in their field or niche.

Contact Influencers to Promote Content or Products

Companies big and small can participate in one of the most hyped up forms of inbound marketing: influencer marketing. Using influencers who already earned the trust or respect of thousands or millions of followers to promote products and services can be effective for companies that want to expand their reach.

However, your marketing budget or other forms of compensation you may provide will likely affect the number or popularity of the influencers who promote your products or services.

Some social media stars, like those on Instagram, are paid thousands per post. But if you don’t have the budget for these Instagram influencers, you can still gain the attention of other high-profile social media accounts by offering free products or services in exchange for their review or sponsored posts.

Create Custom, Shareable Images

The right images make your inbound marketing content shareworthy, increasing your follower numbers on social media and the amount of external links to your site. But you don’t have to be a graphic designer to get your followers to share your content. Use programs like Photoshop, Canva or other graphic design software to make images like banners, social media pics and infographics.

Posts with images are most likely to be shared. According to social media app Buffer, Tweets that feature images have an 18 percent higher click through rate than posts that do not have pictures.

 Utilize Alt Text for Keyword Optimization

As a best practice for SEO, insert your keywords in the alt text portion of your webpage. Not only is this another way to increase your SEO, you help people who may be visually impaired and use screen readers understand the contents of the page by describing your site through keywords.