May 18, 2017 By SEO Houston Pros Leave a Comment

How To Build An SEO Strategy That Will Dominate Your Market

Would you like to take advantage of a search engine optimization strategy that will go well beyond incremental growth? A strategy that your competitors will not be able to replicate? One that will actually set you apart from all of the competitors that you are up against? If so, then this is exactly what we are going to show you today.

First of all, you need to understand that there is a difference between a tactic and a strategy. You shouldn’t feel bad if you are not sure about the difference, as we typically hear people using these two terms as if they are synonymous, yet they have completely different meanings.

Here’s a quick way to understand the difference: a tactic is a method that is used to achieve something, whereas a strategy is an actual plan of action with a specific competitive advantage.

If this is confusing, let’s take a look at Google for a second. They had a strategy which involved becoming synonymous with what search engines actually were, and today, it is obvious that they have successfully done that. There were tactics that were used in order to achieve this goal which included:

1. They developed a link based algorithm which was not as susceptible to manipulation as the other algorithms were, looking at content alone.
2. They funded their growth using AdWords, the advertising on their website, and this simultaneously allowed more people to be introduced to their brand and become involved with their products.
3. They acquired a company called Urchin which was later renamed Google analytics, and this gave them more data points by which to refine the basis of their algorithm.
4. They also were able to move their brand in front of website owners, getting more people involved with their products. Can you see the pattern emerging yet? Every business decision, which is a tactic, was made by Google for achieving their goal which was their strategy. As a result of this, years after the fact, no other search engines have done as much in the market share of search than Google
5. They also were able to move their brand in front of website owners, getting more people involved with their products. Can you see the pattern emerging yet? Every business decision, which is a tactic, was made by Google for achieving their goal which was their strategy. As a result of this, years after the fact, no other search engines have done as much in the market share of search than Google.
6. They also were able to move their brand in front of website owners, getting more people involved with their products.

Now that we know the difference between a tactic in a strategy, we need to look at three strategies that you need to use in order to dominate your market, plus all of the associated tactics.

1. You need to eliminate conventional thinking about content development and keyword research.

It’s actually easy to believe that you want to rank for just the keywords that are related to your products. This would actually be a lazy move. Of course, if you do sell widgets, you would want to rank for that term, but you also want to rank for variations such as:

[color] + widgets
[brand] + widgets
[size] + widgets

Regardless of how many variations that you include, this is only going to scratch the proverbial surface of the many different topics and keywords that you can use to drive organic traffic to your website. It is absolutely essential to go far beyond conventional thinking, something that begins with identifying other relevant topics – some of which will help you rank faster, with far less effort, using keywords that other people are also competing for.

The following are what many would consider to be unconventional tactics which can be used to diversify when you are doing keyword research and developing your content.

Ancillary Products and/or Services

Are there customers that will be using your widgets as part of some other machine? Will they need a tool by which to install them? Are your widgets require something to make them work such as calibration or lubrication? If you did answer yes to any of these, you have just multiplied the number of potential topics which you can target which could be exponential!

You could write about services or products that support entirely new areas that are still within the context of the keyword phrases you are targeting. Specifically, when people say keyword phrases are dead, as I explained in a recent article in regard to artificial intelligence, it might be better to refer to them as topics. Think of buckets, each of which uses topically themed words.

There are some benefits which are hidden which actually produce content for and to related services and products:

1. There are some companies that are not in direct competition with you, and may actually want to share your content – something that can actually help them promote their own business.
2. You will attract many visitors at the earlier stages of the buying process.
3. Providing information on a broader range of topics, specifically within your niche, will help you appear more authoritative and knowledgeable.

The SEO industry is something that we need to focus on. For example, ancillary products and services could be the focus of content that you produce for completely marketing related reasons. This might include:

• CDN Services
• Podcasting Services and Equipment
• Interview Industry Leaders
• Website Backup Services
• Email Marketing Services
• Conversion Optimization
• Reputation Management
• Productivity Tools
• Social Media Tools
• Premium WordPress Themes and Plugins
• Web Design
• Printing
• Analytics
• CRM Software
• Domains
• Web Hosting
• Call Tracking

Unless you have been in some type of contract as an assassin with the CIA, you are more than likely happy with being mentioned in the media. This is true, whether this is for the Huffington Post, or even Forbes, and it is a feeling that will not go away.

