We live in an era of content shock. Quite simply, there’s a lot of good content out there and it’s difficult to stick out in saturated markets. Whether you’re facing saturation in the “real world” or online, the more competitors you have, the more work you need to put in. Fortunately, with the right tricks and tips, you can succeed even in saturated markets.
So let’s look at how Search Engine Optimization works and why it’s important. We’ll also cover how you can use SEO to stand out even in saturated markets.
Understanding The Importance of Search Engine Optimization
Many people now use their laptops, smartphones, and other devices to conduct research before purchasing a product or service. Whether someone is looking for “the best criminal defense lawyer in Atlanta” or the “top air fryer in 2022,” there’s a good chance they will start by searching around on the web.
Search Engine Optimization can be a big help. With SEO, you make your website and content more attractive to search engines such as Google or Bing. How? It helps to understand what search engines are trying to accomplish. Simply put, search engines want to present users with the best content available related to their search inquiries.
So, if a user types in “best DUI defense lawyer in Boston,” Google will scan various web pages, rank them, and then present them. In this case, Google will likely present a variety of law firm and attorney websites for people and practices located around Boston. The search engine may also present aggregate websites, like Findlaw.com, expertise.com, and others. These websites typically list lawyers and may provide client reviews as well.
By the way, while we’re focusing on law firms right now, the same remains true for other areas of business. If a user is searching for the “best burger in Chicago,” he or she will get presented with a list of local restaurants, review sites like Yelp, and content from eatery magazines.
Fortunately, if you’re a localized business operating in a specific town, county, or wherever else, you can often cut through the noise more quickly with a strong SEO strategy. Meanwhile, national search terms, say the “best business laptop”, are typically more difficult to rank for.
How to Stand Out With The Right Keywords
These days, there’s so much content available online that you might think that Search Engine Optimization is a waste of time and resources. Writing content can feel like shouting into a hurricane and no matter how hard you scream, you won’t make yourself heard above the storm.
Fortunately, in some ways, SEO now arguably favors smaller businesses. If you sell toothpaste at grocery stores across the country, you’ll struggle to beat out the other big dental supply companies publishing content. Large organizations (e.g. Colgate) often have big marketing teams that produce a lot of SEO content.
That said, if you run a dental practice or law office in Ames, Iowa, you’ll mostly be competing with other small businesses in that market. These companies likely won’t be producing as much content as a huge company like Colgate. Knowing how to adjust general SEO strategies to dentistry in particular is a great way to drive more traffic to your practice.
Looping back to our law firm example from earlier, localized niche Search Engine Optimization strategies, such as those laid out in Law Firm SEO, often present the best opportunities. This specific reference is just one example of many resources you can use to your advantage in your niche marketing plan.
By crafting keyword-rich, relevant, and high-quality content, you can start to build up an audience, and over time, you can drive conversions. Great content tends to draw in organic traffic, which is of especially high value. With organic traffic, people are in need of your specific products or services and thus are more likely to convert.
You’ll want to start by finding keywords that are relevant to your business and your customers or clients. Fortunately, you can use Google Ads to generate keyword ideas. Using Google Ads Keyword Planner for “Criminal Defense Attorney” in Miami generated the following list:
- criminal lawyer
- defense attorney
- criminal lawyers near me
- criminal defense lawyer
- DUI attorney
- criminal attorney
- DUI attorney near me
- criminal defense attorney near me
These keywords offer a great starting point. To go further, a criminal defense lawyer specializing in certain things, say fighting DUIs or representing children, can also focus on related terms to the specialization.
Crafting High-Quality Keyword Rich SEO Content That Stands Out
By peppering the above keywords (DUI lawyer, criminal defense attorney near me, etc.) into your content, you can begin to attract search engines. You’ll also want to use basic SEO guidelines, such as:
- Keyword-rich headers
- Images and corresponding keyword-rich alt-text
- No grammatical errors
- A fast, responsive, and mobile-friendly website
Google also pays attention to length and generally seems to rank longer content higher (~1,800 words). Google values “backlinks”, which are links on other websites that lead to your website. Let’s say you’re an attorney and digitally publish an article in the local newspaper. If that article links to your site, Google will notice the backlink and take it into account when determining your authority.
Backlinks from highly reputable websites are very valuable and could greatly increase your ranking. It’s wise to build a backlinking strategy and to start reaching out to other websites to see if you can publish content and also place links back to your website. You may also consider hiring a professional who specializes in building backlinks.
Is SEO Right For My Company?
SEO is an effective strategy even in saturated markets. That said, not all SEO campaigns will perform equally. In some instances, localized niche companies such as local attorney practices, veterinarians, and other geographically confined businesses will enjoy better results. Even then, the difference between a well-thought-out SEO strategy and an amateurish effort can be dramatic.
If you are going to use SEO to grow your business, you should either study content marketing and Search Engine Optimization or work with someone who knows the industry. Quite simply, it’s easier to stand out in saturated markets if you have the right skills and assets.