Another strategy you can use is begin to interview industry leaders, a great way of producing excellent content, and the person you are interviewing is going to make this content for you by simply speaking! It also makes you appear to be authoritative and trustworthy, especially in the eyes of your audience, and they will begin to associate you with these industry leaders. Another benefit that you will take advantage of is rising to higher levels, allowing you to reach plateaus that you may not have thought you would have been able to simply because you now have a larger audience because of the interview. This tactic adds value to your products, image, and this will also separate you from ordinary people by having these contacts and interviews.

You really don’t need to be Oprah Winfrey to do these interviews in a competent manner with industry leaders. Here are a few things that you can ask them to get things started:

• Their Education, Work Experience and Background
• Why and How They Decided To Do This (Very Important)
• Books They Have Recommended or Written
• There Are Heroes, Mentors or Even Their Role Models
• Podcasts Which They Recommend or Have Perhaps Hosted
• Events That They Attended or Have Spoken At
• Publications Which They Are Contributing To
• Services and Products That They Recommend

From a completely technical perspective, you should record the call so that you don’t have to worry about writing everything down that they say. You simply need to get the software to do the work for you, or get a transcriber from places like Fiverr. This will allow you to be more efficient, and also respect the the person’s time that you are interviewing. You could also get more information on this topic by finding a Internet marketing agency Houston that could add additional insight.

Reasons To Review Competing Services Or Products

This might seem strange, but when you are writing content about these products or services, this can create many opportunities, as long as you are in some way superior. In fact, this is one of the foundational tactics that was used with our SEO marketing Houston campaigns.

You really need to avoid bashing competitors, simply because it makes you look like you are trying to provide some form of compensation for what you are lacking. Instead, you should objectively and clearly explain the differences between your product and there’s, and highlight the positive and negative aspects of each choice so that people can make decisions based on the facts.

If you are using this tactic, you need to produce a couple different levels of content, build external and internal links to that content as well. What I have discovered is that having a parent page can provide you with a general comparison of your competitors products, and then you can follow that with child pages where you can look at individual features. The child pages should also contain an internal link that will go back to the parent page, and can also be linked to related child pages. I wrote a post where I showed people how to set up permanent links on WordPress which explains exactly why this is important and how to get this done.

Consider The Different Ways That Customers Will Search Online

It is this proliferation of mobile devices, technology, and artificial intelligence, which really changes the way that we search for things on the web. Google, for example, can be accessed by mobile devices different questions through the phone and get results via their android device or Google Home.

Google Home

This is going to offer a tremendous amount of value for business owners and people that are searching for content. If you put yourself in the shoes of an individual that is searching, just for a minute, you really don’t want to go through a multitude of blue links just to find the information that you want. If you put yourself in the shoes of the home builder, you don’t want to spend a lot of time answering questions for people that are looking for a completely different style of house than the type that you typically build.

Therefore, when you produce content, you need to understand that complex queries are being processed by artificial intelligence which can analyze thousands of data points in order to help provide a single answer for the searcher.

To accomplish this, you need to think from the perspective of your customers. You need to think about what questions they will ask. Consider the type of words they will use in their particular industry, or that will be related to products and services that they are searching for right now. Will they actually understand industry terminology? You need to go beyond the simple thought process of considering keywords and think from their perspective.

An example of this would be an HVAC company that would like to rank for the keyword term “air conditioning repair” which is very helpful especially during the summer months in sunny Florida, a query that indicates they are needing services. When a person is searching for something else such as “my air conditioner smells weird”, they are likely looking for a different result. If your website can provide these answers, this is what will show up at the top of the listings, and this will also help the HVAC company make the sale.

2. Build Your Industry’s Hub

This is going to require quite a bit of effort because you are going to have a new website, one that will have outstanding content, allowing you to be a hub for this type of information.

If you do this the right way, you will have the opportunity to have multiple positions on the search engines, plus you will have a very powerful website to link from and independent platforms that can improve your authority, trust and expertise perception in the minds of those that find you. It’s also important to be very selective with any links that you get.

If you do want this to be successful, you will need to become an absolute authority. This is where you will be able to improve your primary website, and at the same time, build a second website that will contain additional resources including:

• Industry News
• Industry Events
• Laws in Your Industry
• Trade Networking Groups and Organizations
• Industry Specific Business Advice
• Interviews with Industry Leaders
• Trade Publications (Audio, Print and Web)
• Resources and Tools
• Forms, Documents and Templates

The way that you are able to become an authority site is to make sure that you have all of the information that visitors can ever want at this one location. To maximize a strategy, give visitors a reason to come back on a regular basis, or even send people there. This could become some type of directory. If you could create a Facebook or LinkedIn, a place where people in this industry could gather together and interconnect – this would be a powerful advantage over your competitors. All of this and more can be discussed with an Internet marketing agency Houston business that can get everything started.

How To Become An “Influencer”

If you’re a website owner or marketer in Houston, then part of your online marketing or SEO strategy should be focusing on becoming an “influencer”. This may sound easier said than done. However, the truth is it is possible, but you have to work hard and put in a solid effort that many others won’t put in. All the hard work and effort is worth it.

Eventually, you will become a leader in your industry when your hard work pays off. Once that happens, you won’t have to work very hard to get links and additional exposure. If an online marketing Houston influencer does it well, then they will have no problems getting their targeted audience to promote them, their products, services and anything else they promote.

We’ll share an example by saying that I have been in the online marketing industry for over 10 years, but I’ve started to focus on providing online marketing Houston services to companies in the construction industry. This is an industry that I am not known in and I want to change that, and as a result of my hard work and efforts, two large construction publications asked me to contribute. Not only that, but I have been quoted in an article related to the construction industry, and all of these things have led to an incredible amount of exposure.

I didn’t tell anybody that if someone does something for me, then I’ll do something back for them. I encouraged a reporter to include them. This is because I knew the article would be improved and their audience would enjoy it.

What happened next was amazing because those people started to value me more and then they shared the article with their own contacts. Instead of me telling those in my targeted market that I am great and can get the job done, I just let them look things up and they will actually see how good I am. Another interesting point is that I didn’t mention what my company does or what I do in the article.

The article in question only scratches the surface because not only was it quoted regularly in popular publications, but I now get to demonstrate my exercise to my targeted audience. Best of all, I do it in their own publications. This demonstrates an amazing amount of trust between trade publications and our company.

How To Become An “Influencer” Part 2

It’s easier than you think. In fact, the process involved with becoming one is the same for someone who is an “influencer” and for someone who is starting off as one. The main ingredients are to add value early and to do it often.

When it comes to becoming an “influencer”, it’s all about focusing on building relationships and adding value before you think about asking for something. There are many famous people in the online marketing Houston industry. Some of these people know they can come to me when they need help and if I am able to do it, then I will help them.

In other words, I don’t tell them that if I do something for them, then they have to do something for me. It’s more about building relationships and it’s more about actually liking those who are in the industry. I have known many people for a very longtime before I have asked them for anything.

This applies to people who are considered my competitors. For example, last year I was interviewed by a company and there were three different online marketing agencies being interviewed by the same company. In other words, I was being interviewed alongside a few people who were technically my competition.

If you are a real person who is honest and genuinely wants to add value, then you will do good in online marketing. Not only that but being honest and wanting to add value is the right thing to do. Furthermore, when you do that, it will make you feel good.

Here’s How To Do It

With all that said, the first thing you want to do is find “influencers” and make a list. Find the ones you respect and admire. In other words, don’t solely choose ones that have a massive audience. It’s more important to find “influencers” that are relevant to your market, share similar views and ones that you respect and admire.

Once you have made your list, you’ll want to follow them. You can do this by subscribing to their blogs and you can sign up for their email newsletter and don’t forget about following them on social media. Make sure you follow them on the top social media networks, such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Another thing you should do is set up a Google News Alert for the “influencers'” names or the names of their companies.

After you have followed them, the next thing you want to do is to engage them, which you can do by sharing their content, but only if you find it valuable. After sharing content, ask your audience to follow the “influencers”. When the “influencers” make a post on their blog, try to be the first one to add a good comment and not just some generic comment complimenting their content. Make sure you link to their posts from your own blogs, too.

Eventually, you will have established a relationship with the people on your list and once you have, you can build a brand new list and do the same thing all over again. Just don’t brush off your old relationships. It’s important to nurture the older relationships. Also, don’t just look at the people on your list as a goal that you’ll just check off once you have accomplished it.

Of course, you want your content to be shared. However, you will be wasting your time and their time if that’s your sole goal. People will eventually know you’re using them and this can harm your brand and hamper your content marketing efforts and overall online marketing.